Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Impacts of Global and National Policy on the Management and Conservation of Sacred Groves of India

  • Published:
Human Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

India is home to thousands of community-protected forests, called sacred groves. Sacred forests or groves are sites that have cultural or spiritual significance to the people who live around them. These areas may also be key reservoirs of biodiversity. In India, most sacred groves are managed by a community group, not by a government agency. They are often private or community land, not formal protected areas or parks. This poses an interesting challenge in terms of future management and possible policy relating to the sacred groves. On the international level, organizations such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and UNESCO have created guidelines for management of sacred sites. On the national level, India’s past Forest Acts and recent Forest Rights Act have relevance to the sacred groves. Local differences in land tenure also affect the groves. Ethnographic research conducted in 2009 and 2010 in the states of Meghalaya and Karnataka, India, evaluated the historic and current management and beliefs associated with sacred forests. Cultural change and pressure to use natural resources within the groves is leading to reduction of these forest areas. In the future, a creative combination of policy approaches to conserve groves that respects their spiritual values is recommended.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agrawal, A. (2005). Environmentality: Technologies of Government and the Making of Subjects. Duke University Press, Durham, NC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Babbie, E. (1990). Survey Research Methods. Wadsworth Inc., Belmont, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barre, R. Y., Grant, M., and Draper, D. (2009). The Role of Taboos in Conservation of Sacred Groves in Ghana’s Tallensi-Nabdam District. Social & Cultural Geography 10(1): 25–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beinart, W., and Hughes, L. (2007). Environment and Empire. Oxford University Press, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes, F. (2009). Community Conserved Areas: Policy Issues in Historic and Contemporary Context. Conservation Letters 2: 19–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhagwat, S. A., and Rutte, C. (2006). Sacred Groves: Potential for Biodiversity Management. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4(10): 519–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhagwat, S. A., Kushalappa, C. G., Williams, P. H., and Brown, N. D. (2005). A Landscape Approach to Biodiversity Conservation of Sacred Groves in the Western Ghats of India. Conservation Biology 19(6): 1853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boraiah, K. T., Vasudeva, R., Bhagwat, S., and Kushalappa, C. G. (2003). Do Informally Managed Sacred Groves Have Higher Richness and Regeneration of Medicinal Plants than State-Managed Reserve Forests? Current Science 84(6): 804–808.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burman, R. J. J. (1995). The Dynamics of Sacred Groves. Journal of Human Ecology 6(4): 245–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandrakanth, M. G., and Nagaraja, M. G. (1997). Existence value of Kodagu Sacred Groves: Implications for Policy. In Agarwal, A. (ed.), The Challenge of the Balance: Environmental Economics in India. Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, pp. 217–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandrakanth, M. G., and Romm, J. (1991). Sacred Forests, Secular Forest Policies and people’s Actions. Natural Resources Journal 31: 741.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandrakanth, M. G., Bhat, M. G., and Accavva, M. S. (2004). Socio-Economic Changes and Sacred Groves in South India: Protecting a Community-Based Resource Management Institution. Natural Resources Forum 28: 102–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandran, M. D. S., & Gadgil, M. (1998). Sacred groves and sacred trees of Uttara Kannada. Lifestyle and Ecology, 85.

  • Chandran, M. D. S., and Hughes, J. D. (1997). The Sacred Groves of South India: Ecology, Traditional Communities and Religious Change. Social Compass 44: 413–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandrashekara, U. M., and Sankar, S. (1998). Ecology and Management of Sacred Groves in Kerala, India. Forest Ecology and Management 112(1–2): 165–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colding, J., and Folke, C. (2001). Social Taboos: “Invisible” Systems of Local Resource Management and Biological Conservation. Ecological Applications 11: 584–600.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeWalt, K. M., and DeWalt, B. R. (2011). Participant Observation: A Guide for Fieldworkers. AltaMira Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dhar, S. K. (1994). Rehabilitation of Degraded Tropical Forest Watersheds with people’s Participation. Ambio 23(3): 216–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dietz, T., Ostrom, E., and Stern, P. C. (2003). The Struggle to Govern the Commons. Science 302: 1907–1912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dudley, N., Higgins-Zogib, L., and Mansourian, S. (2009). The Links between Protected Areas, Faiths, and Sacred Natural Sites. Conservation Biology 23(3): 568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gadgil, M. (1998). Grassroots Conservation Practices: Revitalizing the Traditions. In Kothari, A., Pathak, N., Anuradha, R. V., and Taneja, B. (eds.), Communities and Conservation: Natural Resource Management in South and Central Asia. Sage Publications, London, pp. 219–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadgil, M., and Guha, R. (1992). This Fissured Land: an Ecological History of India. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia, C., Bhagwat, S., Ghazoul, J., Nath, C., Nanaya, K., Kushalappa, C., Raghuramulu, Y., Nasi, R., and Vaast, P. (2010). Biodiversity Conservation in Agricultural Landscapes: Challenges and Opportunities of Coffee Agroforests in the Western Ghats, India. Conservation Biology 24(2): 479–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gokhale, Y. (2004). Reviving Traditional Forest Management in Western Ghats-Study in Karnataka. Economic and Political Weekly 39(31): 3556–3559.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guha, R. (1990). An Early Environmental Debate: The Making of the 1878 Forest Act. The Indian Economic and Social History Review 27(1): 65–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guha, R. (1994). Forestry Debate and Draft Forest Act: who Wins, who Loses? Economic and Political Weekly 29(34): 2192–2196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the Commons. Science 162(3859): 1243–1248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamir, S. A., Upadhaya, K., and Pandey, H. N. (2006). Life form Composition and Stratification of Montane Humid Forests in Meghalaya, Northeast India. Tropical Ecology 47(2): 183–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalam, M. A. (1996). Sacred Groves in Kodagu District of Karnataka (South India): a Sociohistorical Study. Institut Français de Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M. L, Khumbongmayum, A. D., and Tripathi, R. S. (2008). The sacred groves and their significance in conserving biodiversity, an overview. International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences 34(3): 277–291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khiewtam, R. S., and Ramakrishnan, P. S. (1989). Socio-Cultural Studies of the Sacred Groves of Cherrapunji and Adjoining Areas in North-Eastern India. Man in India 69: 64–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khumbongmayum, A. D., Khan, M. L., and Tripathi, R. S. (2004). Sacred Groves of Manipur-Ideal Centres for Biodiversity Conservation. Current Science 87(4): 430–433.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolavalli, S. (1997). Joint Forest Management: Optimal Property Rights? In Agarwal, A. (ed.), The Challenge of the Balance: Environmental Economics in India. Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, pp. 235–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kothari, A. (2009). Protected Areas and People: The Future of the Past. Parks 17(2): 23–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lebbie, A. R., & Freudenberger, M. S. (1996). Sacred groves in Africa: forest patches in transition. Forest patches in tropical landscapes, 300–324.

  • Malhotra, K. C., Gokhale, Y., Chatterjee, S., and Srivastava, S. (2007). Sacred Groves in India. Aryan Books International, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mishra, P. K., and Rangad, A. (2008). Sacred Grove, Khasi Society and Worldview. The NEHU Journal VI(1/2): 19–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagendra, H., and Gokhale, Y. (2008). Management Regimes, Property Rights, and Forest Biodiversity in Nepal and India. Environmental Management 41(5): 719–733.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nongkynrih, A. K. (2006). Who is in? Who is out? Equity and Customary Community Forest Management in Meghalaya, India. In Mahanty, S., Fox, J., Nurse, M., Stephen, P., and McLees, L. (eds.), Hanging in the Balance: Equity in Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Asia. East-West Center, Honolulu, pp. 47–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nongkynrih, K. S. (2007). Around the hearth: Khasi legends. NY: Penguin Books.

  • Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y. (1995). Indigenous vs. introduced biodiversity conservation strategies: the case of protected area systems in Ghana. Biodiversity Support Program.

  • Ormsby, A. (2012). Cultural and Conservation Values of Sacred Forests in Ghana. In Pungetti, G., Oviedo, G., and Hooke, D. (eds.), Sacred Species and Sites: Advances in Biocultural Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ormsby, A., and Bhagwat, S. A. (2010). Sacred Forests of India: A Strong Tradition of Community-Based Natural Resource Management. Environmental Conservation 37: 320–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ormsby, A., and Edelman, C. (2010). Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana: Community-Based Ecotourism at a Sacred Site. In Verschuuren, B., and Wild, R. (eds.), Sacred Natural Sites: Conserving Nature and Culture. Earthscan, London, pp. 233–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palit, S. (1996). Indian Forest Departments in Transition. In Poffenberger, M., and McGean, B. (eds.), Village Voices, Forest Choices. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, pp. 210–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poffenberger, M., and McGean, B. (eds.) (1996). Village Voices, Forest Choices. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poffenberger, M., and Singh, C. (1996). Communities and the State: Re-establishing the Balance in Indian Forest Policy. In Poffenberger, M., and McGean, B. (eds.), Village Voices, Forest Choices. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, pp. 56–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pouchepadass, J. (1993). The Ecological History of the Western Ghats in the Modern Period, a Preliminary Survey. Institut Français de Pondicherry, Pondicherry, India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robson, J. P., and Berkes, F. (2010). Sacred Nature and Community Conserved Areas. In Pilgrim, S., and Pretty, J. (eds.), Nature and Culture: Rebuilding Lost Connections. Earthscan, Washington, DC, pp. 197–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarin, M. (1996). From Conflict to Collaboration: Institutional issues in Community Management. In Poffenberger, M., and McGean, B. (eds.), Village Voices, Forest Choices. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, pp. 165–209.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaaf, T., and Rossler, M. (2010). Sacred Natural Sites, Cultural Landscapes and UNESCO’s Action. In Verschuuren, B., Wild, R., McNeely, J. A., and Oviedo, G. (eds.), Sacred Natural Sites: Conserving Nature & Culture. Earthscan, Washington, DC, pp. 161–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheridan, M. J., and Nyamweru, C. (2008). African Sacred Groves: Ecological Dynamics & Social Change. James Currey, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari, B. K., and Kumar, C. (2008). Forest Products of Meghalaya: Present Status and Future Perspective. Regional Centre, National Forestation and Eco-development Board, Shillong, India.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari, B. K., Barik, S. K., and Tripathi, R. S. (1998). Biodiversity Value, Status, and Strategies for Conservation of Sacred Groves of Meghalaya, India. Ecosystem Health 4(1): 20–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari, B. K., Tynsong, H., and Lynser, M. B. (2010). Forest Management Practices of the Tribal People of Meghalaya, North-East India. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 22(3): 329–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomalin, E. (2004). Bio-Divinity and Biodiversity: Perspectives on Religion and Environmental Conservation in India. Numen 51: 265–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Upadhaya, K., Pandey, H. N., Law, P. S., and Tripathi, R. S. (2003). Tree Diversity in Sacred Groves of the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya, Northeast India. Biodiversity and Conservation 12(3): 583–597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Upadhaya, K., Pandey, H. N., Law, P. S., and Tripathi, R. S. (2004). Diversity and Population Characteristics of Woody Species in Subtropical Humid Forests Exposed to Cultural Disturbances in Meghalaya, Northeast India. Tropical Ecology 45(2): 303–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wild, R., and McLeod, C. (2008). Sacred Natural Sites: Guidelines for Protected Area Managers. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Research funding was provided by the Fulbright-Nehru Research Scholars program and the Russ Family Fund. I am grateful for the generosity and hospitality of the study communities and my translators. A special thanks to B.K. Tiwari at North-Eastern Hill University in Meghalaya, C. G. Kushalappa at the College of Forestry, Ponnampet, in Karnataka, and Shonil Bhagwat. Helpful suggestions on the manuscript were provided by anonymous reviewers.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Studies, Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave. S, St. Petersburg, FL, 33711, USA

    Alison A. Ormsby

Authors
  1. Alison A. Ormsby
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alison A. Ormsby.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ormsby, A.A. The Impacts of Global and National Policy on the Management and Conservation of Sacred Groves of India. Hum Ecol 39, 783–793 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-011-9441-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-011-9441-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation