Paper Title: Recognising the contribution of Sacred Natural Sites for biodiversity conservation.
Authors: Rob Soutter1, Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu1,John Smith2 andDevendra Rana3,
Presented at the World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa, September, 2003
Summary:
This paper draws on examples of the protection of sacred forests and groves in Africa to explore the concept of sacred sites and their potential contribution to biodiversity conservation and protected area management. The term sacred natural site is used to describe a variety of contexts, including sacred rivers, lakes, mountains, marine areas and forests. For the purposes of this paper, the term sacred natural site is limited only to sacred forests and groves, with a particular focus on Africa. The paper describes the involvement of WWF, the conservation organisation, and ARC (Alliance of Religions and Conservation) in Sacred Natural Sites (SNS) and engagement with local communities in the protection of their sites. The experiences gained in this work are discussed while presenting an overall view that sacred natural sites and their impact on conservation objectives have remained relatively understudied despite the apparent conservation benefits they offer. The paper ends with a proposal for a region-wide initiative in Africa for the promotion and support of Sacred Natural Sites in order that a) the concept and mechanisms are better understood b) their conservation value is identified and c) they are more readily considered by governments, donor agencies and conservation organisations in their protected area work, especially when working in the larger conservation landscape.
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1 WWF-International, Avenue du Mont Blanc, 1196 CH, Gland, Switzerland
2 ARC - Alliance for Religions and Conservation, 3 Wynnstay Grove, Fallowfield, Manchester, M14 6XG, UK
3 Independent Consultant, PO Box 1635, Kathmandu, Nepal
Introduction
Sacred natural sites are found throughout the world, and among many world and indigenous faiths. The term is used widely to describe a number of contexts, including sacred rivers, lakes, mountains, marine areas and forests. For the purposes of this paper, the term sacred natural site is limited to sacred forests and groves, and focuses particularly on sacred forests and groves and their contribution to biodiversity conservation in Africa.
The origins for this paper come out of a longstanding partnership beween WWF and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) dating back to the mid-1980s when the leaders of five major faith traditions were brought together by WWF to discuss conservation issues at Assisi, Italy. From this meeting came a number of initiatives -- including the Assisi Declarations, where each faith made a statement on the environment -- and led to the creation of ARC in 1995, at that time with nine, and more recently eleven faiths as members. WWF and ARC now engage with faith communities across the world on a range of environmental conservation programmes and projects, including sustainable forest management, climate change and a broad programme on Sacred Sites.
There are two broad, overarching reasons for WWF and ARC’s involvement in sacred forests and groves: the importance of such areas for biodiversity conservation, and for spiritual and cultural values.
This paper looks at sacred forests and groves because of:
- The link between protection of sacred groves and biodiversity conservation;
- The relevance of sacred forests and groves within larger scales of conservation interventions, such as landscape-level forest protection and management;
- WWF and ARC’s wide experience of the variety of SNS practices - especially in Africa, Asia and Europe;
It is difficult to give an all-encompassing definition of a sacred forest/grove as the understanding of the concept varies between different belief systems, peoples and communities. One study defines sacred groves as "clusters of forest vegetation that honour a deity, provide sanctuary for spirits, remind present generations of ancestors or protect a sanctified place from exploitation. They are treated as sacred by virtue of their location, cultural meaning and history" (Lebbie and Freudenberger, 1996). In this paper we use sacred groves or forests interchangeably to refer to specific areas recognised by peoples and communities as having special spiritual, religious, cultural and historical significance. Some common attributes include: access restricted by taboos and management codes; restricted uses and activities that are highly regulated and maintained by customs, and although less tangible but still important is a desire to maintain the status quo (often referred to as balance) between humanity and the forest ecosystem as a statement of the status of the belief system itself.
Trees, forests, wild animal species and spirituality
The vast majority, if not all, faiths and belief systems have a close and intimate link with the natural world. Testimony to these spiritual links is found in the writings of the major faiths – Bible (Christianity), Bhagavad Gita (Hinduism), Qu’ran (Islam) and Torah/Talmud (Judaism) as well as in their practices and rituals along with indigenous and non-literal faith traditions. The spiritual link is illustrated most graphically by the presence of sacred trees, groves and forests in the landscapes of faith communities around the world. Many African people and communities have spiritual, religious and cultural associations with wildlife. Certain plant and animal species are revered; in some cases these may not be touched, destroyed or eaten. An example of this is the tradition of totem animals in the traditions of the Akan people in Ghana, where several clans have a wild animal or plant species, ranging from the raffia palm Raffiahookeri, to the leopard Panthera leo as their totem (Ntiamoa-Baidu, 2002). Traditionally, such species were protected by members of the clan. It is also common in many rural African communities to find small patches of forests set aside as sacred and accorded strict protection under customary laws. Reasons for this status vary, ranging from forests which constitute the royal burial grounds and forests along the banks of major rivers supplying water to a village community, to forests with historical significance in the culture of a group of people, or patches of forest that support totem species.
Other examples include: the ancient Yew trees Taxus baccata found throughout the churchyards of Britain and whose presence often refers to earlier pre-Christian religious belief and practises but whose significance has carried on to the present day; the Bo trees Ficus religiosa that are revered throughout Asia as the tree under which Lord Buddha gained enlightenment; the Kapok tree Ceiba pentandra that the Huarorani tribe of the Amazon basin consider as their creation tree; the trees around Shinto temples in Japan, which are now often the only surviving ancient trees in the lowlands; and the sacred burial groves of the Dayak people in Borneo. In terms of forests and groves, examples include: the Holy Hills revered by the Dai people of Yunnan Province, China; small religious forests dharmic ban are scattered throughout the mid-Hills of Nepal; and the Karanga people of southern Zimbabwe hold particular trees and woodland areas as sacred due to their association with ancestral spirits.
Such sites have three important characteristics. First, the sacredness of particular trees or groves often crosses religious and temporal divides. The yew trees in English churchyards, mentioned above, link back to pre-Christian beliefs (and the oldest yew trees are thought to have been planted before the arrival of Christianity). Christianity in Africa has also not noticeably reduced interest in sacred groves. In Ethiopia, as elsewhere, sacred forests and waters remain a potent symbol of present day spirituality as they have done for centuries. In other countries, as new faiths have emigrated into other areas they have often adopted the customs of the existing faith practices. In Turkey, the worship of sacred trees was not affected by the arrival of Islam (Akcicek and Ozturk, 1997). Similarly, the protection of sacred groves in Tamil Nadu, India, probably predates the arrival of Hinduism. Once trees or forests assume spiritual importance for communities this significance is often not noticeably affected by the belief framework within which it exists.
Secondly, sacredness does not necessarily imply that such trees or forests have no mundane uses and indeed in some examples the products of the forests have been an essential part of the spirituality that has developed around them. In Orissa the production of the chariots which carried Lord Jaganeth from the forest to the temple were of a longstanding and particular construction formula, with each tree species of the forest supplying a prescribed part of the chariot. In part this ensured no single species was overexploited and in part recognised the importance of every species. Most sacred groves also have practical day-to-day benefits, such as providing sources of food, or fuel. The tembawang groves of the dayak people in Kalimantan, Borneo are simultaneously burial sites and fruit gardens (and now incidentally the richest repositories of biodiversity in many areas where forests have been cleared for rice, oil palm and Acacia). The kaya forests of Kenya, described below, are recognised and valued sources of food as well as being of spiritual importance.
Third, many groves are actively managed to maintain their values – where “manage” may in some cases be a decision to leave well alone. Monks in Thailand decorate trees and have used this as a way of protecting important forests. Shinto temples, Hindu priests, Lutheran ministers and baka tribespeople all make active efforts to manage the forests that they care about. The Boabeng Fiema-Monkey sanctuary in Ghana, provides an example of a sacred grove that has not only been protected by customary law, but also by modern legislature under District Council by-laws and is managed as a wildlife sanctuary. The grove is considered sacred because it supports populations of black and white colobus monkey Colobus vellerosus and Mona monkey Cercopithecus mona, both of which are revered and strictly protected as sons of the gods of the people of Boabeng and Fiema villages (Akowual et al 1975, Ntiamoa-Baidu, 1987; Fargey 1991). So strong is the belief surrounding these monkeys that in the past, when a monkey died, the corpse was given the same respect and funeral rites as would be accorded to a human being. Because of the effectiveness of the protection, this small forest (ca 196 ha) supports the highest density of the two species of monkeys anywhere in Ghana (163 black and white, 347 Mona according to a 1997 census; Kankam, 1997).
A possible fourth characteristic is that these activities show few signs of diminishing. The Baltic state of Estonia has around three hundred sacred trees, where people hung prayers written on scraps of paper – a practice that re-emerged almost as soon as the Soviet Union collapsed. At Vientiane airport in Laos, one grove of trees remains on the site amidst rigorously cleared grassland – because it has spiritual importance to some of the local people. Even in countries struggling to present a modernist image, the importance of sacred forests remains remarkably intact.
The close and intimate link between spirituality and nature impacts on biodiversity conservation in the context of sacred areas in a number of ways.
In particular, there is the value and integration into practical management responses of the spiritual dimension of peoples' interaction with nature. For example, in maintaining a faith community’s predominant rights of access to sacred areas, the use of such areas and the resources they hold have generally meant that, traditionally, resource use has been minimised rather than maximised. Further, that the nature, character and atmosphere of the site have deliberately been left largely intact over long periods of time.
Building on this, it can be argued that conservation agencies need to think ‘beyond their normal boundaries’ by integrating conservation needs with people’s beliefs, in much the same way it is recognised to be both essential and routine to integrate peoples' needs with management regimes that conserve biodiversity and support livelihoods.
Such considerations are already being consciously reflected by many protected area authorities, themselves under pressure from their own indigenous communities. In New Zealand, sacred Maori mountains are protected within national parks and are off-limits for casual visitors. Similar restrictions apply in protected areas in parts of Australia where aboriginal sacred sites remain. IUCN category III protected areas, covering natural monuments, perhaps provides a tailor-made form of protection that could, with some additional effort and interpretation, be an ideal vehicle for linking sacred sites and formal protected areas.
However, it may be noted that sacred sites can be categorised in terms of degree of access, use of the area and purpose similar to IUCN PA categories. Thus, for example, a sacred site that is accessible only to a limited number of people, usually priests, and where there is no consumptive use, and the area is left alone, would correspond with IUCN category 1a: scientific reserve.
Case studies from Africa
This paper provides three short case studies from the experiences of WWF and ARC in promoting sacred forest conservation in the Africa region.
Tandroy and Mahafaly sacred forests, South-West Madagascar
Madagascar has lost at least 80% of its original forest cover, and deforestation continues at an estimated rate of 200,000ha annually. Agricultural practice such as slash and burn is one of the chief causes, along with the need for firewood and charcoal by the island’s expanding population. Despite long-term, intensive support from conservation organisations and donors the country’s biodiversity continues to be threatened. Nonetheless, due to local traditions and customs sacred forests continue to survive in one of the world’s biologically richest drylands – the SpinyForest ecoregion of Madagascar.
The Mahafaly people of south-westMadagascar recognise nine categories of sacred forests with varying degrees of importance. These possess different management regimes, as well as sanctions. The most important category is the forest with a tomb of a king or a great dignitary called Havilasy. Customary law dictates that only specified persons - usually designated members of the royal family -are allowed to enter this forest, collect products or make fire. Sanctions for ignoring this law range from sacrificing eight zebus for burning, to one zebu for entering. Species such as tortoises and lemurs are protected by local taboos. These local traditions and customs have long prevented the wholesale destruction of such sacred forests (Andriamiarisoa, 2003, Hamilton, 2003, Rebara, 2003).
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For the Tandroy people of the deep south of Madagascar, sacred forests shelter genii, spirits, occult powers and mythical animals which dwell there as absolute owners of the land. The protection and the benevolence of those hosts must be secured as a great many forest resources belong to them. Those beliefs have long prevented problems of overexploitation of forest resources. Nowadays, such customs and values are softening. The growing needs of villagers lead them to progressively encroach on once forbidden forests and show less and less respect towards ancestral beliefs.
In recognition of the strength of local traditions and customs to maintain such sites, WWF undertook an inventory and reconnaissance of all sacred forests in the SpinyForest ecoregion (these cover a total area of 63,000 ha in the ecoregion). Several of the traditional faith leaders approached by WWF expressed growing concern for the conservation of their sacred forests, especially in the face of increasing migration and their weakening traditional authority on younger generations. WWF thus started to work with both the local communities and the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests to identify means of strengthening local cultural norms and beliefs in favour of conservation. This resulted in the handover of the sacred Sakoantovo forest to a local management committee from the neighbouring Mahafaly community. This type of transfer requires that communities organize themselves through a management structure and a dina (customary law or convention) regulating the use of forest resources. The legal transfer provides local communities with the necessary authority to control access to their sacred forests and other ancestral lands apply and enforce sustainable management measures on natural resources.
WWF and the local Water and Forests service are now working with the communities to develop a management plan for the Sakoantovo sacred forest. The true challenge is to ensure that these local communities will have the capacity to effectively manage these resources and the sacred forests for the long term, in a modernising world and increasing human needs. Long term mentoring will be necessary to ensure that such capacity effectively develops.