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Offprint of chapter by Alastair Mclntosh - The 'Sacredness'

of Natural Sites and Their Recovery: lona, Harris and Govan


in Scotland, 2012 (full reference on final page).
The full text of this book can be downloaded free from:
IUCN www.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/2012-006.pdf
METSAHALLITUS

^WCPA
~~ WORLD COMMISSION
ON PROTECTED AREAS
The ‘sacredness’ of natural sites and
their recovery: Iona, Harris and Govan
in Scotland
Alastair McIntosh

Science and the sacred: with which science can, and even
a necessary dichotomy? should, meaningfully engage?

It is a pleasing irony that sacred natural In addressing these questions science


sites (SNSs), once the preserve of reli- most hold fast to its own sacred value –
gion, are now drawing increasing rec- integrity in the pursuit of truth. One ap-
ognition from biological scientists (Ver- proach is to say that science and the
schuuren et al., 2010). At a basic level sacred cannot connect because the for-
this is utilitarian. SNSs frequently com- mer is based on reason while the latter
prise rare remaining ecological ‘is- is irrational. But this argument invariably
lands’ of biodiversity. But the very exist- overlooks the question of premises.
ence of SNSs is also a challenge to sci- Those who level it make the presump-
ence. It poses at least two questions. tion that the basis of reality is materialis-
Does the reputed ‘sacredness’ of these tic alone. The religious, by contrast, ar-
sites have any significance for science gue that the basis of reality, including
beyond the mere utility by which they material reality, is fundamentally spiritu-
happen to conserve ecosystems? And al. Both can apply impeccable logic
is this reputed ‘sacredness’ a feature based on these respective premises

< Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)

231
and as such, both are ‘rational’ from cie rule themselves out of court from a
within their own terms of reference. scientific perspective. For example,
idea that God (as the ‘ground of be-
This leads some philosophers of sci-
ing’) created the world in six days is
ence to the view that science and reli-
manifestly preposterous. But scratch a
gion should co-exist in mutual but
little deeper and most modern theolo-
compartmentalised respect, separat-
gians view such imagery as poetic or
ed, as it were, by an impermeable
metaphorical truth rather than literal
membrane. The evolutionary biologist
truth. The one speaks the truth of the
Stephen Jay Gould advanced this view
‘heart’, the other of the ‘head’, and we
where he wrote:
need both to be fully human and there-
‘No such conflict should exist [be- by to engage the ‘hand’ in active man-
tween science and religion] be- agement. Every time a scientist speaks
cause each subject has a legiti- of ‘parallel universes’, or even of the
mate magisterium, or domain of school textbook construction of the
teaching authority - and these atom, they too are using metaphor.
magisteria do not overlap (the prin-
More than just reflecting on the struc-
ciple that I would like to designate
tures of logic and language, we might
as NOMA or ‘non-overlapping
also ask, if we are to be scientific,
magisteria’). The net of science
whether the sacred might actually be
covers the empirical realm: what is
amenable to scientific inquiry. If people
the universe made of (fact) and
claim that the sacred is something ‘ex-
why does it work this way (theory).
perienced’, and if it appears to be an
The net of religion extends over
experience with consistencies, why
questions of moral meaning and
should that not be studied empirically
value. These two magisteria do not
like any other perceptual phenomenon
overlap. (Gould 2007: 594)’.
that purports to shed light on reality?
But is such a position good enough, Who said that religion must be confined
especially when the scientist is invited to being the straw man of blind faith?
to engage with the ‘sacred’ because What interests are served by keeping it
sacred groves, mountains, lakes, etc. there? Is it not so that, as with other sci-
might be just about the only remaining entific phenomena, if you don’t look you
semi-intact areas of biodiversity won’t see? Is it therefore not incumbent
around on account of the ravishes of upon science at least to entertain inves-
materialism? Such a scientist will tigation of the claims derived from reli-
doubtless have the generosity to con- gious experience, especially where
cede the biological utility of the sa- these appear to find a measure of con-
cred, but is there also ground for her or sensual validation? This is increasingly
him to entertain the root phenomenon being undertaken in medicine where
of ‘sacredness’ itself? It is true that advances in neuroscience have opened
many of the claims of religion prima fa- up new vistas of research into spiritual

232
experience as part of the healing of the subsequent experiences reported by
body (Clarke 2010). Why should it not visitors. The theologian may speak of
also be a new field for conservationists experiences as ‘visionary’ or ‘mystical’.
who have a responsibility for planetary Rudolf Otto used the word ‘numinous’
health? So doing can allow park manag- in popularising ‘the idea of the holy’.
ers to optimise their assets. It can syner- The humanistic psychologist Abraham
gise benefits across an extended spec- Maslow, best known for his hierarchy
trum, thereby ultimately strengthening of human needs, devised the term
the political will to sustain and resource ‘peak experience’. This latter term al-
nature conservation. lows the inclusion of experiences that
may not have an explicit religious con-
In hinting that ‘nature is good for the
notation but is still perceived as uplift-
soul’ the hard-pressed biological scien-
ing to the ‘spirit’. All of these comprise
tist should not be expected to become
an area of study known as ‘transper-
an authority in spiritual matters. Howev-
sonal psychology’ For our purposes it
er, it may be useful to know that an ex-
is helpful to follow Wulff (in Cardena et
tensive body of research and literature
al. 2000: 397–460) in recognising a
has build up over the past century, cul-
continuum from mild to extreme (or
minating in the field of consciousness
weak to strong) transpersonal experi-
research. An early milestone was Wil-
ences – so-called because they sug-
liam James’s classic study, The Varieties
gest a realm of experience that lifts
of Religious Experience, first presented
consciousness beyond normal ego-
as the Gifford Lectures in ‘natural reli-
bounded limitations.
gion’ at Edinburgh University between
1900 and 1902. The twentieth century Weak peak experience (to use Mas-
saw further experimental and conceptu- low’s term) is very common outdoors.
al advances. A fine review of the litera- These include mildly intensified aes-
ture is Varieties of Anomalous Experi- thetic experiences with nature and
ence: Examining the Scientific Evidence close bonding with fellow humankind.
published the American Psychological For example, a mildly euphoric feeling
Association (Cardena et al. 2000). Es- of closeness to one’s friends might be
pecially relevant is the last chapter by memorably felt while mutually witness-
Wulff on mystical experience. ing a breath-taking sunset.

Ringer and Gillis (1995) have indicated


the importance of outdoor trainers un-
Weak and strong sacred
derstanding that such weak experienc-
experience
es can readily escalate to strong levels
A range of terms have been devised to of psychological depth. They propose
describe religious and related ‘anoma- an eight-point scale ranging from sur-
lous’ experiences such as might be as- face-level aesthetic experiences,
sociated with either the founding through deepening levels of identity for-
‘saintly’ figures behind SNSs, or with mation, all the way to the ‘universal lev-

233
el’ of mystical experience – something black in the depths.... We knew
that is widely experienced by indige- without speaking that we had found
nous people. They suggest that levels ‘the place’. We fell silent at the sight,
of depth should be managed during knowing that this would be the turn-
adventure training in order to respect ing point, ‘the most sacred’, the
the implicit contract of what groups place of deepest wilderness, for this
have signed up for. In an important an- day, for this trip, for this time in our
thology Grof and Grof (1989) also high- lives, and perhaps in our entire
light the importance of recognising that lives.... We swam, crawled onto the
‘spiritual emergence’ can become a hot rocks ... most of us slept for a
‘spiritual emergency’; an ontological time. Later some spoke of amazing-
crisis. This, perhaps, is one reason why ly vivid dreams.... Distance disap-
the sacred is often held at arms length. peared and there was an openness
into ourselves that was an openness
That recognised, some people actively
to each other that embraced the
seek out strong experience. Robert
pool, the river, and further out into
Greenway, a pioneer of ecopsychology,
the wilderness, the ‘other world’, the
invoked what he calls the ‘wilderness
whole Earth, the universe’.
effect’ to facilitate this with some of his
students. In his studies covering 1380 Such an example is not tied to any
people, 90 percent described ‘an in- specific religion. An example of a
creased sense of aliveness, well-being, strong mystical experience that is tied
and energy’ and 38 percent described would be the following from George
life-changes that ‘held true’ five years Fox, the founder of the Quaker
after their return from what he led them movement.
through. Greenway offers as fairly typi-
‘I now came up in the spirit past the
cal the following account from a group
flaming sword into the paradise of
of twelve people near the end of a two-
God. Everything was new. And the
week trip up the Eel River in northern
whole creation gave off another
California (Greenway 1995).
smell to what I knew before, be-
‘We had gone as deep into the cent- yond what I could ever express in
er of the wilderness as we could, words. I knew nothing but purity
and as deep into our hearts and and innocence and rightness as I
minds. We had adopted games and was renewed in the image of God
structures we knew would open us by Jesus Christ, so that, as I say, I
beyond our familiar constraints. entered the state that Adam was in
Now, in the fullness of our opening, before he fell. The creation was
our ability to feel and understand opened up to me…. Great things I
reached unexpected depths.... We was led to [see] by the Lord and
came upon a huge pool that wonderful depths were revealed to
seemed bottomless - shadings of me, beyond what I could ever put
blue-green darkening almost too in words’ (Ambler 2001: 101).

234
Fox’s experience wears very different cient for us to note that the association
clothing than Greenway’s more eclectic of a natural site with sacredness has a
example. However, both share a sense phenomenological significance that
of ‘cosmic consciousnesses’ such as might take it beyond mere utility from a
has caused mystical experience to be conservationist’s point of view. It is
described as ‘the perennial philoso- possible that such sites are important
phy’. Walter Stace identifies such cos- not just for the biodiversity of non-hu-
mic unity and up to eight other charac- man species, but also for the evolution
teristics with mystical consciousness and health of the human condition in a
(Pahnke and Richards 1969): troubled world.

• Undifferentiated unity – sometimes


called ‘the hallmark of mystical
Sacred natural sites and spiritual
experience’.
presence in varying traditions
• Objectivity and reality – the experi-
ence seems more real than real. If ‘spirituality’ broadly consistent with
• Space and time – feel as if they have Stace’s criteria might be on the cards,
been transcended. what might this suggest for the human
• Sacredness – pervades the experience. ontological significance of SNSs? A spir-
• Deeply-felt positive mood – joy, itual worldview is one that considers the
blessedness and especially love. world, and specifically, human life, to be
• Paradoxicality – normal categories of ensouled. The spiritual is that which
logic seem to fall away. gives life and specifically, life as love
• Ineffability – cannot adequately be made manifest. It is the ‘interiority’ of that
expressed in words. which is exterior; the knowing con-
• Transiency – The intense aspects of sciousness behind the known. Several
the experience usually pass fairly major religions consider such con-
quickly (one of the features that dif- sciousness to be personified, thus the
ferentiates it from psychosis). Kena Upanishad of Hinduism asks: ‘Who
• Positive change – to life in attitude sends the mind to wander afar? Who first
and/or behaviour, often permanent. drives life to start on its journey? Who im-
pels us to utter these words? Who is the
Like other contemporary scholarly ap-
Spirit behind the eye and the ear?’
proaches, Wulff’s review (op. cit.) ex-
plores a range of ways that might ac- The Manduka Upanishad underscores
count for such states and their fre- the suck-and-see empirical approach
quent generalised consistency with to spiritual consciousness, thus: ‘In the
one another. These include neurophys- union with him is the supreme proof of
iological theories, psychoanalytical his reality’. The Mundaka Upanishad
and other psychological perspectives, says: ‘In truth who knows God becomes
and all the way to face-value accept- God’ (Mascaro 1965: 51, 83, 81). These
ance of spirituality. But that debate concepts have their equivalents in other
need not concern us here. It is suffi- religions, for example, the deification or

235
theosis in Orthodox Christianity based count the practice, strange though it is
around the mystical notion that St Atha- in the wider context of Islam, is not con-
nasius expressed in the words, ‘God sidered to be idolatrous.
became man so that man might be-
Amongst many of the world’s indigenous
come God’. Christian associations be-
peoples the sacredness of nature is cen-
tween nature and the sacred are also
tral to the conservation of biodiversity.
seen in such teachings of Jesus as
This also applies in Western Europe
‘Consider the lilies of the field…’, in the
where, for example, faerie hills in con-
totemic designations of the gospels
temporary Scotland have been noted as
where Mark is the lion, Luke the ox and depositaries of indigenous lore and local
John the eagle, and in panentheistic taboos that contribute to the conserva-
passages such as John 1, Psalms 104 tion of biodiversity within them (Laviolette
and the twelfth chapter of the Book of and McIntosh 1997). In a major assess-
Job which says: if in any doubt about ment edited for UNEP’s Global Biodiver-
the divine ‘Ask now the beasts … and sity Assessment, Posey emphasised the
the fouls of the air, and they shall tell spiritual basis of biodiversity amongst
thee. Or speak to the earth, and it shall many indigenous peoples, surmising:
teach thee’. To borrow another term
from Orthodox theology, higher con- ‘Although conservation and manage-
sciousness interacts with nature in ment practices are highly pragmatic,
apocatastasis – the revelation (apoca- indigenous and traditional peoples
lypse) of what is actually to be found generally view this knowledge as
there (stasis). From this we might derive emanating from a spiritual base. All
the hypothesis that SNSs are of vital im- creation is sacred, and the sacred
portance because they show us more and secular are inseparable. Spiritu-
deeply what nature actually is. ality is the highest form of conscious-
ness, and spiritual consciousness is
It might additionally be noted that the the highest form of awareness. In
most sacred site in Islam, the Kaaba at this sense, a dimension of traditional
Mecca, holds at its epicentre the Black knowledge is not local knowledge,
Stone. Encased in silver, this is about but knowledge of the universal as
thirty centimetres in length. Pilgrims on expressed in the local. In indigenous
the Hajj process around and, if they can and local cultures, experts exist who
get close enough, kiss it. According to are peculiarly aware of nature’s or-
tradition, Umar, the second caliph and ganizing principles, sometimes de-
companion of Prophet Muhammad scribed as entities, spirits or natural
(p.b.u.h.), said to this stone: ‘No doubt, law. Thus, knowledge of the environ-
I know that you are a stone and can nei- ment depends not only on the rela-
ther benefit anyone nor harm anyone. tionship between humans and na-
Had I not seen Allah’s Apostle kissing ture, but also between the visible
you I would not have kissed you’ world and the invisible spirit world’.
(Bukhari 2007: 2:26:667). On such ac- (Posey 1999: 4, his emphasis).

236
The word, sacred, has an etymology
Orknay
from Old Latin, saceres, that connects
Mt Roineabhal
it to concepts of protection and of be-
2 Isle of Harris
ing ‘set aside’. The etymology of the
word ‘holy’ derives from the Old Eng- Lewis

lish, halig, connected to hal meaning


Harris
‘health’. To return again to the medical Inverness
Benbecula
analogy, we need such health-restor- Skye
ing set-aside if we are to seek regener-
Scotland Aberdeen
ation of what is broken in the Earth and Govan old parish church
its peoples. This is biological but it is
3 Glasgow
Mull
also cultural, for there is something Edinburgh
Jura
about timeworn practice associated Jay
1 Glasgow
with particular sites that seems to be
connected with their effect on con- Isle of Iona
sciousness. T.S. Elliot puts it thus in
Four Quartets (1959: 50–51):

‘If you came this way,


Taking any route, starting from an-
ywhere, show that SNSs can potentially benefit
At any time or at any season, from, and not be destroyed by critical
It would always be the same: you empirical enquiry.
would have to put off From this position I now want to suggest
Sense and notion. You are not that SNSs should be understood not just
here to verify, as static entities that have long been
Instruct yourself, or inform curiosity recognised and often protected – albeit
Or carry report. You are here to sometimes in a rather fossilised muse-
kneel um-piece manner. They should also be
Where prayer has been valid’. understood as dynamic processes. This
allows for sites to be reactivated in cul-
tural recognition, and even imaginatively
Static and dynamic concepts of recreated in consciousness. The follow-
sacred natural sites ing three case studies from Scotland il-
Thus far in this paper I have explored lustrate these three positions of recogni-
tion, reactivation and recreation.
SNSs generally as phenomena that,
through impacting on consciousness
to varying degrees, connect natural Recognised sacred natural sites –
Example: the Isle of Iona
nature to human nature. Here in West-
ern Europe these links have become Iona is said to have been established
attenuated. Science is sometimes as a monastic site by St Columba of
blamed for this, but I have tried to Ireland in A.D. 563. To stand beside the

237
‘One should take notice of this sto-
ry, and carefully think about the ex-
tent and nature of the sweet visits
by angels that no one could know
about but which, without doubt,
were very frequent, for they gener-
ally came to him as he remained
awake on winter nights or as he
prayed in isolated places while oth-
ers rested’. (Adomnán 1995: 218).

Reactivated sacred natural sites –


Iona Abbey. Example: Mt Roineabhal, Isle of Harris

This site hosts the medieval church of


eighth century St Martin’s Cross at the St Clement on the lower slopes of Mt
Abbey entrance is to witness Biblical Roineabhal (Roin-e-val). Local tradition
scenes carved in stone that have with- dates it back to the Culdees and the
stood nature’s elemental blast for near- Druids. Although Roineabhal is only
ly two-thirds of Christian history. The is- 460m in height, it rises directly out of
land is owned for the nation by the Na- the sea. With stunning views in all di-
tional Trust for Scotland. It is a well-es- rections it has the awe-inspiring char-
tablished and highly protected SNS acter of a much larger mountain. It is
with 130 000 pilgrim and tourist visitors the highest in south Harris, a designat-
a year. We can therefore view it as ‘rec- ed National Scenic Area.
ognised’ and its status is secure.
Between 1991 and 2004 a battle raged
George MacLeod who founded the to stop Roineabhal from being turned
Iona Community described Iona as a into a ‘superquarry’ to export roadstone
place where the boundary between the (McIntosh 2001). One part of the protest
spiritual and the material worlds is ‘tis- involved my bringing Stone Eagle, the
sue thin’. Writing just a century after Mi’Kmaq war chief from Canada, and
Columba’s death in 597 Adomnán, the Donald Macleod, a Calvinist professor of
ninth abbot describes how Columba theology, to testify at the government
went to a knoll and prayed all night with public inquiry. Our witness focussed on
his arms outspread towards the heav- the ‘creation’ reflecting the majesty of
ens. A monk witnessed a host of angels the divine and this helped to reactivate
gather around the saint, ‘flying down local awareness of this. A wide-ranging
with amazing speed, dressed in white campaign led to the quarry being
robes’. The knoll is to this day known as stopped. Today visitors speak of their
Cnoc nan Aingel, the Hill of the Angels. ‘pilgrimages’ to the mountain. As one na-
An interesting feature is Adomnán’s en- tive tradition bearer has said: ‘If it wasn’t
dorsement of empiricism. He says: a sacred mountain before, it is now.’

238
tle-known collection of ninth century
carved stones. The pilgrimage guide,
Britain’s Holiest Places, states that
‘Govan Old Church has no equal when it
comes to telling the story of Scottish
Christianity’ (Mayhew Smith 2011, 499).
From here the Rev Dr George MacLeod,
Lord MacLeod of Fuinary, led the re-
building of Iona Abbey in the 1930s. His
Iona Community became a platform that
transformed the position of the Church of
Scotland on urban poverty, ecumenism
St Clement’s Church and Mt Roineabhal, Isle and nuclear weapons.
of Harris.
Today Govan Old Parish Church seeks
Today Presbyterian clergy on both Harris to recover its history as an ancient site
and the adjoining Isle of Lewis show a of pilgrimage, spurred by a new ferry
new openness to ecotheology. One link across the River Clyde to Glas-
leading conservative evangelical wrote gow’s new Riverside Museum of Trans-
in the local newspaper: ‘My theology port, opened in 2011. There is a palpa-
tells me that the things that are seen de- ble sense amongst key segments of
clare the things that are unseen: that the the community of a sacred natural site
details of the creation declare the gran- being not only revitalised, but also, im-
deur of the Creator … without [whom] … aginatively recreated. More than just a
I am at a loss to explain what I see of na- reactivation of the past such recreation
ture at close range’ (Campbell 2010). of a wider sense of being an SNS
Such re-activation of sensitivity to ‘crea- speaks from today’s people to their
tion’ and ‘providence’ helps to legitimise present needs with one eye on the
conservation consciousness in a com- past and the other on the community’s
munity. It could serve as ongoing insur- future.
ance policy for the mountain’s protec- An example is the GalGael Trust. It
tion. Strikingly, in 2009 the island’s resi- draws inspiration from the Christian
dents voted by a 2/3 majority to support symbolic and nature imagery on the
exploring national park status for Harris church’s carved stones in reconnect-
with the Scottish Government.

Recreated sacred natural sites –


Govan, City of Glasgow

Govan is an economically deprived area


of Glasgow with high incidences of drug Deer hunting scenes and Celtic eternity
abuse and unemployment. Its Old Parish knotwork on St Constantine’s Sarcophagus,
Church is the repository of a fine but lit- Govan Old Parish Church.

239
history of Govan manifests as a potent
factor in the local sense of identity and
belonging.

Conclusion
To be able to maintain its social func-
tion the spirituality of SNSs must be al-
lowed to breathe. Scientific rigour can
GalGael Trust Workshop – Participants on and should be paired with the motiva-
‘Navigate Life’. tional drivers of ethical vigour. To enter
into a dynamic relationship with SNSs
ing disaffected urban youth with their is to participate in the responsibility –
natural environment. In a programme the ability to respond – that can heal
called Navigate Life, young people the world.
work with retired shipyard workers. Ac- Based on the above examples the Cy-
tivities include building traditional cle of Belonging (McIntosh 2008) pos-
boats that are sailed down the river, its community of place as the starting
both actually and symbolically recon-
necting coastal communities while
mending lives traumatised by violence,
addictions and poverty.

GalGael’s trainees start with a block of


wood, a hammer and a chisel, and are
taught to see and express the beauty
of nature in what could be seen as ap-
plied apocatastasis. It builds social
conviviality and draws out the beauty
of each human being. Participants de-
scribe the process as ‘a transforma-
tion’. Pride in people and place is re-
kindled in a triune expression of com-
munity with soil, soul and society (McI-
ntosh 2008). A community garden pro-
ject also produces local food, thereby
widening dietary horizons and aware-
ness of the carbon footprints. Most
participants are not people who would
go to church, yet a community consul-
tation in October 2010 showed that a
spiritual awareness drawing from the The GalGael Trust on the Firth of Clyde.

240
point of human ecology. From here a
sense of place informs a sense of
identity, which carries with it a sense of
values, which motivates the sense of
responsibility. That, in completion of
the cycle, reinforces sense of place.
Community degeneration happens if
this cycle is damaged at any point.
Community regeneration is promoted
when it is strengthened at any point.

A spiritual understanding, one that is


predicated on love both immanent and
transcendent, mandates that commu-
nity of place should be inclusive rather
The ‘Cycle of Belonging’.
than exclusive. There must be pro-
found respect for the indigenous, for
what is found there, but not xenopho- ninth century Scotland. The Gall is the
bia. In Celtic tradition such inclusive- stranger and the Gael are the heart-
ness reflects in the twin sacred duties land indigenous people. Metaphorical-
of hospitality for the short term, and ly there is something of both of these in
fostership (or adoption) for perma- most of us today and both must meld
nence. This is reflected in the name in recreating indigeniety to care for the
‘GalGael’ – a term that originated in Earth.

241
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expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN, Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services, The
Delos Initiative or other participating organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory,
or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN, Metsähallitus Natural
Heritage Services, The Delos Initiative or other participating organisations.
This publication has been made possible by funding from the Ministry of the Environment, Finland, and
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Published by: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland in collaboration with Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services,
Vantaa, Finland.
Copyright: © 2012 All authors for their respective contributions, International Union for Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources, and Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services.
Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is
authorised without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source
is fully acknowledged.
Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited
without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Citation: Mallarach, J.-M., Papayannis, T. and Väisänen, R. (eds) (2012). The Diversity of Sacred
Lands in Europe: Proceedings of the Third Workshop of the Delos Initiative – Inari/Aanaar
2010. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN and Vantaa, Finland: Metsähallitus Natural Heritage
Services. 292 pp.
ISBN: 978-2-8317-1423-3
Cover photos: Clockwise from the top: Fadil Sarki, Mikael Hintze/Metsähallitus, Knut Helskog, G. Porter,
sanniopropone.com, Heiki Maiberg, Ervin Ruci/FunkMonk, Thymio Papayannis and
Sebastian Cataniou in the middle. Back: Riina Tervo/Metsähallitus.
Layout by: Taittotalo PrintOne, Minna Komppa
Translation: PasaNet Oy, Spencer Allman
Coordinaton and Liisa Nikula, Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services
text editing:
Produced by: Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services
Printed by: Edita Prima Oy
Available from: IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)
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