156 Monastic communities and nature conservation: Overview of positive trends and best practices in Europe and the Middle East Josep-Maria Mallarach

The origin of a resilient lifestyle cism, under harsh conditions – was close to nature sought so that an aspirant might pro- gress spiritually and attain to holiness, The origin of Christian monasticism is developing a deep harmony with na- to be found eighteen centuries ago in ture by approaching, or even recover- the deserts of Egypt, Palestine and ing, ‘the Adamic state’. The idea ex- Syria, during the time these countries pressed by St John Damascene, a formed part of the Roman Empire. In- Church Father, that ‘Nature is the icon deed, it is in the Egyptian deserts of the face of God’ is highly significant where the oldest Christian monasteries when one recalls the sacramental na- are still thriving. From the earliest ture accorded to icons in the Eastern times, the ideal of the monastic life was Christian Churches and the veneration closely connected to an aspiration to they receive. return to the terrestrial Paradise. More or less complete solitude in the wilder- From the first centuries of monasti- ness – usually associated with asceti- cism, two main lifestyles developed,

< Rila Natural Park, Bulgaria. The outstanding alpine forests around the Monastery bear testimony of the long-lasting ‘holy unity between Nature and the monastery’, wished for by its founder Saint Ivan of Rila.

157 Well tended vegetable gardens and orchards like those near the monastery of Xenophontos, Athos. which have remained almost un- ena are found in Asia, where monasti- changed until the present day: com- cism, both cenobitic and heremitic, munity life – cenobitic – and isolated developed much earlier within different life – hermitic. Hermitism and cenobit- branches of Buddhism and Hinduism. ism are usually seen as complementa- The expansion of monastic settlements ry paths. Hermits are often fed by mo- occurred rapidly, and by the end of the nastic communities, and in some mon- first millennium thousands of monas- asteries all monks become hermits teries were thriving in Europe and the during some part of their lives. In other Middle East. The impact of these mo- communities, a hermitic life is an op- nastic communities on spirituality, art, tion only for those who feel attracted to science and culture has been widely it. In any case, a hermit devoted to si- acknowledged and documented lent prayer and contemplation in soli- (Krüger et al. 2007; Kinder, 2002, etc.), tude is the prototype of the human be- and their legacy has been, and still is, ing in deep harmony with nature. In a research topic for numerous journals. the words of one hermit, ‘hermits live a However, the positive impact of these cosmic experience of communion with communities in the management of nature’ (Mouizon, 2001). No wonder, natural resources and nature conser- therefore, that from the fourth century vation has received much less atten- onwards numerous historical records tion, despite the fact that the monas- describe the lives and feats of holy teries often developed very success- monks and hermits who befriended fully what we would currently call ‘sus- wild animals, such as lions, bears, tainable practices’. wolves or poisonous snakes, and it is recorded that some were even fed by Given the fact that the founders of mon- them (Macaire, 1993). Similar phenom- asteries deliberately sought out solitary

158 or ‘wild’ terrain, the longevity of many Carpathian mountains to the coastal communities is impressive. Obviously, wetlands of the Mediterranean, many in desert or arid areas, the survival of of which have been well conserved un- the community depended on the devel- til the present day. In actuality, hun- opment of highly sophisticated and ef- dreds of modern protected areas have ficient water management and garden- been established over ancient monas- ing techniques. The first Christian tic landscapes that still retain their monastery, St Catherine’s, founded in quality and biodiversity. Most of these 337 AD, is located at the foot of Mount protected areas are managed as Pro- Sinai, an extremely arid region. It has tected Landscapes, equivalent to the been continuously active ever since, IUCN category V, which is the most coming under the protection of Islamic common category of protected areas law in the seventh century. In 2002 the of Europe (Mallarach, 2008). This monastery itself was included in the noteworthy fact provides an additional Saint Katherine Protectorate, one of the proof of the effectiveness of these largest protected areas of Egypt types of community-conserved areas. (Grainger and Gilbert, 2008). A further Almost 50 monasteries (usually includ- example is St Anthony’s, founded in ing part of the lands they historically 356 AD, shortly after the saint’s death. managed) have been inscribed in the Situated on al-Qalzam Mountain near UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites Al Zaafarana, Egypt, the monastery to this day, additional evidence of the has enjoyed continual occupancy and global significance of these monastic today is a self-contained village with settlements. Even though most of gardens, a mill, a bakery, and five these sites are classified as ‘Cultural’, churches. Similarly to other Egyptian some are Mixed – ‘Natural and Cultur- Coptic monasteries, St Anthony’s is al’ – such as , Greece, or currently experiencing a revival; its mo- Studenica, Serbia; and in fact, more nastic population has grown consider- could also be classified as ‘Mixed’, as ably in recent years, attracting a large most of the remaining sites retain sig- number of pilgrims. Many monks of St nificant natural heritage value at either Anthony’s monastery nowadays spend global or national levels. the last part of their lives as hermits in Indeed, sustainability went hand in nearby caves. hand with monasticism from an early Such examples are not unique. The re- time. Among the Benedictines, for ex- sult of centuries of prudent resource ample, whose order was established management by monasteries was the by St Benedict in the sixth century creation of a wide variety of extensive (and whose flourish from the eleventh and harmonious monastic landscapes, to the fourteenth centuries led to the well adapted to different ecosystems, birth of orders such as the Cistercians, from the taiga of Siberia to the North Camaldolensians, Carthusians, etc.), African deserts, from the Alps or the agricultural and forestry management

159 practices were sophisticated and di- Because of the alms and donations verse. St Benedict set an early exam- they received, coupled with careful ple of sustainability; the Benedictine and efficient management, many mon- communities had to pass on their asteries ended up managing large lands in at least as fertile a state as tracts of land and water reserves, when they found them. Experts nowa- sometimes hundreds of square kilome- days can single out a forest which was tres in size. It is estimated that in many managed by a Benedictine, Cistercian European and Middle East countries or Camaldolensian monastic communi- monastic communities were responsi- ty identifying good-practice tech- ble for 10 to 25 per cent of the produc- niques that were used. In fact, the tive area. Moreover, medieval monas- sustainable forest practices of the Ca- tic gardens set the example for the es- maldolensians, in the extensive forest tablishment of botanical gardens and lands of the Apennines, were the foun- pharmaceutical gardens in post-medi- dation of the Italian legislation on for- eval European and Middle Eastern estry (Fr. P. Hughes, pers. comm.), and towns (MacDougall, 1986). Following the area around the monastery of Ca- the rule of ‘Ora et Labora’ (Pray and maldoli, including its Sacro Eremo – Work), monastic communities have al- hermitage – has been included in the ways been eager to develop efficient National Park of the Casentine Forests. self-sufficient strategies which allow Cistercians, on the other hand, estab- them to devote most of their time to lished their settlements in lowlands, prayer, meditation and contemplation. usually next to rivers and water bodies, Hermitages, on the other hand, have developing sophisticated systems for been traditionally located in wild or harnessing the renewable energy of rugged country, providing solitude and water (Leroux-Dhuys, 1999).

The Miracle Monastery, . The spring blessing of water is held at dawn, after a long silent walk listening to the birds singing, during the spring session of the course on Nature and Spiri- tuality, in El Miracle Nature Reserve.

160 natural shelter, such as in caves. The course, one of steady evolution. Aside hermitic domains can be considered a from occasional disruptions due to kind of nature reserve, i.e. IUCN pro- wars or pillage, the worse setbacks tected area categories I or III. The in- suffered by monastic communities of clusion of some of these hermitages Europe came after the French Revolu- on the periphery of the monastic pro- tion (and the secularisation move- tected landscapes resulted in a very ments), leading into the nineteenth and balanced ecological pattern, which twentieth centuries. For political or can be still found in many regions. economic reasons, the governments of Monastic settlements containing scat- many European countries – liberal or tered small monasteries of different communist – banned religious organi- sizes, with assorted hermitages and sations or enforced severe prohibitions monks’ cells, in some cases created or on their activities, usually confiscating maintained astonishing landscapes, monastic properties. As a result, many like those of Cappadocia in Turkey, monasteries were abandoned, sacked and in other cases led to the construc- or destroyed. These measures had se- tion of imposing buildings in the midst vere repercussions not only on monas- of almost pristine natural areas, like the ticism itself, as is well known, but also Grand Chartreuse, France. The well on nature conservation – a fact which known ‘Carmelitan deserts’ usually lo- has been less well documented. Some cated in rugged and isolated natural monastic forests carefully managed for areas, are a special type of hermitic- centuries were razed to the ground in based landscape, established from few decades (Urteaga, 1989), numer- the seventeenth century to host a cer- ous traditional varieties of vegetables tain number of temporary hermits in were lost, and much ‘traditional eco- solitary places in Spain, where a num- logical knowledge’ and many related ber of modern protected areas have best practices, which had been pru- been established, such as the Natural dently developed over centuries, were Parks of Desert de les Palmes and Las rapidly forgotten. Batuecas (Ruiz & Husillos, 2008). Later, when the political situation im- The historical peak of monastic expan- proved, and a certain tolerance for re- ligion was redeveloped, a monastic re- sion varied among regions. While in surgence occurred in most European the Middle East, North Africa, and Ire- countries, which led to the partial – in land the zenith was reached in the fifth most places – recovery of what had and sixth centuries, the apogee of mo- been lost. nasticism in many Western and Central European countries was not reached Nowadays, it is estimated that there are until the eleventh to the fourteenth cen- more than 5000 monastic communities turies; Russia also enjoyed its heyday in Europe and the Middle East, and during the 1500–1600s. However the over 80 000 monks and nuns, clear history of monasticism is not, of proof of the amazing resilience of this

161 way of life. This figure does not include • Within certain protected areas of Ro- the Catholic friar orders, which usually mania new monastic settlements are are located in urban areas, although being established, e.g. Skitul Sihla, some of them, like the Franciscans, had Agapia Veche, etc. At the same originally very tight bonds with nature. time, new monastic villages are de- veloping around the old monasteries Currently, most of the former European of Agapia and Varatec, these being communist countries are experiencing the largest monasteries of the Ortho- a recovery and/or expansion of monas- dox world and yet unable to cope ticism, as can be seen in Belarus, Bul- with the large numbers of new garia, , Russia, the , aspirants. etc. The largest monastic population in • Some monasteries in the Balkans are Europe is actually to be found within being restored, after many years or the Natural Park of Vanatori-Neamt, in even centuries of neglect, e.g. those northeast Romania, which includes of Skadar Lake, Montenegro; moreo- over 2000 monks and nuns (Catanoius, ver, some abandoned monasteries in 2007), organised in self-sufficient com- Muslim dominant countries are being munities, either in monasteries or small recovered, e.g. Mar Musa in Syria. monastic villages. New foundations • There is an unexpected recovery and are frequent, and the expansion of the renewal of hermitism in the moun- historic monasteries is currently com- tains of many European countries, mon in this part of Europe. On the oth- but, as well as in Lebanon, where for er hand, the only monastic republic of example in Ouadi Qashida (the Holy the world, Mount Athos (the Garden of Valley) the Maronite Church’s spiritu- the Holy Virgin, as it is called by its in- al cradle people from different reli- habitants), located in north-eastern gious backgrounds make retreats in Greece, reached its lowest ebb in the natural caves guided by Maronite 1970s. Since that time, however, the nuns (Mngr Samir Mazloum, pers. intake has been increasing steadily, comm.). In alone it is estimated and it currently has about 1700 monks, that over 300 hermits are permanent- with all its 20 autonomous monasteries ly living in the wilderness, and over fully restored (Speake, 2002). 2000 temporary hermits take retreats Despite the general trend of seculari- in natural areas, staying there for a sation, and the decline that a number period that varies from a few months of monastic communities are still expe- to a few years (Denwahl, 2004). riencing, new monastic settlements are • Several new Orthodox monasteries currently being established in different have been established in Western, parts of Europe and the Middle East culturally Catholic European coun- (often within protected areas), and new tries, such as the Solan, Saint An- efforts are underway to recover and toine-le-Grand, and Cantauque mon- protect sacred natural sites. Some ex- asteries in France. amples are briefly discussed below. • The recovery and restoration of di-

162 verse ancient Coptic monasteries in it must be admitted, an insufficient the- desert areas, e.g. those of Wadi Mur, ology of Creation. in Egypt. Nowadays, most monastic communi- • The recent establishment of new mo- ties are aware of these contradictions nastic orders with ascetic lifestyles and many are working to improve their within or very close to nature, often coherency, following the guidelines of referred as the Green Cathedral, e.g. their spiritual leaders. The size of the Little Sisters/Brothers of the these communities may vary widely, Lamb, France, whose members live from a few members to a few hundred from alms. individuals, either male or female, but • The unexpected recovery of ancient usually are made of a few dozen men pilgrimage routes, connecting old and or women. The principle of self-suffi- new monasteries, e.g. a number of ciency is widespread, especially branches of the Way of Saint James among Orthodox and Coptic commu- (Camino de Santiago) in northern nities. In former times the same could Spain, and many more in the Car- be said of the monastic communities of pathians, Romania and Hungary. the Roman Church, but some have • The intensification of efforts by the now abandoned manual labour for in- Franciscan Custody of the Holy tellectual work. Land, among others, to conserve sites sacred to Christianity, including In terms of leadership and vision, the some outstanding sacred natural highest spiritual authorities also have sites, like Mount Tabor, the Mount of demonstrated a commitment to nature the Blessings, or the shores of Lake conservation. H.A.H. Bartholomew I is Tiberias, threatened by development widely known as the ‘Green Patriarch’, pressures and projects. having developed numerous and very significant initiatives at different levels Despite this impressive resurgence of (Bartholomew I, 2003), including some interest in monasticism and the value for improving the awareness of monas- of community spiritual life in nature, tic communities of environmental is- one must also acknowledge the fact sues (Nantsou, 2009), while the last that during the twentieth century a two Catholic Popes have coined the number of existing or new monastic key concept of ‘ecological conversion’, communities adopted lifestyles not ful- insisting in their messages on the need ly coherent with spiritual principles re- for a radical change of lifestyle to re- garding nature and the environment. duce consumption and increase re- The reasons for this are diverse, and spect for Creation (Benedictus XVI, include such factors as the influence of 2010). the surrounding secular society, a lack of discernment concerning the envi- In fact, monastic communities nowa- ronmental and social impact of new days are in a very good position to technologies and practices, and often, maintain or develop best practices re-

163 lated to nature conservation. After all, • The idea of communal rather than such practices are part of their history, private property; the concept of and most communities have kept re- monks as custodians or stewards, cords of this; and many monastic com- never owners munities are producing very fine or- • Cherished values which include: sa- ganic products, such as cheese, beer, credness, silence, solitude, harmony, wine, liqueur, herbal remedies, in- beauty cense, etc., or outstanding quality • Aiming for perfection, or excellence, crafts, like icons, rosaries, or pottery. in the spiritual and material domains Others are still engaged in farming, • Creation/Nature as an image/mani- animal husbandry, fishing or forestry. festation of God/Divinity/the Sacred, All of these activities, naturally, presup- or as a Teacher. Creation as a gift to pose a spiritual and ecologically re- be safeguarded and bestowed on fu- sponsible approach to the relationship ture generations between man and nature, which is, as • All natural living beings living in per- we have seen, at the very heart of the manent praise of their Creator monastic life. The values that monastic communities embrace are, therefore, very removed Values and principles from the mainstream values of Western materialistic societies, and indeed in Christian monastic communities have this sense the monks may be said to been established for more than ten share common ground with most tradi- centuries in most of Europe and the tional communities or indigenous peo- Middle East. They are, without ques- ples of the world. tion, the oldest democratic and self-or- Some have criticised the inhabitants of ganised communities of this part of the monastic communities for ‘abandoning world to have a continuous positive im- the world’, which is of course partially pact on nature conservation. This sig- true, but what is even more true is the nificant, but often overlooked, histori- fact that secluding themselves from cal fact can be explained, in part, be- society, these men and women strive cause monastic communities are to live in spiritual communion not only based on principles which are deeply with other human beings, but with the coherent with environmental sustaina- entire existence. According to the au- bility, such as: thorities of the Mar Mousa monastery, • Stability, discipline, asceticism, so- Syria, ‘the second priority is Evangeli- briety, ‘poverty’ cal simplicity, a way for living in harmo- • Reducing material needs; increasing ny and complete responsibility with the time for prayer, contemplation and Creation and the society that surround meditation us (...) with an aesthetic of justice and • Orientation not to material profit, but gratification’ (excerpt from the official to spiritual benefit web site).

164 Therefore, ‘the actuality of monasticism Protected areas and monastic is that – like it or not – it embodies with- communities: diversity of in the religion that which is of a spiritu- contexts al and contemplative essence, ex- treme and absolute (…), [that which] Most of the oldest and largest remain- shows to the world that happiness is ing monastic lands of Europe are not in some remote place, outside our- found inside protected areas of inter- selves (...) but now and here, where we national value (like the Natura 2000 are with God. In the face of a dehu- network, established by the European manised world, the monk represents Union based on bioregional criteria), what our true measures are’ (Schuon, such as the entire Athos peninsula in 1967). Greece, or Saint Otilia in . In- deed, many monastic lands are effec- Except for a few orders that have cho- tively managed as protected areas, sen to remain completely silent, like even without designation, as clear ex- the Carthusians, most monastic com- amples of community-conserved are- munities use a variety of tools and as. Some protected areas have been strategies to communicate their values promoted or created by monastic au- to society, including the way they un- thorities, such as the Natural Park of derstand the Creation and their virtu- Rila, , nested inside the na- ous relationship with all living beings. tional park, or the Natural Area of Na- They may choose to use traditional tional Significance of Poblet, Spain. channels, new technologies, or both, depending on orders, context and cir- Land ownership is partially being de- cumstances, although they usually aim volved to some monastic communities at exclusive audiences. Traditional re- in some of the former communist coun- ligious tools, like retreats, seminars, tries, which may include portions of al- counselling, publication of books, arti- ready existing protected areas, such cles, and sacred art, are often com- as in the Natural Park of Vanatori-Nea- bined with modern tools, like sympo- mt, Romania, or in the National Park of sia, websites (see a short selection Rila, Bulgaria. below), DVDs, CDs, guided tours, in- Some monastic communities have terpretation centres, etc. Although few been recovering sacred sites, includ- monasteries have explicit communica- ing sacred natural sites, like the Fran- tion goals related to nature conserva- ciscan Custody of the Holy Land, that tion, it is indisputable that all the val- manages numerous sacred sites in Is- ues they communicate (including their rael/Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, own example) have a positive impact Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece, or the on their target audience, by increasing Benedictines who manage a number respect for nature and encouraging of calvaries, like the landscape com- others to adopt simpler, more sustain- plex of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, in Po- able lifestyles. land, a World Heritage Site. Other mo-

165 nastic communities are at the service Finally, another trend that needs to be of pilgrimages, like the Way of Saint addressed when discussing the Euro- James (the first pilgrimage in the world pean context is the recent creation of to become a World Heritage Site), some Buddhist monasteries (mostly re- which stretches for more than one lated to Zen and Tibetan Buddhism) to thousand kilometres through Northern which an increasing number of Euro- Spain, fostering the development of peans feel attracted. Almost all of numerous protected areas along the these new monasteries are very com- way (Mallarach, 2005). mitted towards nature conservation and environmental respect. At the On the other hand, protected areas in- same time, however, there is an intrigu- cluding monastic communities have ing complementary trend: the creation very diverse ownership and govern- of new Roman Catholic monasteries in ance systems and styles, involving Asian countries, such as Vietnam or boards, planning and management Korea, where Buddhism has been the regulations, public use requirements, dominant religion for many centuries. etc. For instance, the territory of Mount Athos is the largest Natura 2000 and Mixed World Heritage Site of Europe Positive trends fully managed by monastic communi- ties. In most cases, however, monastic From the environmental point of view, a communities are not allowed to partici- number of significant positive trends pate in the boards of governance. can be identified among the monastic communities in Europe and the Middle The Natural Park of Montserrat, Spain, East during the last years. A selection where the of the main monastery of these trends, each with a few exam- is the Vice-President of the Board, or the ples, is briefly discussed next. Poblet Nature Reserve, Spain, where the Prior of the Monastery of Poblet was • Development of organic farming in nu- recently elected President of the Board, merous monasteries, such as the Rieu- are quite exceptional, but could be rep- nette and Solan monasteries, France; licated in other protected areas with mo- Hosios Lukas and Chrysopigi monas- nastic communities. Of all the European teries, Greece; Santa Croce in Gerusa- and Middle East Christian monasteries lemme, Italy; Solan, France, and many that have been declared Cultural and/or monasteries of Romania, guided by Natural-Cultural World Heritage Sites by Pierre Rabhi, the French leader and UNESCO, only 40 per cent of them are activist on organic farming, under the managed by monastic communities, the patronage of the Orthodox Patriarch of rest being managed by governmental Romania (Rabhi, 1996). Other monas- institutions responsible for cultural herit- teries like those of Frauenthal and age. Such institutions often consider Hauterive Switzerland, or Cystersów, monastic complexes as museums or Poland, have been developing best cultural facilities. practices in animal husbandry.

166 The Holy Island of Arran, UK. Tibetan Buddhist Pilgrimages walking in silence across the hills have become a feature of this Scottish landscape.

• Development of sustainable practic- goal to reach zero consumption and es on forestry, for instance inverting emissions, e.g. Münsterschwarzach coppice oak wood to high forest, or Marienstatt in Germany; establish- combining sustained yield with biodi- ing or maintaining efficient water versity and beauty concerns, such management, e.g. monasteries of as in Simonopetra Monastery, Mount Wadi el-Natroun, Egypt; or including Athos (Kakouros, 2010), or Stift Heili- strict environmental criteria in all new genkreuz, . monastic buildings, such as the mon- • Sensitising visitors vis-à-vis nature asteries of Siloe, Italy, and Himmer- and the environment, e.g. including od, Germany. spiritual principles and connecting • Building, restoring or adapting her- spirituality and nature in all educa- mitages or places for retreats within tional and retreat activities, for in- protected areas, providing an addi- stance in the Buddhist monasteries tional layer of protection, e.g. Les Er- of Plum Village, France, or the Holy mites de Marie, within the Nature Island of Arran, United Kingdom, and 2000 site of Les Albères, France. the monasteries of Camaldoli, Italy, • Restoring ancient medicinal gardens and the Virgin Mary of Rodia, and old herbal pharmaceutical reme- Greece; Solan, France; plus a num- dies and processes, e.g. in Vatopedi, ber of inter-religious initiatives, like Mount Athos or Sticˇna and Precˇastiti the Ecosite of Avalon developed by Gospod Opat Janez Nowak, . the Institute Karma Ling in France. • Including spiritual principles in the • Reducing fossil fuel use as much as planning and management of pro- possible, sometimes with the explicit tected areas, e.g. in Poblet, Spain,

167 and Rila, Bulgaria. The main aim of theology of nature has blossomed, the Natural Park of Rila is ‘to guaran- as has also the dialogue between tee and preserve the holy unity be- science, specially frontier disci- tween nature and the Monastery, plines, and theology. These trends [and] its rebirth as spiritual and cul- are not confined to Europe or the tural centre of the country’. Middle East, but are more or less • It is also worth noting the creation of global. For instance, it is noteworthy new monastic orders within the Ro- that the theme of the third Inter-reli- man Church going back to their gious Dialogue between Christian Christian roots, emphasising harmo- and Buddhist monastic orders held ny with nature, simplicity, and life in in the monastery of Gethsemani, nature, with minimal resources and Kentucky, USA, in 2008, was ‘Monas- impact, like the Monastic family of ticism and the Environment’ (Mitchell Bethlehem (a new formulation of the & Skudlarek, 2010). It is appropriate Carthusians); the Little Sisters/Broth- to recall that the Benedictine Com- ers of the Lamb, or the Franciscan munity of Montserrat welcomed the Friars of the Renewal. first workshops of The Delos Initia- • Some monastic communities have tive, and that the proceedings of the decided moving from urban settings workshop were the first joint publica- to protected areas, to develop an tion between the Abbey of Montser- eco-friendly lifestyle, such as the rat – which has the oldest printing Benedictine Stanbrook Abbey that house of Europe – and IUCN, a clear moved to North York Moore National sign of cooperation (Mallarach, & Pa- Park, England. payannis, 2007) • At the same time, an interest in the

The Vatopedi Monastery, Athos, Greece. To feed the large vegetarian community of the mon- astery and her guests, the large greenhouse, heated with wood from nearby forests, makes vegetable production possible during the long winter.

168 Conclusion teries in Europe and Middle East is a promising trend. Their message, An analysis of the management of nat- grounded in solid spiritual principles, ural resources by monastic communi- and extensive traditional management ties in diverse ecosystems, throughout practices that cover many centuries, history, is of great interest from a na- provides a living example of resilient ture conservation point of view. Such sustainable life for many other commu- an analysis provides one of the best nities to follow. documented examples, in this part of the world, of effectively managed com- For all these reasons, the conservation munity-conserved areas that have cre- community ought to pay more attention ated, and maintained for centuries, a to this enduring class of community diversity of beautiful, harmonious, pro- conserved areas, to identify the les- ductive and biodiverse landscapes, in sons that may be learned for other pro- very different ecosystems, from the tected landscapes in general, as well Arctic to the tropics. as for other types of protected areas, especially those with religious or spir- In particular, those concerned with itual meaning or significance, such as IUCN Category V – Protected Land- sacred natural sites or sacred land- scapes – could benefit greatly from the scapes. In particular, the practices that experience of monastic communities many monastic communities have de- over the ages in the management of veloped so as to be as coherent as forests, pastures, and croplands, not possible from an environmental point to mention the use of renewal energy, of view, within technologically devel- in particular, hydro-power. oped countries that are ostensibly fol- Furthermore, the renewed interest in lowing opposite trends, should be en- environmental coherence of many couraged and widely disseminated. Christian – and also Buddhist – monas-

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Papayannis, T. & Mallarach, J.-M. (ed.) (2009), The Sacred Dimension of Protect- ed Areas: Proceedings of the Second Workshop of the Delos Initiative - Ouranoup- olis 2007, Gland: IUCN; Athens: Med-INA.

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Ruíz, A. and Husillos, I. (2008), El Desierto de Las Palmas: historia y vida. [The de- sert of Las Plamas: history and life], Editor Fundación Desierto de Las Palmas, Castelló de La Plana.

Schuon, F. (1967), ‘Universality and actuality of monasticism’, in Light on the An- cient Worlds, Bloomington, Ind.: World Wisdom Books.

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171 Urteaga, P. (1989), La Tierra Esquilmada [The Abused Earth]: Las Ideas Sobre La Conservación de La Naturaleza En La Cultura Española del Siglo XVIII, Libros del Buen Andar.

Selected websites Carmelitan Desert of Las Palmas http://www.desiertodelaspalmas.com/

Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land: http://198.62.75.4/opt/xampp/custodia

Ecosite Avalon: http://www.rimay.net/spip.php?page=sommaireECO

Holy Island of Arran: http://www.holyisland.org/

Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas. http://www.iccaforum.org/

Monastère de Solan. http://www.monasteredesolan.com

Monastery of Saint Anthony, Egypt: http://stantonymonastery.com/

Monastery of Mar Musa, Syria: http://www.deirmarmusa.org

Hermitism: http://www.hermitary.com/

Monastery of Camaldoli: http://www.camaldoli.it/

Münsterschwarzach: http://www.abtei-muensterschwarzach.de/ams/kloster/konventl

Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great, Egypt: http://www.stmacariusmonastery. org/

Monastery of Cantauque: http://www.monastere-cantauque.com/englishl

Monastery of Poblet: www.poblet.cat/

Monastic Inter-religious Dialogue on the Environment, 2008: http://monasticdialog. com/conference.php?id=117

Monastery of Plum Village: http://www.plumvillage.org/

Monastic Orders and Monasteries: http://www.religiousworlds.com/mystic/orders. html

Stanbrook Abbey: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/30/ stanbrook-abbey-eco-friendly-nuns.

172 Acknowledgements I am deeply indebted to the following people:

Br Carles-Xavier Noriega, O.S.B. Montserrat Monastery, Spain: Benedictine mon- asteries of Europe.

Fr Artemio Vitores, O.C: Catholic Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, Jerusalem, Israel.

Fr Lluc Torcal, O.C, Poblet Monastery, Spain: Cistercian monasteries of Europe.

Fr Peter Hughes: Catholic monasteries of Italy.

Fr Samuel, Cantauque monastery: Orthodox monasteries of France.

Fr Ignacio Husillos Tamarit, OCD: Carmelitan monastery of Desert de Les Palmes, Spain.

HM Makarios, Holy Monastery of Simonopetra: Orthodox monasticism and nature.

HM Maximos: Holy Monastery of Simonopetra, Athos, Greece.

Mngr Samir Mazloum: Maronite Patriarchate, Qadisha Valley, Lebanon.

Mother Hypandia: Orthodox Monastery of Solan, France.

Mr Sebastian Catanoiu, Vanatory-Neamt Natural Park: Orthodox monasteries of Romania.

Mr Vangel Agramov, Rila Natural Park: Orthodox Monastery of Rila, Bulgaria.

Ms Anne McIvor: Plum Village Zen Monastery, France.

Ms Chiara Serenelli: Loreto pilgrimage and related monasteries, Italy.

Ms Isabel Soria: Carmelitan monasteries of Spain, and the Holy Island of Arran, Scotland, Tibetan Buddhist retreat centre.

Ms Marie Helène Faure: Orthodox Monastery of Cantauque, France.

Ms Svetlana Dingarac: Orthodox monasteries of Serbia and Montenegro.

Sr Nicodème: Orthodox Monastery of Solan / Tour du Valat.

Sr Odile: Cistercian Abbey of Rieunette, France.

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