1.Front section - IUCN

Building cultural support for protected areas through sacred natural sites 10
Elements for an International Programme:
1. Development and distribution of case studies on
multicultural approaches to PA planning that
include the recognition, protection and
management of SNS, and treatment of PAs on
ancestral lands as “intercultural spaces”.
2. Publication of addenda to the WCPA Best
Practice Guidelines for system planning and for
management planning of protected areas through
multicultural approaches where relevant.
3. Publication of an addendum to the IUCN
publication on PA categories to include
guidelines and criteria with respect to the cultural
and spiritual values of PAs, especially SNS.
4. Presentation of seminars at world and regional
environmental meetings on the integration of
SNS into PAs through multicultural approaches
to planning.
Implementation of management
programmes
Actions are needed to promote I&T peoples’
contributions to management programmes such as
protection, resource management, and public use,
which go beyond planning to include implementation,
monitoring and evaluation.
Protection. Resource protection programmes will
not be successful unless I&T people in and around
PAs are integrated into the management process. As a
minimum I&T peoples must understand and accept
the protection programme, but the ideal is that I&T
peoples play a direct role in monitoring and
enforcement. This can be particularly effective in
portions of the PA that are recognised as SNS by their
traditional stewards.
Resource management. Resource management
programmes can be made more effective by
incorporation of traditional stewards of SNS on
management committees and/or by including them in
implementation programmes. Often, special provision
for resource management will be needed to regulate
traditional uses.
Public use. Public use programmes can benefit
enormously from the contributions of I&T peoples.
They can play a central role in developing culturally
sensitive interpretation and education programmes
that contrast I&T peoples’ and modern worldviews,
and subsequent impacts on the environment. In most
cases, the perspectives of I&T cultures offer the
opportunity for visitors to analyse their own attitudes
to nature, and to encourage experiences of oneness.
Interpretation and education programmes can also
develop the notion of PAs as spaces where intercultural
harmony is actively pursued.
Staffing is also important. If properly structured,
participation of I&T peoples as PA staff provides an
opportunity for daily contact between I&T staff, non-
I&T staff and the visiting public, and the development
of mutual understanding and respect.
Elements for an International Programme:
1. Development and distribution guidelines, and an
accompanying video, on the integration of I&T
peoples into the implementation of PA
management programmes around the world,
especially in relation to SNS.
2. Utilization of park-to-park exchange
programmes to facilitate the sharing of
experiences related to the integration of I&T
peoples into management programmes,
especially in relation to SNS.
3. Compilation and distribution of model
interpretation and education programmes that
integrate cultural and spiritual values and seek to
promote harmony between cultures, and
harmony with nature.
Capacity building
Actions are needed to build capacities at the
international, national and individual PA levels so that
I&T peoples can effectively contribute to PA
management, especially as related to SNS. Capacity
building will be a particularly important component
for the development of multicultural system plans and
bi-cultural management plans, as well as for the
integration of I&T peoples into PA agency staff
positions.
Building on the example provided earlier for Uluru-
Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia, an interesting
experiment in staff capacity building for that Park is
worth noting. A “Kinship Project” is being carried out
to evaluate whether the Aboriginal concept of kinship
with the natural world can be respected by, and
139