Protected Areas and Spirituality. Proceedings of the First Workshop of The Delos Initiative

This volumen compiles the proceedings of the first international workshop of The Delos Initiative – part of the Task Force on Cultural and Spiritual Values in Protected Areas belonging to the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas. The workshop was held in next to the Benedictine Monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat (Catalonia, Spain) on 23-26 November 2006.

The volume is divided into four main parts: (i) a presentation of the aims and methodology of the Delos Initiative; (ii) five papers on nature and spirituality, spiritual values in the history of protected areas in Spain, the protection of the sacred natural sites of indigenous and traditional people, the cultural and spiritual significance of mountains and the significance of the Spirit in nature conservation; (iii) an explanation of the case of Montserrat from five different perspectives: the monastic community, the Board of the mountain’s protected area, the company providing services to the mountain, the Catalan Federation of Walking and Climbing Clubs, and the view of the Delos Initiative; (iv) the presentation of ten case studies from the following countries: Spain, USA, Finland, Greece, Japan, Romania, United Kingdom and Russia. The last part includes the Montserrat Statement, a concise summary of the main ideas generated during the workshop that was agreed upon by all the participants.