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Paper short abstract:

Places as culturally diverse from Shintoism, and oftentimes non rooted in animsitic spiritual belief are being rooted modus operandi to healing.

Paper long abstract:

It is widely understood that forest therapy is fostering ever increasing interest in healing modalities, as evidenced in the raised awareness and practice of alternative and complementary healing systems across the world . What became a Japanese governamental project to reduce the stress levels of its inhabitants currently has been extended across cultural boundaries separated from the original shintoism discourse of forest therapy. National governments, major cities across the world , public parks, international medical and psychological research and many rural tourism initiative areas currently offer services of healing through forest therapy and healing forests.

Places as culturally diverse from Shintoism, and oftentimes non rooted in animsitic spiritual belief are being rooted modus operandi to healing. This particular spatial formation of forest therapy motivates a deeper understanding of nature connectedness as a bridge between different worlds of understanding "nature". As a social catalyst for change international networks, knowledge negotiation and rooting of 'forest therapy' need to be addressed taking into consideration a deeper understanding of nature connectedness. It is critical, therefore, to identify the frameworks or cultural parameters (e.g., cultural, traditional, and/or scientifical) from which today we can understand this specific healing practice, forest therapy.

Ultimately, the notion that a rich healing practice with an animistic background is aggregated into the anthropocenic paradigm, standing solo as the reference, may bring an important opportunity for shifting nature connection understanding and include animistic knowledge as a guiding tool towards a shift in being in nature and connecting to the more than human world of sound and light.

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Paper short abstract:

Globally, sacred groves are primarily protected by communities for their spiritual or cultural value. These sites are subject to increasing threats which results in their degradation. We investigate the factors influencing biodiversity conservation in three sacred groves in southwest Nigeria.

Paper long abstract:

Globally, sacred groves represent a traditional form of community-based conservation, recognized for their capacity to preserve areas that are of cultural and religious importance to local people. In most cases, the entire community takes on a watchdog role to guard against encroachment and unauthorized access. Previous studies suggest these sites are subject to increasing threats which results in their degradation and disappearance in many places around the world. Hence, our paper investigates the factors influencing biodiversity conservation in three sacred groves under varying formal and informal institutional management in southwest Nigeria—Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove (UNESCO World Heritage Site); Idanre Hills (Nigerian National Monument) and Igbo-Olodumare (local cultural site). We found that customary institutions have guided reverence for sacralized spaces and wise utilization of their unique resources. The growing recognition of sacred groves has paved the way for socioeconomic rewards for individuals and government as cultural tourism increases. We found that the involvement of formal institutions alongside customary institutions in sacred grove management reinforces compliance with conservation laws within the sacred groves, especially where traditional norms are weak or may be disregarded. We conclude that a mix of customary and formal institutional management using cultural norms and prohibitions in the former, and state-enforced rules (constitution, laws, regulations) in the latter are central to biodiversity conservation in sacred groves. We discuss the implications of these observations and offer suggestions to improve community engagement, uphold traditional ecological knowledge, and develop ecotourism within the groves.

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Paper short abstract:

The paper focuses on the religious beliefs and practices, their indigenous knowledge, traditional health and disease healing practices among the Baigas, health-seeking behavior, various causes of illness, sickness due to the wrath of supernatural beings, and health inequalities among them.

Paper long abstract:

Tribal culture is rich since ancient times. The tribals are known for their love for the forest and the biodiversity conservation in their locality. Being a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), the Baiga tribe depends directly and indirectly on the forest for their livelihood. Obviously, naturalism, animism, reverence, and respect for natural objects like plants, animals, rivers, mountains and forests etc, are an integral part of the socio-cultural life and tradition of Baiga.

Health and disease are measures of the effectiveness with which human groups, combining cultural and biological resources adapt to their environment. Baiga tribe’s culture combines both simple and complex belief systems. They have faith and belief in some supernatural power. They have a wide knowledge of the medicinal properties of wild plants of the jungle. They use these plants combined with some mantras or chants for curing various diseases. A true combination of indigenous knowledge and belief in supernatural powers can be seen in their traditional healing system.

The paper mainly focuses on the religious beliefs and practices, their indigenous knowledge, traditional health and disease healing practice among the Baigas, health-seeking behavior, various causes of illness, sickness due to the wrath of supernatural beings, and health inequalities among them. The paper is organized with the help of secondary data both published and unpublished. The published data has been collected from articles, publications, and websites.