Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Nature in Protected Areas : Governance, Management and Policy

Cultural and spiritual bonds with ‘nature'are among the strongest motivators for nature conservation; yet they are seldom taken into account in the governance and management of protected and conserved areas. The starting point of this book is that to be sustainable, effective, and equitable, approaches to the management and governance of these areas need to engage with people's deeply held cultural, spiritual, personal, and community values, alongside inspiring action to conserve biological, geological, and cultural diversity. Since protected area management and governance have traditionally been based on scientific research, a combination of science and spirituality can engage and empower a variety of stakeholders from different cultural and religious backgrounds. As evidenced in this volume, stakeholders range from indigenous peoples and local communities to those following mainstream religions and those representing the wider public. The authors argue that the scope of protected area management and governance needs to be extended to acknowledge the rights, responsibilities, obligations, and aspirations of stakeholder groups and to recognise the cultural and spiritual significance that ‘nature'holds for people. The book also has direct practical applications. These follow the IUCN Best Practice Guidelines for protected and conserved area managers and present a wide range of case studies from around the world, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. Cultural and spiritual significance of nature in protected and conserved areas : principles and practices in policy, management, and governance / Steve Brown and Bas Verschuuren -- Implications of the diversity of concepts and values of nature in the management and governance of protected and conserved areas / Josep-Maria Mallarach, Fabrizio Frascaroli, Will Tuladhar-Douglas, Jonathan Liljeblad, Radhika Borde, Edwin Bernbaum, and Bas Verschuuren -- Meaningful nature experiences : pathways for deepening connections between people and place / Matthew J. Zylstra -- Mainstream faith participation in protected and conserved areas / Martin Palmer -- Spiritual governance as an indigenous behavioural practice : implications for protected and conserved areas / John Studley and Peter Horsley -- Exploring the usefulness of nature/culture convergences in world heritage : the case of authenticity / Kristal Buckley -- Buddhism and the management of sacred sites for biodiversity / Will Tuladhar Douglas -- The significance of indigenous nature spirituality / Radhika Borde -- The cultural and spiritual significance of nature : involving the general public in the management and governance of protected areas / Edwin Bernbaum -- Connecting practice : defining new methods and strategies to further integrate natural and cultural heritage under the World Heritage Convention / Letícia Leitão, Leanna Wigboldus, Gwenaëlle Bourdin, Tim Badman, Zsuzsa Tolnay and Oscar Mthimkhulu -- Entangled landscapes : connecting conservation practices for naturecultures in the Mongolian Altai / Steve Brown and Bas Verschuuren -- Culture and nature : the case of the Ramsar Convention on wetlands / Dave Pritchard -- Developing guidelines for integrating cultural and spiritual values into the protected areas of Spain / Josep-Maria Mallarach, Marta Múgica, Alberto de Armas, and Eulàlia Comas -- Managing religious pilgrimage to sacred sites in Indian protected areas / Chantal Elkin, Sanjay Rattan, Soubadra Devy, and Ganesh Thyagarajan -- China's community fengshui forests : spiritual ecology and nature conservation / Chris Coggins, Jesse Minor, Bixia Chen, Yaoqi Zhang, Peter Tiso, James Lam, and Cem Gultekin -- Father forest : Batwa culture and the management of national parks in Uganda's Albertine Rift / Medard Twinamatsiko, Mark Infield, and Arthur Mugisha -- Kaio, kapwier, nepek, and nuk : human and non-human agency, and 'conservation' on Tanna, Vanuatu / James L. Flexner, Lamont Lindstrom, Francis Hickey, and Jacob Kapere -- Exploring spiritual and religious values in landscapes of production : lessons and examples from Italy / Fabrizio Frascaroli and Thora Fjeldsted -- The nature of attachment : an Australian experience / Steve Brown -- Cultural and spiritual significance of nature in protected and conserved areas : reflections on the situational and relational contexts of policy, management, and governance / Bas Verschuuren and Steve Brown Cultural and spiritual bonds with nature are among the strongest motivators for nature conservation; yet they are seldom taken into account in the governance and management of protected and conserved areas. The starting point of this book is that to be sustainable, effective, and equitable, approaches to the management and governance of these areas need to engage with peoples deeply held cultural, spiritual, personal, and community values, alongside inspiring action to conserve biological, geological, and cultural diversity. Since protected area management and governance have traditionally been based on scientific research, a combination of science and spirituality can engage and empower a variety of stakeholders from different cultural and religious backgrounds. As evidenced in this volume, stakeholders range from indigenous peoples and local communities to those following mainstream religions and those representing the wider public. The authors argue that the scope of protected area management and governance needs to be extended to acknowledge the rights, responsibilities, obligations, and aspirations of stakeholder groups and to recognise the cultural and spiritual significance that nature holds for people. The book also has direct practical applications. These follow the IUCN Best Practice Guidelines for protected and conserved area managers and present a wide range of case studies from around the world, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. This book demonstrates that to be sustainable, effective and equitable, the management and governance of protected and conserved areas need to be grounded in solid scientific research and practice alongside deeply held cultural, spiritual and aesthetic values and ideas capable of inspiring conservation of biological and cultural diversity.