Valuing Ecosystem Services of Sacred Natural Sites in the Anthropocene: A Case Study of Varanasi, India

Sacred natural sites (SNS) are multi-functional in nature and provide a variety of ecosystem services that contribute to human well-being and environmental sustainability. Interest in the SNS and their role in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services have grown in the Anthropocene. Researchers suggested that, besides having spiritual and religious values for local community, SNS provide provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. In this study, we identified and valued the importance of ecosystem services provided by SNS in the Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh, India. The methods used included field work, in-depth literature review, observations, focus-group discussions (FGD) and interviews. This study identified 35 ecosystem services of SNS spanning across four categories including provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. According to the informants, SNS provide a wide range of ecosystem services, with supporting services being most valued followed by cultural, regulating, and provisioning services. We recommend that a sustainable management of SNS should be based on the local people’s participation in policy, planning and decision-making and utilization of hybrid knowledge system combining modern science and traditional ecological knowledge. Findings of the research contribute to a growing literature on ecosystem services and provide a basis for future studies to unearth how ecosystem services of SNS can support the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs).