Thousands of sacred natural sites are in jeopardy around the world despite the fact that many lie within formal “Protected Areas.”

At the upcoming World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain, this October,  IUCN and UNESCO will launch the latest in the Best Practice Guidelines Series on Protected Area management. The new guidelines are entitled “Sacred Natural Sites – Guidelines for Protected Area Managers” and the 100-page volume focuses on improving protection of sacred natural sites within (and near) Protected Areas.

Around the world there is growing interest in, and recognition of the importance of, sacred natural sites as critical elements to both biological and cultural preservation, especially in light of the accelerating loss of biocultural diversity as an unintended by-product of globalization. These new Guidelines summarize experience to date in recognizing, planning and managing sacred natural sites in a variety of Protected Areas. The Guidelines will be used to share experience with protected area managers and their colleagues around the world who are concerned about and interested in protecting sacred natural sites.

The new publication includes 44 guidelines and 16 case studies from around the world. While focusing primarily on the sacred places of indigenous communities, the guidelines are also relevant for the sacred sites of mainstream faiths. Case studies include: Tongariro, National Park, New Zealand; Kaya Forests, Kenya; Devils Tower National Monument, United States; Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia; Adams Peak, Sri Lanka; Uluru, Australia; Rila Monastery Natural Park, Bulgaria; Vilcanota Spiritual Park, Peru; Misali Island, Zanzibar; Bogd Khan Mountain, Mongolia, Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area, Australia; Chewa sacred grove, Malawi; and others.

There are now 108,000 protected areas worldwide encompassing 11.75 million square miles (an area greater than the African continent), but the definition and practice of protection is not uniform and indigenous peoples are sometimes excluded or forcibly removed from their traditional territories and separated from sacred natural sites they have cared for over many generations.

The Best Practices Series Volume #16 was produced by the World Commission on Protected Areas’ (WCPA) Task Force on the Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas (CVSPA), and was co-edited by Robert Wild and Christopher McLeod. The series editor is Peter Valentine. WCPA’s Allen Putney and UNESCO’s Thomas Schaaf developed the initial version of the guidelines, and subsequent drafts have been reviewed by indigenous and spiritual leaders around the world over the last three years.

The Sacred Natural Site Guidelines are co-published by IUCN and UNESCO with support from The Christensen Fund, WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature), LTS International and the Sacred Land Film Project. You can download a PDF copy here.