ABSTRACT
In developing countries, preserving biodiversity is a great challenge, particularly in areas with constant war, weak governments, severe poverty, and ongoing climate change. While formal conservation plans have often failed, local people in Kurdistan do voluntarily protect certain parts of their environment for their religious and cultural values: Sacred Natural Sites (SNS) are places where local ecological knowledge and environmental protection meet traditional myths, legends, and stories. Most of Kurdistan’s SNSs are found in forested areas and are used as burial grounds for locals. These sites are believed to be places of rest for the bodies and souls of the ancestors. As a result, these sites are protected as sacred groves. The vegetation diversity and composition of sacred groves are an outcome of biotic factors such as litter depth, crown canopy cover, soil organic carbon, and nitrogen as well as active protection by local people.
