Bas Verschuuren
Biographic Data
| ID | 228070 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bas Verschuuren |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bas |
| FAMILY NAME | Verschuuren |
| SIGNATURE | VERSCHUUREN B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wageningen University & Research |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1825-5055 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 37 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 4 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Seeking transcendence in the depths of the soul
Recent research on spiritual tourism has largely emphasised physical and psychological well-being, often overlooking an ontological dimension of spirituality and its potential to address fundamental human pursuit. This study advances the understanding of spiritual tourism by examining transcendental experiences among Chinese spiritual tourists in nature. Using semi-structured, in-depth interviews, we gathered rich narratives that were thematicall…
Understanding forest transitions and lock-ins in Latin American agro-forest frontiers
The agro-forest frontier is the dynamic border between agricultural and forested lands. Drawing on results from an interdisciplinary research programme, we synthesise and compare social-ecological dynamics in three Latin American agro-forest frontiers: Marqués de Comillas and La Sepultura in Mexico, and Zona da Mata in Brazil. Each includes extensive livestock grazing, rain-fed agriculture, secondary vegetation, and state-protected areas. Forest …
Tourism and extraordinary ordinary life
This study examines how nature-based tourism and everyday life intertwine to shape meaning and personal transformation. Drawing on constructivist grounded theory and evidence from observations in four protected areas alongside thirty-eight interviews with Chinese tourists, it identifies a four-stage process of becoming: departing, encountering, returning, and transforming. Informed by Deleuzian philosophy, tourism is reimagined as an immanent and…
Cultivating reciprocity and supporting Indigenous lifeways through the cultural transformation of natural resource management in North America
Recent decades have seen increasing calls for implementing Indigenous Knowledges (IK) in natural resource management (NRM). However, efforts have been limited by the cultural incommensurabilities between (1) NRM institutions, which are rooted in worldviews that prioritize extraction for dominant cultures and assume dominance over nature and (2) Indigenous worldviews that prioritize kincentric reciprocity with the environment. This manuscript addr…
PARKS issue 31.2
Exploring spiritual values in forest management practices in the Netherlands
While forest-related spiritual values (forest spirituality) have long been incorporated in global forest-related policies and strategies, the significance of spiritual values in forest management practices remains little researched. This study investigates how spiritual values are articulated in forest management practices in the Netherlands. We applied a conceptual framework with 10 spiritual dimensions derived from religious scholarship to qual…
Different Natures of Reality Inform Different Realities of Nature
Karen people's interactions with the forest are informed by their ontologies. Important aspects of these ontologies are the influence of spirits, the cycle of the moon and communication with nonhumans. We foreground that Karen ontologies and knowledge systems are heterogeneous yet different from other ontologies and knowledge systems informing forest conservation in Myanmar (Burma). We recognise that interaction between Karen people and other con…
Advancing co-production for transformative change by synthesizing guidance from case studies on the sustainable management and governance of natural resources
Co-production has become paramount for scientists, practitioners and social groups of Indigenous peoples and local communities of rural and urban areas to deliver transformative changes that enhance sustainability. Co-production should result in knowledge that is credible, legitimate and usable to enable sustainable outcomes effectively. However, this is not always the case due to challenges related to differences between scientific and Indigenou…
Spiritual values in forest management plans in British Columbia and the Netherlands
Spiritual values are part of major global forest-related policies and strategies for sustainable forest management. Despite ongoing research and current debates, the significance of spiritual values in sustainable forest management in the Global North remains under-theorised. As Forest Management Plans represent an important nexus between policies and practices, this study clarifies the significance of spiritual values in forest management plans.…
Tourists and ‘philosophers’
Nature is a vital context for transcendent experiences fostering the spiritual dimensions of humankind. Analysing data from protected areas in China, this paper investigates the ways in which spirituality permeates nature-based tourism. A thematic analysis was undertaken to interpret 27 semi-structured in-depth interviews with professionals and tourists. Findings enable the construction of a hierarchical framework of spiritual tourism achievement…
The Supervisor Effect
In this article we reflect on our experiences as supervisors in a field methods course in order to explore how ethnographic research practices can be used as tools in the supervision of students that conduct field research for the first time and as such to provide insights about what constitutes “good supervision.” Our reflections follow the three main stages of fieldwork: preparing and designing research, doing fieldwork, and reporting on resear…
Cultural and spiritual significance of nature
The cultural and spiritual significance of nature has been defined as the spiritual, cultural, inspirational, aesthetic, historic and social meanings, values, feelings, ideas and associations that natural features and nature in general have for past, present and future generations of people – both individuals and groups. These guidelines respond to a growing need to make conservation more inclusive, effective and socially just by accommodating mu…
Spirituality in Forest Management
International forest policies are increasingly recognizing spiritual values as criteria for sustainable forest management. However, knowledge on how spiritual values are articulated in practice is scarce. Because most evidence remains anecdotal, the study of spiritual values in forest management remains unsystematized and under-theorized. Research is complicated by the widely diverging interpretations of the concept of spirituality in relation to…
"It's Not in the Course Guide!" Reflections from a Dutch Field School on How Students Learn to Do Fieldwork
In this reflection we unpack students' first fieldwork experiences and how this parallels a rite de passage. We do so in two domains: (1) students' first fieldwork with a focus on entering the field, staying in the field, and researcher identity; and (2) the impact of fieldwork experiences on students' professional skills. Two struggles are prominent: letting go of the idea of "objectivity" and learning to deal with the whimsicalities of doing fi…
Indigenous Sacred Natural Sites and Spiritual Governance
DOAJ is a unique and extensive index of diverse open access journals from around the world, driven by a growing community, committed to ensuring quality content is freely available online for everyone
Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites
Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites
Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Nature in Protected Areas
Cultural and spiritual bonds with 'nature' are among the strongest motivators for nature conservation; yet they are seldom taken into account in the governance and management of protected and conserved areas. The starting point of this book is that to be sustainable, effective, and equitable, approaches to the management and governance of these areas need to engage with people's deeply held cultural, spiritual, personal, and community values, alo…
Priorities for protected area research
A hundred research priorities of critical importance to protected area management were identified by a targeted survey of conservation professionals; half researchers and half practitioners. Respondents were selected to represent a range of disciplines, every continent except Antarctica and roughly equal numbers of men and women. The results analysed thematically and grouped as potential research topics as by both practitioners and researchers. P…
Creating common ground
In this thesis, I hold a plea for the recognition and integration of Indigenous people's realities in conservation practice, management and policy related to their sacred natural sites. Sacred natural sites can be mountains, rivers, forests, trees and rocks that have special spiritual significance to indigenous peoples. To Indigenous peoples these places are not just part of their environment, culture and spirituality but they also form their wor…
Moving beyond the human-nature dichotomy through biocultural approaches
Caillon, S., G. Cullman, B. Verschuuren, and E. J. Sterling. 2017. Moving beyond the human–nature dichotomy through biocultural approaches: including ecological well-being in resilience indicators. Ecology and Society 22(4):27. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09746-220427
Asian Sacred Natural Sites
World heritage sites and indigenous peoples' rights
What makes this book unique is that it presents the current state of affairs of indigenous peoples rights in the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO 1972) by building on twenty well-documented case studies developed by and in collaboration with indigenous peoples themselves.The book focuses on their recognition and engagement in World Heritage sites by moving beyond the recollection of past injustices and violations of their rights.It successfully …
Mixing Waters
This article demonstrates the importance of indigenous ontologies in cross-cultural or 'both ways' coastal conservation management of the Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area in north east Arnhem Land, Australia.In this action research, selected Yolŋu individuals identified concerns regarding recreational fishing and boating practices of non-Yolŋu.Yolŋu engaged in a discussion of the issues and the subsequent formulation of indigenous management re…
Sacred Species and Sites
It is being increasingly recognised that cultural and biological diversity are deeply linked and that conservation programmes should take into account the ethical, cultural and spiritual values of nature. With contributions from a range of scholars, practitioners and spiritual leaders from around the world, this book provides new insights into biocultural diversity conservation. It explores sacred landscapes, sites, plants and animals from around…
Moving beyond the human-nature dichotomy through biocultural approaches
Caillon, S., G. Cullman, B. Verschuuren, and E. J. Sterling. 2017. Moving beyond the human–nature dichotomy through biocultural approaches: including ecological well-being in resilience indicators. Ecology and Society 22(4):27. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09746-220427
Asian Sacred Natural Sites
Tourists and ‘philosophers’
Nature is a vital context for transcendent experiences fostering the spiritual dimensions of humankind. Analysing data from protected areas in China, this paper investigates the ways in which spirituality permeates nature-based tourism. A thematic analysis was undertaken to interpret 27 semi-structured in-depth interviews with professionals and tourists. Findings enable the construction of a hierarchical framework of spiritual tourism achievement…
"It's Not in the Course Guide!" Reflections from a Dutch Field School on How Students Learn to Do Fieldwork
In this reflection we unpack students' first fieldwork experiences and how this parallels a rite de passage. We do so in two domains: (1) students' first fieldwork with a focus on entering the field, staying in the field, and researcher identity; and (2) the impact of fieldwork experiences on students' professional skills. Two struggles are prominent: letting go of the idea of "objectivity" and learning to deal with the whimsicalities of doing fi…
World heritage sites and indigenous peoples' rights
What makes this book unique is that it presents the current state of affairs of indigenous peoples rights in the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO 1972) by building on twenty well-documented case studies developed by and in collaboration with indigenous peoples themselves.The book focuses on their recognition and engagement in World Heritage sites by moving beyond the recollection of past injustices and violations of their rights.It successfully …
Advancing co-production for transformative change by synthesizing guidance from case studies on the sustainable management and governance of natural resources
Co-production has become paramount for scientists, practitioners and social groups of Indigenous peoples and local communities of rural and urban areas to deliver transformative changes that enhance sustainability. Co-production should result in knowledge that is credible, legitimate and usable to enable sustainable outcomes effectively. However, this is not always the case due to challenges related to differences between scientific and Indigenou…
Spiritual values in forest management plans in British Columbia and the Netherlands
Spiritual values are part of major global forest-related policies and strategies for sustainable forest management. Despite ongoing research and current debates, the significance of spiritual values in sustainable forest management in the Global North remains under-theorised. As Forest Management Plans represent an important nexus between policies and practices, this study clarifies the significance of spiritual values in forest management plans.…
Spirituality in Forest Management
International forest policies are increasingly recognizing spiritual values as criteria for sustainable forest management. However, knowledge on how spiritual values are articulated in practice is scarce. Because most evidence remains anecdotal, the study of spiritual values in forest management remains unsystematized and under-theorized. Research is complicated by the widely diverging interpretations of the concept of spirituality in relation to…
Creating common ground
In this thesis, I hold a plea for the recognition and integration of Indigenous people's realities in conservation practice, management and policy related to their sacred natural sites. Sacred natural sites can be mountains, rivers, forests, trees and rocks that have special spiritual significance to indigenous peoples. To Indigenous peoples these places are not just part of their environment, culture and spirituality but they also form their wor…
Mixing Waters
This article demonstrates the importance of indigenous ontologies in cross-cultural or 'both ways' coastal conservation management of the Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area in north east Arnhem Land, Australia.In this action research, selected Yolŋu individuals identified concerns regarding recreational fishing and boating practices of non-Yolŋu.Yolŋu engaged in a discussion of the issues and the subsequent formulation of indigenous management re…
Sacred Species and Sites
It is being increasingly recognised that cultural and biological diversity are deeply linked and that conservation programmes should take into account the ethical, cultural and spiritual values of nature. With contributions from a range of scholars, practitioners and spiritual leaders from around the world, this book provides new insights into biocultural diversity conservation. It explores sacred landscapes, sites, plants and animals from around…
Mixing Waters
This article demonstrates the importance of indigenous ontologies in cross-cultural or 'both ways' coastal conservation management of the Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area in north east Arnhem Land, Australia.In this action research, selected Yolŋu individuals identified concerns regarding recreational fishing and boating practices of non-Yolŋu.Yolŋu engaged in a discussion of the issues and the subsequent formulation of indigenous management re…
Asian Sacred Natural Sites
World heritage sites and indigenous peoples' rights
What makes this book unique is that it presents the current state of affairs of indigenous peoples rights in the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO 1972) by building on twenty well-documented case studies developed by and in collaboration with indigenous peoples themselves.The book focuses on their recognition and engagement in World Heritage sites by moving beyond the recollection of past injustices and violations of their rights.It successfully …
Creating common ground
In this thesis, I hold a plea for the recognition and integration of Indigenous people's realities in conservation practice, management and policy related to their sacred natural sites. Sacred natural sites can be mountains, rivers, forests, trees and rocks that have special spiritual significance to indigenous peoples. To Indigenous peoples these places are not just part of their environment, culture and spirituality but they also form their wor…
Moving beyond the human-nature dichotomy through biocultural approaches
Caillon, S., G. Cullman, B. Verschuuren, and E. J. Sterling. 2017. Moving beyond the human–nature dichotomy through biocultural approaches: including ecological well-being in resilience indicators. Ecology and Society 22(4):27. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09746-220427
Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites
Indigenous Perspectives on Sacred Natural Sites
Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Nature in Protected Areas
Cultural and spiritual bonds with 'nature' are among the strongest motivators for nature conservation; yet they are seldom taken into account in the governance and management of protected and conserved areas. The starting point of this book is that to be sustainable, effective, and equitable, approaches to the management and governance of these areas need to engage with people's deeply held cultural, spiritual, personal, and community values, alo…
Priorities for protected area research
A hundred research priorities of critical importance to protected area management were identified by a targeted survey of conservation professionals; half researchers and half practitioners. Respondents were selected to represent a range of disciplines, every continent except Antarctica and roughly equal numbers of men and women. The results analysed thematically and grouped as potential research topics as by both practitioners and researchers. P…
Indigenous Sacred Natural Sites and Spiritual Governance
DOAJ is a unique and extensive index of diverse open access journals from around the world, driven by a growing community, committed to ensuring quality content is freely available online for everyone
"It's Not in the Course Guide!" Reflections from a Dutch Field School on How Students Learn to Do Fieldwork
In this reflection we unpack students' first fieldwork experiences and how this parallels a rite de passage. We do so in two domains: (1) students' first fieldwork with a focus on entering the field, staying in the field, and researcher identity; and (2) the impact of fieldwork experiences on students' professional skills. Two struggles are prominent: letting go of the idea of "objectivity" and learning to deal with the whimsicalities of doing fi…
Cultural and spiritual significance of nature
The cultural and spiritual significance of nature has been defined as the spiritual, cultural, inspirational, aesthetic, historic and social meanings, values, feelings, ideas and associations that natural features and nature in general have for past, present and future generations of people – both individuals and groups. These guidelines respond to a growing need to make conservation more inclusive, effective and socially just by accommodating mu…
Spirituality in Forest Management
International forest policies are increasingly recognizing spiritual values as criteria for sustainable forest management. However, knowledge on how spiritual values are articulated in practice is scarce. Because most evidence remains anecdotal, the study of spiritual values in forest management remains unsystematized and under-theorized. Research is complicated by the widely diverging interpretations of the concept of spirituality in relation to…
The Supervisor Effect
In this article we reflect on our experiences as supervisors in a field methods course in order to explore how ethnographic research practices can be used as tools in the supervision of students that conduct field research for the first time and as such to provide insights about what constitutes “good supervision.” Our reflections follow the three main stages of fieldwork: preparing and designing research, doing fieldwork, and reporting on resear…
Different Natures of Reality Inform Different Realities of Nature
Karen people's interactions with the forest are informed by their ontologies. Important aspects of these ontologies are the influence of spirits, the cycle of the moon and communication with nonhumans. We foreground that Karen ontologies and knowledge systems are heterogeneous yet different from other ontologies and knowledge systems informing forest conservation in Myanmar (Burma). We recognise that interaction between Karen people and other con…
Advancing co-production for transformative change by synthesizing guidance from case studies on the sustainable management and governance of natural resources
Co-production has become paramount for scientists, practitioners and social groups of Indigenous peoples and local communities of rural and urban areas to deliver transformative changes that enhance sustainability. Co-production should result in knowledge that is credible, legitimate and usable to enable sustainable outcomes effectively. However, this is not always the case due to challenges related to differences between scientific and Indigenou…
Spiritual values in forest management plans in British Columbia and the Netherlands
Spiritual values are part of major global forest-related policies and strategies for sustainable forest management. Despite ongoing research and current debates, the significance of spiritual values in sustainable forest management in the Global North remains under-theorised. As Forest Management Plans represent an important nexus between policies and practices, this study clarifies the significance of spiritual values in forest management plans.…
Tourists and ‘philosophers’
Nature is a vital context for transcendent experiences fostering the spiritual dimensions of humankind. Analysing data from protected areas in China, this paper investigates the ways in which spirituality permeates nature-based tourism. A thematic analysis was undertaken to interpret 27 semi-structured in-depth interviews with professionals and tourists. Findings enable the construction of a hierarchical framework of spiritual tourism achievement…
Exploring spiritual values in forest management practices in the Netherlands
While forest-related spiritual values (forest spirituality) have long been incorporated in global forest-related policies and strategies, the significance of spiritual values in forest management practices remains little researched. This study investigates how spiritual values are articulated in forest management practices in the Netherlands. We applied a conceptual framework with 10 spiritual dimensions derived from religious scholarship to qual…
Cultivating reciprocity and supporting Indigenous lifeways through the cultural transformation of natural resource management in North America
Recent decades have seen increasing calls for implementing Indigenous Knowledges (IK) in natural resource management (NRM). However, efforts have been limited by the cultural incommensurabilities between (1) NRM institutions, which are rooted in worldviews that prioritize extraction for dominant cultures and assume dominance over nature and (2) Indigenous worldviews that prioritize kincentric reciprocity with the environment. This manuscript addr…
PARKS issue 31.2
Seeking transcendence in the depths of the soul
Recent research on spiritual tourism has largely emphasised physical and psychological well-being, often overlooking an ontological dimension of spirituality and its potential to address fundamental human pursuit. This study advances the understanding of spiritual tourism by examining transcendental experiences among Chinese spiritual tourists in nature. Using semi-structured, in-depth interviews, we gathered rich narratives that were thematicall…
Understanding forest transitions and lock-ins in Latin American agro-forest frontiers
The agro-forest frontier is the dynamic border between agricultural and forested lands. Drawing on results from an interdisciplinary research programme, we synthesise and compare social-ecological dynamics in three Latin American agro-forest frontiers: Marqués de Comillas and La Sepultura in Mexico, and Zona da Mata in Brazil. Each includes extensive livestock grazing, rain-fed agriculture, secondary vegetation, and state-protected areas. Forest …
Tourism and extraordinary ordinary life
This study examines how nature-based tourism and everyday life intertwine to shape meaning and personal transformation. Drawing on constructivist grounded theory and evidence from observations in four protected areas alongside thirty-eight interviews with Chinese tourists, it identifies a four-stage process of becoming: departing, encountering, returning, and transforming. Informed by Deleuzian philosophy, tourism is reimagined as an immanent and…
Geography (16 works) · Sociology (16 works) · Environmental ethics (12 works) · Political science (10 works) · Ecology (9 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Indigenous (8 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Archaeology (7 works) · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management (7 works)