Bhubaneswar, July 24: The value of forest conservation is best understood by the people staying near the hills and plains with forest areas, where a green canopy cover is a tradition. Keeping the traditions alive in an era of rapid industrialisation and development, sacred groves are forest patches in areas which were once under deep forest cover.

In fact, vegetation conserved by the local people with their socio-cultural and religious beliefs and practices has been there for many decades. These groves not only harbour rich biodiversity, but also act as a repository of wild gene pools supporting many critically dependent medicinal plants.

Sacred groves are distributed across a wide ecosystem and help in conserve the rare, threatened and endangered species. It is already established that well-preserved sacred groves not only act as a storehouse of valuable medicinal, food and fodder plants with high economic value, but also serve as a refuge to threatened species that are associated with the traditional knowledge of the indigenous communities.

The role of sacred groves in the conservation of biodiversity has long been recognised in India. All forms of vegetation in the sacred groves are supposed to be under the protection of the reigning deity of that grove, and the removal of even a small twig is taboo. Around 14,000 sacred groves have been reported so far from all over India, which act as reservoirs of rare flora and fauna of ecological and socio-economic importance.

Most of the reported groves were located in Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Kailash.C. Malhotra, anthropologist and human ecologist, had reported the existence of 322 sacred groves in Semiliguda block of Koraput district alone. However, no study has been undertaken to identify the exact number of sacred groves in the state.

The institution of sacred groves in the state is recognised by various names like jahera and thakuramma. Systematic studies on sacred groves might reveal thousands of places where culture and conservation practices may have been carried out unnoticed for many decades.

“We have studied the distribution of sacred groves in Ranpur and Gania block of Nayagarh, Barkote block of Deogarh, Bonai block of Sundargarh, Baripada block of Mayurbhanj and found that at least 700 sacred groves exist in these blocks, where people have been protecting and conserving small patches of forests due to cultural and religious reasons,” said Prasad Dash, ecologist at Vasundhara, a city-based organisation.

“The state has one biosphere reserve, two national parks and 18 sanctuaries. Most of these forests are covered by the forest management plans. There are also many patches of sacred forests known as jahira close to tribal villages. In addition, several sacred shrines are situated inside the forests and many pilgrimage routes pass through the forests. The sacred forests around the villages are maintained by the local people mostly as preservation plots,” Dash said.

There are 524 sacred sites in Banspal block of Keonjhar, at least three in each village, where people are traditionally conserving a small patch of forests with the name of goddess Baitaranipat of Juang pidha and with the name of Maa Mangala goddess of Bhuyan pidha (two of the 13 primitive tribal groups found in Orissa). The local people call them Naisoria, Samalai and Meragansari in different places. In these sites, they protect and conserve some rare and threatened trees such as, Nageswar, Ananta, Ashoka, Nagachampa, Piasala, Chandan, Jandakhai and Bhramaramari, which are not found in the forests of those areas.

Local activist Birabara Sahu said the conservation of some tree species in these isolated patches also helped in conserving the tree species.

In Barkote block of Deogarh district, there are around 150 sacred sites where the Paudi Bhuyan community, one of the 13 primitive tribal groups (PTGs) found in Orissa, have been protecting these small patches of forests in the name of goddess Gramasibi. Before each sowing and harvesting season, they conduct rituals called Kaduabali and Dhulipuja, respectively to the goddess in the hope of good crops in the coming years. These groves are home to many birds, reptiles and insects. In Saranakula, there is a clan named Paudipidha, who have been conserving seven acres of forest for many decades with the name of goddess Gramasibi.

In Bonai block of Sundaragarh district, there are about 245 sacred sites, where the tribal population protects forest patches in the name of the deities such as, Gramashree, Pitabali, Kuanri and Rambhadevi. Many threatened plants such as, garuda, girdhini, pingu, patalagaruda, are preserved here. Several species of birds such as, owl and fruit bats, take shelter here.

Similarly in Baripada block of Mayurbhanj district, there are around 400 sacred sites preserved and conserved by the local people in the name of different deities. Activist Vishnu Purti said: “In many rural pockets of Mayurbhanj, the bats stay in banyan and other big trees and the local villagers ensure protection for them.”

However, the ever-increasing population and the growth of urbanisation have resulted in the decline of sacred groves. Habitat alternation, over-exploitation, pollution and introduction of exotic species also threaten the global biological resources associated with these sacred groves.

Modernisation, unplanned developmental activities and commercialisation of agriculture in order to increase productivity are the reasons behind the disappearance of traditional knowledge among the people. The symbiotic relation between the tribal people and the natural environment like sacred groves is disappearing fast due to the loss of beliefs, change in cropping patterns and food habits.

Often, the destruction is caused not only due to commercial interest, but also because of subtle cultural changes. There are still many undiscovered sacred groves existing in different parts of the country, including Orissa, which need to be documented for the protection and conservation of the wild gene pools.

People’s participation, training for promoting indigenous traditional knowledge and biodiversity conservation through identification, documentation and protection of sacred grooves in the state is the need of the hour.

Furthermore, natural sacred sites are maintained through traditional methods of community-based conservation that does not require government involvement. Incorporating these sites into conservation networks could enhance the effectiveness of protected areas by covering a wider variety of habitats and by harnessing support of the local people.