Equilibrium, 47 The Quays, Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UQ, United Kingdom.
Conserv Biol. 2009 Jun;23(3):568-77. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01201.x. Epub 2009 Mar 25.
Most people follow and are influenced by some kind of spiritual faith. We examined two ways in which religious faiths can in turn influence biodiversity conservation in protected areas. First, biodiversity conservation is influenced through the direct and often effective protection afforded to wild species in sacred natural sites and in seminatural habitats around religious buildings. Sacred natural sites are almost certainly the world's oldest form of habitat protection. Although some sacred natural sites exist inside official protected areas, many thousands more form a largely unrecognized "shadow" conservation network in many countries throughout the world, which can be more stringently protected than state-run reserves. Second, faiths have a profound impact on attitudes to protection of the natural world through their philosophy, teachings, investment choices, approaches to land they control, and religious-based management systems. We considered the interactions between faiths and protected areas with respect to all 11 mainstream faiths and to a number of local belief systems. The close links between faiths and habitat protection offer major conservation opportunities, but also pose challenges. Bringing a sacred natural site into a national protected-area system can increase protection for the site, but may compromise some of its spiritual values or even its conservation values. Most protected-area managers are not trained to manage natural sites for religious purposes, but many sacred natural sites are under threat from cultural changes and habitat degradation. Decisions about whether or not to make a sacred natural site an "official" protected area therefore need to be made on a case-by-case basis. Such sites can play an important role in conservation inside and outside official protected areas. More information about the conservation value of sacred lands is needed as is more informed experience in integrating these into wider conservation strategies. In addition, many protected-area staff need training in how to manage sensitive issues relating to faiths where important faith sites occur in protected areas.
大多数人都信奉某种精神信仰，并受到其影响。我们研究了宗教信仰影响保护区内生物多样性保护的两种方式。首先，通过在圣地和宗教建筑周围的半自然生境中直接且通常有效地保护野生物种，来影响生物多样性保护。圣地无疑是世界上最古老的栖息地保护形式。尽管一些圣地位于官方保护区内，但在全球许多国家，还有数以千计的圣地构成了一种在很大程度上未被认可的“影子”保护网络，其保护力度可能比国家管理的保护区更为严格。其次，宗教通过其哲学、教义、投资选择、对所控制土地的处理方式以及基于宗教的管理制度，对保护自然世界的态度产生深远影响。我们考虑了所有 11 个主流宗教以及一些当地信仰体系与保护区之间的相互作用。宗教与栖息地保护之间的紧密联系提供了重大的保护机会，但也带来了挑战。将圣地纳入国家保护区系统可以增加对该地点的保护，但可能会损害其某些精神价值，甚至是保护价值。大多数保护区管理人员没有接受过为宗教目的管理自然地点的培训，但许多圣地正受到文化变化和生境退化的威胁。因此，是否将圣地指定为“官方”保护区需要根据具体情况做出决定。这些地点可以在官方保护区内外的保护中发挥重要作用。需要更多关于圣地保护价值的信息，以及将这些信息纳入更广泛的保护战略的更多知情经验。此外，许多保护区工作人员需要接受培训，以处理保护区内发生重要宗教场所的与信仰相关的敏感问题。
