The role of spiritual beliefs in conserving wildlife species in religious shrines of Bangladesh

Sharif Ahmed Mukul, A. Z. M. Manzoor Rashid, Mohammad Belal Uddin

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    26 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The conservation of biodiversity is developing into one of the biggest challenges of the century. Rapidly declining forests and the degradation of wild habitats are a direct result of a lack of public awareness and participation in the process of conservation. However, in small land areas in undeveloped countries characterised by high population density and poor public awareness, local religious and/or spiritual beliefs favour conservation of biodiversity at both species and habitat levels. This paper attempts to explore this practice based on case studies from Bangladesh where for generations some local beliefs have been protecting important wildlife species such as the Black Soft-shell Turtle, Mugger Crocodile, Rock Pigeon and Rhesus Macaque. The paper also offers a SWOT analysis of the potential role and challenges of these religious shrines as a refuge for biodiversity.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article number2
    Pages (from-to)108-114
    Number of pages7
    JournalBiodiversity
    Volume13
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Keywords

    • Bangladesh
    • shrines
    • spiritual belief
    • sufi
    • wildlife conservation

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