Statement of Custodians of Sacred Natural Sites and Territories

Declaration adopted in October 2008 in Barcelona during an act held concurrently with the IUCN World Conservation Congress by representatives of areas under stewardship in Asia, South America, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Basin.The guardians of these sacred sites represent the indigenous, religious and spiritual traditions of their regions and share an ancestral vision of the relationship between their motherlands and natural sacred sites. The declaration recognises that there are different types of links with a variety of distinct meanings existing between a community and a territory that is considered to be sacred. It discusses the threats hanging over these sites and makes requests to national governments, the IUCN and the international community aimed at prioritising the participation of indigenous communities in the management of their territories and sacred natural sites.