ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. For. Glob. Change
Sec. People and Forests
Volume 8 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2025.1682475
Sacred Forests and Biodiversity Conservation in Moribane Forest Reserve, Sussundenga
Provisionally accepted
- Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
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Sacred Forests (SF) offer vital cultural ecosystem services, providing intangible benefits rooted in spiritual beliefs and traditional practices. This study examines how such practices within SF contribute to the conservation of forest species diversity in the Moribane Forest Reserve (MFR), located in Manica Province, Mozambique. A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating the Analytic-Deliberative Method (ADM), field surveys, and remote sensing analysis spanning from 2000 to 2022. The ADM included semi-structured interviews with 149 households (out of a total of 479), aiming to identify the cultural values associated with 13 principal SF sites. Fieldwork involved the establishment of 26 rectangular plots, 18 within SF and 8 in non-SF areas, to compare the composition and structure of woody species. The species accumulation curve indicated greater species richness in SF (41 species) compared to non-SF areas (38 species). Approximately 50-60% of the ten most ecologically significant species, ranked by Importance Value Index, in both forest types are considered sacred. These include Newtonia buchananii, Millettia stuhlmannii, Diplorhynchus condylocarpon, and Bridelia micrantha, most of which are classified as species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. SF are primarily used for ritual ceremonies that seek rain during drought periods, promote agricultural productivity, protect crops, and prevent wildfires. On average, 53.84% of SF were found to be in good conservation condition, while 30.76% were in poor condition and 15.38% in moderate condition. Remote sensing analysis revealed ongoing cropland expansion and forest loss, predominantly in non-SF areas, with deforestation peaking in 2020. These findings underscore the role of cultural heritage in reinforcing biodiversity conservation and suggest its integration into sustainable forest management policies for the MFR.
Keywords: Sacred forests, Cultural ecosystem services, cultural practices, biodiversity conservation, livelihood
Received: 08 Aug 2025; Accepted: 22 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Francisco, Cavane and Sitoe. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Francisco Domingos Francisco, franciscodomingos11@yahoo.com
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