The Diversity of Sacred Lands in Europe - IUCN

Introduction to the proceedings of the
third workshop of the Delos Initiative in
Inari/Aanaar, Lapland, Finland
Josep-Maria Mallarach, Thymio Papayannis and
Rauno Väisänen
In order to provide to the reader with
an introduction to the Proceedings of
the third workshop of the Delos Initiative,
it seems fitting, first, to present a
short overview of what this Initiative is
about, its goals, approach and accomplishments,
and next, to discuss the
purpose of the workshop, the reason
for holding it in Northern Lapland, its
development and programme.
The Delos Initiative: purpose,
approach and accomplishments
To contribute to improve the conservation
of sacred natural sites (SNS) in developed
countries and thus to assist in
maintaining both their natural and spiritual
values, the Delos Initiative was
launched in 2004 in the framework of
the Task Force on Cultural and Spiritual
Values of Protected Areas of IUCN
World Commission of Protected Areas.
The Initiative was named after the Aegean
island of Delos, a sacred site for
both Greeks and Romans, dedicated
to Apollo, the god of light, which was
the centre of a long lasting Athenian
Alliance. In ancient Greek the name
Delos means ‘towards the light’. Delos
Island has no links to any single living
faith.
The purpose of the Delos Initiative is to
identify the pertinence and meaning of
sacred natural sites and to investigate
how spiritual values can contribute to
< Dwarf Cornel (Cornus suecica)
15