The cultural monastic landscape of Vanatori Neamt Nature Park, Romania

Ecology and Biodiversity

Vânători Neamț Nature Park has a very high biodiversity because it is situated between the continental and alpine bioregions. Approximately 2650 species have been reported in the Park, of which 245 are endemic, rare or endangered (Catanoiu and Deju, 2009). All the large carnivores of the Carpathians are present, including large populations of brown bear (Ursus arctos)  and wolf (Canis lupus lupus), as well as the iconic free herds of European bison (Bison bonasus), which were reintroduced in 2012. All the monastic settlements maintain their traditional way of life. The living cultural landscapes include a mosaic of pasturelands, croplands and orchards, surrounded by extensive forested areas, including a wide diversity of habitats.

Governance

The Vanatori-Neamt Natural Park was established by the Government of Romania in 1999, mostly over Government owned lands. Since its inception, the Park has been administered by Romsilva, the National Forest Administration. After the end of the Communist regime, a process of land restitution began, and currently about 30% of the Park is owned by monastic communities. The main stakeholders are the monastic administrations, the local authorities and educational units. The management plan needs to be approved by the Scientific Council and the Consultative Council – which includes key stakeholders and facilitates their interests – before it is approved by the Minister.

Management

The Nature Park covers an area of ca. 31,000 ha, of which 85% is forest and corresponding with IUCN Category V; Protected Landscape. The management plan assumes that the protection and conservation of the natural, cultural and spiritual heritage are complementary. It operates on the assumption that the protection of spiritual values and features such sacred sites works best when the surrounding natural heritage is also being well conserved. The existence of sacred sites further implies that environmental protection has a spiritual component. This is illustrated by the development of awareness raising activities and ecotourism strategies that transform mass-tourism to the main monasteries by road and car, into a spiritual experience by visiting the significant and less significant sites on foot along ancient pilgrimage routes and nature trails.

Lessons Learned

• Positive management evaluations testify of the success and validity of the integrated approach to the conservation of natural, cultural and spiritual values and features which can be used to support its application elsewhere (Bellisari et al., 2017).
• The cultural and spiritual significance of nature has been integrated as part of a holistic approach adopted in the vision, goals and management actions for the Park. As a result, the management objectives of the Park include supporting local communities in preserving cultural and spiritual values of the region and jointly promoting the natural, spiritual, traditional, historical and cultural values.
• The cultural and spiritual significance of nature have subsequently also been integrated in various activities of the park, such as visitor interpretation, environmental education, sacred natural sites protection and recreation  demonstrating the importance of the Christian monastic tradition on nature conservation.
• Including the concept of sacred natural sites in the Management Plan of the Nature Park helped represent and secure the strong connection between the ancient monastic model of land use and the actual landscape and biodiversity conservation model.
• Emphasizing the sacredness and spiritual significance of endangered species is a necessary step in the attempts to protect the wildlife. In our educational and support campaigns, we try to revive spiritual values for the species that are the subject of our conservation efforts, e.g. European bison, some bird species, social insects, etc. (Catanoiu, 2012)
• Monasteries and hermitages have great potential for the practical implementation of the Christian Orthodox approach to ecology. Including spiritual principles in nature conservation as well as using these principles for awareness raising among visitors is done in several places, including the hermitage of Vovidenia (Mallarach et al., 2016).
• In order to reinforce the awareness of the spiritual values of the protected area, we draw examples from past spiritualities and religions of the region. Our visitor interpreting plan does not solely draw on the Christian Orthodox spirituality, it also includes elements from the Cucuteni culture (a Neolithic-Eneolithic culture, developed between 5200-3500 BC), which make clear connections between nature and Neolithic spirituality.