An elder from the highlands of New Guinea once told me that while his people engage with the outside world on its terms, when it comes to biodiversity conservation the real reason they wish to protect ‘hotspots’ is because of the ‘other beings’ who live there. This reference to the overriding significance of the spiritual dimension of Nature can be found throughout the Indigenous world. The healing function of sacred natural places has always been recognised within traditional cultures. Such sites played a fundamental role in the lives of all our ancestors. While the function of such places may ...

 

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