Community Conservation through Sacred Natural Sites in Mozambique: Assessing the Conflicts of Values

Sacred natural sites are areas of land or water with special spiritual significance to peoples and communities. Their contributions to biodiversity conservation have been documented since the 1970s. Recently, these sites have... [ view full abstract ]

Sacred natural sites are areas of land or water with special spiritual significance to peoples and communities. Their contributions to biodiversity conservation have been documented since the 1970s. Recently, these sites have also been referred as relevant sources of ecosystem services for local communities, beyond cultural services. The Mozambican regulations on forests and wildlife conservation include a category for protected areas designed to preserve places of religious and other historical relevance for local communities. The sacred natural sites of the Gaza province in Mozambique – whose origin dates back more than 150 years – have been informally established by local communities, who have a positive influence in their conservation. However, these sacred sites are not included in the above mentioned category of protected areas. Since the mid-1970s, these sacred sites have had their vegetation degraded and the surface area reduced by more than 50%. Conflicts over use, degradation or disappearance of sacred natural sites not integrated into protected areas have been reported worldwide. In order to better understand these conflicts, we analyzed three sacred natural sites located in the coastal zone of Gaza in southern Mozambique: Sacred Forest of Chirindzene (60.5ha), Sacred Forest of Chirhaminhane Mhula (7ha), and Sacred Forest of Chilaulene (0.6ha). For each locality, we described how these conflicts arose (trigger events), who was involved, and how members of the local community have dealt with them. Our results show that some decisions and actions taken by the formal government at a local level have weakened the traditional sovereignty towards sacred forests. In addition, foreign religions have influenced some community members to renounce their traditional spiritual values, which made them not value the conserved forest. Both factors are classical drivers of change, transforming natural commons in open access areas or private property due to community-failure. Though we observed in local communities a tendency to maintain their customary practices favoring forest conservation, unless these sites are transformed into protected areas (as per the existing legislation) the chances that they will continue to be degraded are very high, particularly when traditional, governmental and religious authorities do not recognize the plurality of values and knowledge systems in place.