Project
Sacred world heritage
Sacred natural sites are natural features that have special spiritual significance to people (Wild & McLeod, 2008). Because of their spiritual and social importance, they are often well looked after, making them nodes in networks of biocultural diversity (Verschuuren et al, 2010, Verschuuren, 2016). Their custodians are equally diverse, they can be representatives from Indigenous or local peoples, Faith groups and even new age groups or the public.
Despite the important heritage values represented by sacred natural sites, it is unclear how UNESCO World Heritage status assists with their conservation. Initial studies show that often, sacred natural sites are not included in World Heritage site nominations or management plans (Ormsby et al. 2016, Verschuuren et al. 2022). This leads to the exclusion and underrepresentation of custodians, and it challenges the governance and management of World Heritage sites along the local-global nexus (Liljeblad & Verschuuren 2019).
Introduction Sacred natural sites are natural features that have special spiritual significance to people (Wild & McLeod, 2008). Because of their spiritual and social importance, they are often well looked after, making them nodes in networks of biocultural diversity (Verschuuren et al, 2010, Verschuuren, 2016). Their custodians are equally diverse, they can be representatives from Indigenous or local peoples, Faith groups and even new age groups or the public.
Despite the important heritage values represented by sacred natural sites, it is unclear how UNESCO World Heritage status assists with their conservation. Initial studies show that often, sacred natural sites are not included in World Heritage site nominations or management plans (Ormsby et al. 2016, Verschuuren et al. 2022). This leads to the exclusion and underrepresentation of custodians, and it challenges the governance and management of World Heritage sites along the local-global nexus (Liljeblad & Verschuuren 2019).
Focus The Sacred World Heritage Project (SWOHP) focusses on the recognition, representation, and conservation of sacred natural sites in the management and governance of UNESCO World Heritage sites along the local-global nexus. Taking a social critical perspective, SWOHP aims to assess the extent of the (under)representation of sacred natural sites in World Heritage sites and research the key issues that hamper management and governance.
Database Research indicates the value for systematic analysis of sacred natural sites (Verschuuren et al. 2022). At the center of SWOHP is the development of a database to enable the assessment and analysis of sacred natural sites in all UNESCO World Heritage sites, natural, cultural, mixed and cultural landscapes. The data is publicly available and derived from nomination files, management plans as well as scientific and technical literature. The database serves as a valuable tool and contributes to finding answers to numerous critical research questions by offering quantitative data analysis across various World Heritage categories, regions, management, and governance types.
Research SWOHP offers the opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students and volunteers to contribute to identifying and unravelling the role interactions between sacred natural sites and World Heritage sites. Students and volunteers help populate the database by analyzing World Heritage sites, one site at the time. This is a big job that requires a lot of work from a lot of people, but it also enables students to do analysis on (part of) a unique data set and interact with heritage and conservation professionals from around the world.
Project outcomes The project manifests several professional and scholarly collaborations. Typically, MSc. Thesis students can identify their own research focus and tackle issues that they identified could lead to the development of new knowledge and insights:
1.Verschuuren B, Ormsby A, Jackson W. How Might World Heritage Status Support the Protection of Sacred Natural Sites? An Analysis of Nomination Files, Management, and Governance Contexts.Land. 2022; 11(1):97. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11010097
2.Huertas Garcia, M. 2023. UNESCO World Heritage Sites through the Lens of Sacred Natural Sites and the Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples: A comparative case study approach in Kenya, MSc. Thesis, Wageningen University and Research. 3.Gomez, V. 2023. Scope and triggers of conflict in sacred natural sites within Asian and Pacific World Heritage sites. MSc. Thesis, Wageningen University and Research.
Literature
·Liljeblad, J., & Verschuuren, B. (2019). Indigenous perspectives on sacred natural sites. Routledge: London.
·Verschuuren, B., & Wild, R. McNeely, J. A., Oviedo, G., (2010). Sacred natural sites: conserving nature and culture. Routledge, London.
·Verschuuren, B. 2016. How the cultural, spiritual and philosophical underpinnings of sacred natural sites can make conservation in Asia more effective and sustainable. InAsian Sacred Natural Sites: Philosophy and Practice in protected Areas and Conservation; Verschuuren, B., Furuta, N., Eds.; Routledge: London, UK, 2016; pp. 297–309.
·Wild, R.; Mcleod, C.2008.Sacred Natural Sites Guidelines for Protected Area Managers; IUCN: Gland, Switzerland
Websites:
·Sacred Natural Sites Initiative
·UNESCO Initiative on Heritage of Religious Interest
·IUCN-ICOMOS Connecting Practice Project
·ICCROM Heritage Place Lab for practice-led research
The Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai a property inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011. This biocultural landscape is also part of the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park and includes many lesser known sacred natural sites such as Shiveet Khairkhan mountain (left-hand side). Here, the team of the Connecting Practice project, working on connecting natural and cultural values in World Heritage sites, is about to cross one of many of the iced-over rivers. Photo: B. Verschuuren.