Sacred Natural Sites: Conserving Nature and Culture

The book begins with an overview of the world’s oldest protected places. It shows that sacred natural sites are widespread both within and outside formally recognised protected areas, although often are under threat. In many countries sacred natural sites are some of the last strongholds for building resilient networks of connected landscapes, forming significant nodes for maintaining a healthy socio-cultural fabric in the face of global change  The book is organized in four parts: Part I: Towards the Science and Spirituality of Sacred Natural Sites, including 5 articles with examples from all over the world.  Part II: Sacred Natural Sites: Mutual Learning, Analysis, Planning and Management, including 6 case studies form Africa, Asia and Europe.  Part III: Sacred Natural Sites: International Recognition, Global Governance and Field Action, including contributions from UNESCO, Sacred Natural Sites in the South Pacific, the Ramsar Convention; the Compass Network; The Delos Initiative in Technologically Developed Countries, Mexico and India. Part IV: In our Own Hands: Living Culture and Equity at Sacred Natural Sites, including relevant studies form Ghana, Russia, Philippines, and India. The conclusion includes a preliminary strategy and action plan for conserving sacred natural sites, based on the considerable learning experiences that this book compiles, as well as the  experience that the authors have from the activities of the Specialist Group on Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas, of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.