SACRED
NATURAL
SITES
OVERVIEW
For faith communities around the world, religious and spiritual practices are often connected to specific sacred places located in nature. Sacred natural sites (SNS), including forests, mountains, water bodies and caves, provide tangible links between faith communities and the natural world. SNS are associated with all of the major world religions as well as a wide range of indigenous and local traditions.
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Although they have existed for millennia, SNS have only recently come to the attention of academic scholarship. Research has now demonstrated that these areas have some of the highest levels of biodiversity in a landscape, due to their sacred nature and protection by traditional local communities and institutions. SNS have been shown to harbour endangered species, support rare plant communities and preserve threatened ecosystems. As a result, many of today's protected areas have formed around sacred natural sites.
We only have a very vague idea about the number of sacred sites in the world, although some commentators believe that there are as many sacred sites as there are protected areas. The majority of these are probably relatively small, although there are important exceptions, such as the landscape of the Yosemite National Park. In some cultures, such as the aboriginal Australians, sacred sites are so common and interconnected that they in effect cover large landscapes in a complex network.
– Beyond Belief: Linking faiths and protected areas to support biodiversity conservation, pg 19.
2005 Research report by WWF, Equilibrium, and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation
SNS demonstrate that when people consider an area sacred, they are deeply motivated to protect it.
Protected area managers, conservationists and environmentalists working in landscapes where SNS occur are increasingly recognising the benefits of partnering with local faith communities already protecting sacred natural sites. In 2008, IUCN produced the first guidelines on SNS for protected area managers, and a new series was released in 2001.
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Although evidence of the importance of SNS for biodiversity conservation is growing, they have not yet been effectively incorporated into existing approaches of environmental management and protection.
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The IUCN's Cultural and Spiritual Values of Proteted Areas (CSVPA) programme and a wide range of NGOs, coalitions and communities are working to increase the visibility of SNS and promote methods if effective partnership between faith communities and conservationists.
The importance of
FAITH & CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS
SACRED GROVES
The oldest form of habitat protection
Sacred groves are areas of a forest or group of trees protected by a community or faith group due to their religious significance. They are found globally and in association with multiple faith groups and may number in the hundreds of thousands – although no official inventory has been done.
They are sometimes referred to the oldest form of habitat protection and in some landscapes are the most important areas of biodiversity, such as in Japan, where the last ancient lowland forests are found only around Shinto temples, or in northern Ethiopia, where church forests are the only remaining reservoirs of forests and biodiversity.
Shinto temple, Japan
Many religions consider mountains as having special religious significance. In Daoism, for example, there are five sacred mountains and in Chinese Buddhism, four. Sacred mountains are areas of deep meaning that are often selected for sites of pilgrimage.
SACRED MOUNTAINS
Areas of deep religious meaning
GREEN PILGRIMAGE
In harmony with nature
Pilgrimage has long been an important pillar of many faiths. Both making the journey and experiencing proximity to sites of religious significance can create a sense of connection between believers and their faith. In many religions, pilgrimage is an institutionalised component of faith practice, and a great deal of infrastructure exists to facilitate the passage of religious communities to their sacred sites.
Green pilgrimage describes an approach to this activity, which both facilitates the religious undertaking whilest remaining conscious of pilgrims' impact on the environment as a result of their journey.
Muslim pilgrims undertaking the Hajj. Photograph: Omar F Islam on Unsplash
Hindu pilgrims. Photograph: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment
More than 330 million people go on pilgrimage to holy sites each year – and many of these sites are found in nature. Some are located in important biodiversity areas, such as Indian tiger reserves.
With such high numbers of people flooding to religious destinations each year, natural areas as well as pilgrimage towns and cities are feeling the considerable strain on their habitat and wildlife, as well as their waste management and transport infrastructure, and on their energy and water sources. Discover more about the Green Pilgrimage movement here.
Learn more
SNS GUIDELINES
2004: One of the major outcomes at the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) was the adoption of the Akwé: Kon Voluntary Guidelines for development around Sacred Natural Sites and on lands and waters traditionally occupied or used by indigenous and local communities.
2008: A gathering of custodians of Sacred Natural Sites at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Spain produced a Statement of Custodians of Sacred Natural Sites and Territories, calling for recognition and protection of sacred natural sites on local, national and international levels.
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2008: The IUCN released Sacred Natural Sites: Guidelines for Protected Area Managers.
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2021: A new series of guidelines were released: Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Nature (Verschuuren et all, 2021)
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In-depth assessment and inventory of hundreds of Mediterranean SNS by DiversEarth
A collection of more than 200 academic articles on a wide range of topics around the world
Be inspired
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Find partners
Groups working on Sacred Natural Sites
The Specialist Group on Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas (CSVPA) of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas is a global network of conservationists, heritage practitioners, policy makers and academics concerned with fostering the cultural and spiritual values of SNS, especially those connected to protected areas.
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The Sacred Natural Sites Initiative aims to 'assist in the protection, conservation and revitalisation of sacred natural sites, through support to their guardians and communities', and maintains a comprehensive website with case studies, project descriptions and resources.
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The Gaia Foundation's Sacred Lands and Waters programme works globally to 'protect sacred natural sites and territories, and the rights of traditional custodians, through legislation, policy, inter-generational learning, wilderness experience and habitat restoration'.
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DiversEarth's Sacred Sites programme works globally but with a special emphasis on the Mediterranean, to 'support the custodians of sacred natural sites to manage them in the face of mounting threats so that their sanctity, and the wisdom and teachings that emanate from them, can be maintained into the future'.
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The DELOS Initiative focuses on sacred natural sites in developed countries throughout the world and works to preserve the sanctity and biodiversity of these sites by improving our understanding of the complex relationship between spiritual/cultural and natural values.
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The Sacred Land Film Project uses multimedia production to tell 'inspiring stories of indigenous peoples' resistance to the destruction of their sacred natural sites and cultures'.
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The Sacred Sites International Foundation 'advocates the preservation of natural and built sacred places, because protecting sacred sites is key to preserving traditional cultures and time-honored values of respecting the earth', and maintains a map and database of sacred sites around the world.
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The ICCA Registry is 'an online information platform for Indigenous and Community-Conserved Areas, where communities themselves provide data, case studies, maps, photos and stories about ICCAs from around the world'.
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Get started
Key guidance documents
Interested in getting a collaboration or a project going with a faith community but not sure where to start? Check out these key guidance documents.
