Walking in Sacred Forests with Oliver Rackham: A Conversation about Relict Landscapes in Epirus, North-West Greece

In his travels to the Greek mountains, Oliver Rackham frequently visited the sacred forests of Zagori and Konitsa and offered his own fundamental insights on how to interpret this complex and peculiar cultural landscape. In this chapter, we present Oliver Rackham’s views and thoughts on the sacred forests of Epirus, north-west Greece, aiming at reconstructing the ecological history of these socio-ecological systems, through his own inimitable way. The manuscript is based mainly on Oliver’s observations derived from our common visits to the forests enriched with extracts from our ongoing scientific work on the sites in an effort to answer his questions. Results attempt at unravelling the environmental history of Mediterranean mountains, providing valuable lessons on the sustainable use of natural resources, community management, and nature conservation. We present his inspiring piece of work to the wider public to motivate scientists to study the delicate interlinks between natural and cultural processes in sacred natural sites across the Globe, integral part of our natural and cultural heritage.