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2.2 OpportunitiesLooking on the bright side, a number ofrecent developments have occurredthat may have a positive impact on themanagement and conservation ofsacred natural sites.One such development is the increasingawareness in the major faiths of environmentalissues as a result of therecognition that nature is part of theDivine Creation and that its destructionby human beings is a sin. This has ledto active initiatives such as the sustainablemanagement of church properties.Monasteries, as well, have startedrecognising that asceticism –one oftheir guiding principles– represents adeeply ecological approach to life and aclose collaboration between theCatholic and Orthodox Christian faithshas arisen as a result, in part facilitatedby the work of the Alliance of Religionsand Conservation.Likewise, nature conservation organisations–both multilateral and nongovernmentalbodies such as the Conventionson Biological Diversity and on Wetlands,IUCN and WWF International– havebecome much more conscious of culturaland spiritual values and areattempting to implement specific initiativesinto the management of protectedareas and other fields of work. TheDurban World Park Congress in 2003issued a recommendation in the sessionentitled ‘Building Cultural Support forProtected Areas’ that all systems of protectedareas should recognise andincorporate spiritual values and culturebasedapproaches into their conservationefforts. The Convention onWetlands as well has established aCulture Working Group to provide guidanceon the incorporation of culturaland spiritual values into the managementof wetlands. The 11th Conferenceof the Spanish Section of EUROPARCheld in Cangas de Narcea, Asturias,Spain, 8-12 of June 2005, approvedconclusions related to the integration ofnon-material values, both cultural andspiritual, into the methods and strategiesof planning and management ofprotected areas. It was decided toinclude a new section devoted to nonmaterialvalues in the existing ActionPlan for Protected Areas of Spain, duringthe evaluation process.As a result, it seems that the schismmentioned above is narrowing, mainlythanks to the efforts of enlightened religiousleaders and conservationists.33