Forest conservation has an unlikely ally: Faith
| Osogbo, Nigeria
It鈥檚 late afternoon on a Thursday, and Remi Adenike stands barefoot on the bank of the Osun River in southwest Nigeria.聽
Slowly, she lifts a calabash into the air, and begins to pray in Yoruba, first in a whisper, and then rising into a shout. 鈥淕od, please hear the cry of your daughter,鈥� she says. 鈥淏less the work of our hands, and let those around us see that we worship a god who answers.鈥�
As her voice travels across the water and deep into the forest, a troop of monkeys swings through a nearby tree, their calls serving as a chorus to her words.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onThere are many motives for protecting the natural world. One that鈥檚 often overlooked in conservation circles is faith. A sacred forest in Nigeria demonstrates faith鈥檚 power.
She is praying to Osun, the Yoruba goddess of wealth, fertility, and love, whose shrine lies within this forest, known as the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove.
From India to rural Ghana, forests with spiritual significance like this one have long drawn worshippers and tourists. Now, however, they are also gaining global recognition for their role in forest conservation.
Faith, it turns out, is more powerful than a fence. 鈥淭hese places are succeeding where government policies often fall short,鈥� says Bas Verschuuren, an assistant professor of forest and nature conservation policy at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.聽
Rooted in belief
Around the world, sacred forests are protected by their connection to the spiritual world. The Yoruba people believe that the Osun-Osogbo grove, which sprawls across 185 acres of dense forest, is the goddess Osun鈥檚 earthly home.聽
鈥淭his grove holds the soul of the Yoruba people,鈥� says Grace Folashade Ayodele, a tour guide with the National Commission for Museums and Monuments who shows visitors around the forest. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a reminder of our culture and identity, and our connection to our ancestors.鈥�
Scattered throughout the grove are about 45 shrines, along with sculptures and altars in homage to Osun and other Yoruba deities. The grove also houses two ancient palaces and nine riverside worship points, each maintained by priests or priestesses who inherit their roles through their family lineage.聽
Officially, the grove has three sets of guardians. The Nigerian federal government manages it as a tourist site. The local government provides and maintains the infrastructure. And local chiefs oversee traditional rites.聽
But outside this structure, the grove鈥檚 true guardians are an unwritten set of taboos and spiritual obligations that forbid logging, hunting, or harming any living thing within its boundaries, explains Alao Eniafe, a local chief in the community, in a text message to 海角大神.
鈥淲e are custodians of this land not because the government said so, but because our ancestors chose us,鈥� he writes. 鈥淚f we break these laws, we offend both the spirits and the community.鈥�
Every August, this sacred bond between people and land is celebrated during the Osun-Osogbo Festival. For two weeks, the grove plays host to worshippers and tourists from near and far, who fill the air with music and dance as they proceed to the Osun River with offerings like kola nuts and palm oil for the goddess.
A line of defense聽
Sacred groves鈥� protection of nature is nothing new. But recognition of that role is growing.聽
These sites can be just as effective at preserving biodiversity as formal protected areas, according to a 2023 study in the journal Conservation Biology. Just like national parks, sacred groves offer a supportive environment where animals can reproduce and thrive, while also helping to absorb carbon, says Megan Sullivan, an ecologist and postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University, and co-author of that study.
This effectiveness has enormous implications for conservation, especially in regions where government oversight is weak or inconsistent. In Nigeria alone, more聽of tree cover have disappeared since 2000 in a global deforestation crisis that has wiped out nearly聽 acres in two decades.
Yet, the Osun-Osogbo grove remains remarkably intact, providing sanctuary for more than species and serving as a refuge for wildlife, including the聽 red-capped mangabey, a shy, tree-dwelling monkey with a rust-colored crown, puffy white cheeks, and large, expressive eyes.聽
Growing pressure
Still, this spiritual shield is not impenetrable. Roads, farms, and poverty are threatening sacred groves worldwide. 鈥淚t might start with someone gathering firewood or clearing a small plot for farming, but over time, those small intrusions add up,鈥� says Dr. Verschuuren, who also co-chairs the International Union for Conservation of Nature鈥檚 specialist group on the cultural and spiritual values of protected areas.聽
In some communities, newer faiths, especially those that view traditional practices as heretical聽 have weakened ties to sacred forests.
Even education can unintentionally erode sacred conservation. In northern Ghana, for instance, 鈥渃ulture鈥� used to be a subject in school, and students were taught about sacred groves in their own languages, Dr. Verschuuren says. 鈥淲hen that curriculum disappeared, that space for passing on traditional knowledge disappeared.鈥澛�
In many ways, sacred groves offer a conservation model that is personal and rooted in community, qualities often missing from the聽 top-down government efforts. 鈥淲hat makes sacred groves powerful isn鈥檛 just the biodiversity they protect,鈥� Ms. Sullivan says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the idea that conservation can be led by local communities聽 and not imposed on them.鈥�
That鈥檚 also why the loss of these forests has more than an ecological impact. 鈥淭hese are places of peace and reflection,鈥� Ms. Sullivan says. 鈥淲hen they vanish, people lose part of themselves.鈥�
Okanlawon AbdulAzeez contributed reporting for this story.
