News

Conservation Experience: The Holy hills of the Dai in Yunnan, China.

The Sacred Natural Sites Initiative regularly features “Conservation Experiences” of custodians, protected area managers, scientists and others. This post features the experiences of Professor Pei Shengi from the Kunming Institute of Botany and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Prof. Pei has worked as an ethno biologist and ethnographer in the Yunnan province of southern China […]

Save the Sacred Trees of the Biodiversity Rich Tansa Valley in Maharashtra India

The Tansa Valley  is only 60 km from Mumbai in the state of Maharahstra but is a site sacred to many as it hosts some of the hottest sulphur springs in Asia and many people come here to bathe and be healed. The indigenous tribal communities living here have a philosophy deeply rooted in Nature […]

Around Altai in search of a spirited landscape

The Altai mountains are known for their astounding and rare biodiversity as well as thier cultural heritage. The Golden Mountains of Altai have been nominated as a natural UNESCO World Heritage site that is currently under threat from a gas pipeline. In addition, snow leopard conservation programmes are not only popular with biologists but also […]

Call for Presentations on Asian Sacred Natural Sites at the Asian Parks Congress.

Call for Abstracts for Presentations on: SACRED NATURAL SITES: “An ancient Asian philosophy and practice with fundamental significance to protected areas”. Deadline for submission:  15th June, 2013 Introduction: IUCN WCPA Japan, the Biodiversity Network Japan and the Sacred Natural Sites Initiative in collaboration with the IUCN WCPA Specialist group on Cultural and Spiritual Values of […]

Conservation Experience: Ecotourism at Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana.

The Sacred Natural Sites Initiative regularly features “Conservation Experiences” of custodians, protected area managers, scientists and others. This post features an experience of Ms. Alison Ormsby PhD who currently works as an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Eckerd College in Florida, USA. When Allison is not teaching she focuses her research on on people-park […]

Villagers of San Andres Sacjabja capture sacred forests’ threats and challenges on video.

During April 2013 participatory video (PV) training was carried out in the town of San Andres Sacjabja in the Quiche district in Guatemala. The training was one part of a longer-term engagement of custodians of sacred sites in the district of Quiché  with ‘Oxlajuj Ajpop’ (an indigenous Mayan organization) in collaboration with Sacred Natural Sites […]

Conservation Experience: Sacred Sites in Bandjoun, West Cameroon

The Sacred Natural Sites Initiative regularly features “Conservation Experiences” of custodians, protected area managers, scientists and others. This post features the experiences of Mr. Sébastien Luc Kamga-Kamdem PhD who currently works with the The Central African Protected Areas Network (RAPAC). Sébastien has been working on sacred natural sites in Bandjoun, West Cameroon and has identified the need […]

The beating heart of ICCAs in Central America.

From the 17th till the 27th participants from various Central American countries and beyond shared knowledge and experiences in two very exciting meetings. The first meeting focused on the role of cultural, spiritual and sacred values in sustainable forest management. The meeting, organised by Oxlajuj Ajpop, the Sacred Natural Sites Initiative (SNSI) and supported by Natural […]

New project in Guatemala on sacred forests prepares for inception work shop

The Sacred Natural Sites Initiative and Oxlajuj Ajpop, the Guatemalan National Council of Mayan Spiritual Leaders are about to officially kick of a new project on sustainable forest management through recognition of cultural, spiritual and sacred values. Preparations for this project, supporting three rural Mayan communities in the Quiche district, have been long in the […]

Conservation Experience: Conservation of natural sites with spiritual values in Neyshabur, Iran

The Sacred Natural Sites Initiative regularly features “Conservation Experiences” of custodians, protected area managers, scientists and others. This post features the experiences of Ms. Maryam Kabiri Hendi who during her Master’s thesis at Tehran University worked on Land evaluation for conservation of natural sites with spiritual values in Iran. With the help of Associate Professor […]