Contribution short abstract

SPIRAL’s project shows that in societies were sacred forests are present and respected; authority is rooted in reciprocal relations with non humans-more-than-humans. The paper argues that sacred forests are places of resistance to extraction and extroversion of resources and value's systems.

Contribution long abstract

SPIRAL’s cross-cultural study of spiritual landscapes shows that in 72 small-scale societies worldwide were sacred forests are present, governance and customary law are rooted in reciprocal relations with the spiritual realm, extending authority beyond human institutions and emphasizing multisensorial interconnectedness in everyday heritage practices. This paper examines active spirits’ agency in both relational governance and environmental struggles, arguing that non-humans perform as political actors that mandate, adjudicate, and shape socio-ecological governance within spiritual landscapes were sacred forests are respected.

Combining knowledge co-generated during SPIRAL research project, with global cases from the Environmental Justice Atlas, the paper identifies a strong correlation between high-intensity conflicts and the presence of sacred forest ecosystems. This pattern suggests distinctive relational bonds among humans, non-humans, and more-than-humans within onto-epistemological frameworks redefined as 'cosmoecologies'.

A second line of inquiry examines evidence linking the intensity of resistance to extractive projects, the variety of mobilisations with the formation of strong international socio-ecological alliances. The paper concludes by outlining possible qualitative action-research approaches for assessing the strength and quality of bonds within transnational, intergenerational alliances.

By foregrounding spirits’ agency alongside local and international coalition-building, this analysis illuminates how human and more-than-human alliances shape ecological struggles, cultivate healthier socio-ecological relations, and navigate the complex dynamics of inclusion and exclusion inherent in environmental resistance.