The Delos Initiative, focusing on the sacred natural sites in developed countries throughout the world, is a project of the Specialist Group on the Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas (CSVPA) of IUCN. Its main goal is to contribute to a better management of sacred natural sites, i.e. natural sites of spiritual significance in developed countries and thus to assist in maintaining their natural, cultural and spiritual values.
It has organised three workshops since 2006, in Spain, Greece and Finland. The focus of the workshops has been on protected areas and spirituality, the sacred dimension of protected areas and the diversity of sacred lands in Europe. The fourth workshop comes to fill the gap of limited Muslim case-studies representation and the absence of Jewish ones, as well as the lack of case-studies pertinent to more than one religious tradition.
The Near East is considered therefore a rather appropriate area for the organisation of the 4th Delos workshop. More specifically, Jordan, is a predominately Muslim country, which however has been the stage setting for two other major religious traditions, Judaism and Christianity. Further, Jordan promotes interreligious initiatives, which also relate to nature (such as the National Park of the River Jordan, the site of the Baptism of Jesus).
Local partners of the Delos Initiative are going to be valuable assistants during the organisation of the workshop, which will take place in late 2015