IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas The Sacred Dimension of Protected Areas Proceedings of the Second Workshop of the Delos Initiative - Ouranoupolis 2007 Edited by Thymio Papayannis and Josep-Maria Mallarach INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE WORLD HEADQUARTERS Rue Mauverney 28 1196 Gland, Switzerland [email protected] Tel +41 22 999 0000 Fax +41 22 999 0002 www.iucn.org The Sacred Dimension of Protected Areas Ouranoupolis 2007 264 The Sacred Dimension of Protected Areas Proceedings of the Second Workshop of the Delos Initiative The designation of geographical entities in this book and the presentation of the material do not imply the ex- pression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN or Med-INA concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN, Med-INA, or the other partici- pating organizations. Published by: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and the Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos (Med-INA), Athens, Greece Copyright: © All the authors for their respective contributions, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and Med-INA Citation: Papayannis, T. and Mallarach, J.-M. (eds) (2009). The Sacred Dimension of Protected Areas: Proceedings of the Second Workshop of the Delos Initiative – Ouranoupolis 2007. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN and Athens, Greece: Med-INA. pp. 262 ISBN: 978-2-8317-1166-9 Cover design: Pavlina Alexandropoulou Cover photos: Clockwise from top: Holy Convent of Chrysopigi, A. Davydov, K.K. Han, R. Wild, I. Lyrat- zaki, Archives of the Monastery of Poblet, J.M. Mallarach, B. Verschuuren, S. Catanoiu Back: J. M. Mallarach Layout: Pavlina Alexandropoulou Translation into English: Michael Eleftheriou IUCN and the other participating organizations do not take any responsibility for errors or omissions occurring in the translation into English of parts of this document whose original version is in Greek. Ôext editing: Michael Eleftheriou Produced by: Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos Printed by: I. Peppas A.B.E.E. Available from: IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Publications Services Rue Mauverney 28 1196 Gland Switzerland Tel +41 22 999 0000 Fax+41 22 999 0020 [email protected] www.iucn.org/publications A catalogue of IUCN publications is also available Med-INA 23, Voukourestiou Street 106 71 Athens Greece Tel+30 210 3600711 Fax+30 210 3629338 [email protected] www.med-ina.org The publication was funded by the Bodossaki Foundation and Med-INA. The text of this book has been printed on 125g matt coated environmentally-friendly paper. The Sacred Dimension of Protected Areas Proceedings of the Second Workshop of the Delos Initiative Ouranoupolis, Greece, 24-27 October 2007 Edited by Thymio Papayannis and Josep-Maria Mallarach table of contents 7 Opening message HAH The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I 9 Opening statements Dimitrios Tziritis Father Gregorios 13 Introduction Thymio Papayannis and Josep-Maria Mallarach 25 Part One: Analysis of case studies 27 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 27 Power on this land; managing sacred sites at Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area, Northeast Arnhem Land, Australia Bas Verschuuren, Mawalan II Marika and Phil Wise 47 Sacred versus secular in the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona, USA Jeneda Benally and Lawrence Hamilton 61 Mainstream faiths 61 The National Park of the Casentine Forests, Italy Gloria Pungetti, Franco Locatelli and Father Peter Hughes 67 ‘Abd al-Salâm ibn Mashîsh and Jabal La‘lâm Site, Northern Morocco Zakia Zouanat 77 Sacred Mountain of Ganghwa Island, South Korea Kyung-Koo Han 89 Solovetsky Islands: a holy land surrounded by the Arctic Ocean, Russian Federation Alexander N. Davydov, Ivan N. Bolotov and Galina V. Mikhailova 105 Part Two: Management of monastic lands and facilities 107 MOUNT ATHOS (GREECE) 107 The protected area of the peninsula of the Athos Holy Mountain, Halkidiki, Greece Ioannis Philippou and Konstantinos Kontos 127 Landscape conservation actions on Mount Athos, Halkidiki, Greece Petros Kakouros 137 OTHER CASE STUDIES 137 Buila-Vânturarit,a National Park, Valcea county, Romania Sebastian Catanoiu 153 An integrated ecological approach to monastic land: the case of the Holy Convent of Chrysopigi, Chania, Crete, Greece Mother Superior Theoxeni 161 Initiatives taken by the Cistercian Monastery of Poblet to improve the integration of spiritual, cultural and environmental values, Catalonia, Spain Josep-Maria Mallarach and Lluc M. Torcal 173 Rila Monastery Natural Park, Bulgaria Josep-Maria Mallarach and Sebastian Catanoiu 177 The inclusion of a Tibetan Buddhist perspective in the management of the property of the Sakya Tashi Ling Monastery in Garraf Park, Catalonia, Spain Isabel Soria García 191 TOWARDS ECOLOGICAL maNAGEMENT 191 Reflections on the management of monastic lands and facilities Josep-Maria Mallarach and Thymio Papayannis 201 Part Three: Achieving synergy between spiritual and conservation concerns 203 IUCN-UNESCO Guidelines for protected area managers on Sacred Natural Sites: rationale, process and consultation Robert Wild 225 Sacred natural sites in developed countries Thymio Papayannis 235 Some thoughts on sacred sites, faith communities and indigenous peoples Gonzalo Oviedo 241 Environmental action by the Ecumenical Patriarchate Theodota Nantsou 249 The Ouranoupolis Statement on sacred natural sites in technologically developed countries 255 Appendices Opening message HAH The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Opening statements Dimitrios Tziritis Father Gregorios Welcome speech, from past lessons and realise how very Dimitrios Tziritis dependent we are on nature. We have to do that if we are to enhance our quality of life now and build more sustainable Dear participants, communities for the future. On behalf of the Prefect of Halkidiki, the Now is the time to act and introduce en- Prefectural Board and the people of vironmental mitigation —wherever that Halkidiki, it is my pleasure to welcome is possible— and preservation meas- you all to Halkidiki. I would also like to ures and techniques whose ultimate say that we are delighted to see the 2nd goal, of course, is our current and fu- Delos Initiative Workshop being organ- ture sustainability. ised in Halkidiki. As the Vice-Prefect responsible for Envi- After years of unsustainable practices, ronmental Issues, I understand that our the Greeks have realised the most self- society has continuously and robustly evident truth: that nature is our society’s demanded that its decision —and poli- main resource base and that our future cy-makers— establish new and attaina- well-being depends on the harmonious ble targets, introduce new initiatives and relationship be­ween nature and hu- boost its efforts to achieve the goals that mans. We really need to look back, learn we have collectively set. < The Tower of Ouranoupolis, Halkidiki, Greece Nevertheless, there are several stages consideration of several topics, reflec- in the struggle for environmental sus- tion on many important issues, contem- tainability, which requires careful plan- plation of distinct aspects of sustainabil- ning, informed decisions and dynamic ity and, ultimately, careful management. implementation. Several areas of con- In the days ahead, we will have the op- cern have distinct characteristics of their portunity to progress on many vital is- own, which give rise to specific and di- sues regarding the conservation of the verse problems that should be managed natural environment. Your ideas, reviews accordingly. and criteria are important, and this Mount Athos, the world’s oldest monas- makes the Delos Initiative a scheme of tic state, a unique site of historic, envi- particular importance; we are glad, as ronmental and cultural importance, the the Prefecture of Halkidiki, to be actively exceptional and dominant ‘Garden of participating in this initiative. the Virgin Mary’, is located on the I would like to thank you again for host- Halkidiki peninsula. The conservation ing the event in Halkidiki and to wish you and management of Mount Athos’ natu- all the best. I look forward to seeing the ral and cultural heritage requires the results of your efforts. Iviron Monastery, Mt Athos 0 Opening statement, Since the time of the Creation, our mer- Father Gregorios ciful God has made Man capable of carrying out his role as the king of earth and let him use nature to satisfy his On behalf of the Holy Community of needs. In other words, nature should Mount Athos, it gives me great pleas- not be worshipped; at the same time, ure and satisfaction to greet the Delos however, nor should it be overexploited. Initiative, which is under the supervision Athonite monks have always respected of Med-INA, and endorse its main ob- nature and used natural resources wise- jectives which are promoting environ- ly and only to satisfy the bare necessi- mental awareness, making rational use ties of life. of natural resources and addressing the need to establish a more harmoni- However, living a life based on the wis- ous relationship between humans and dom of Orthodox Theology is not the environment. enough in itself to preserve and sustain the natural environment of Mount Athos. Further, the Delos Initiative examines the The Holy Community should retain its role that sacred places can play in envir- self-governance, and Athonite monks onmental conservation, the protection of should