Context

• Sacred groves are small forest patches conserved by local people through religious beliefs, traditional sentiments, and taboos and are repositories of many threatened species; they are popularly called living biological heritage sites as they contain rich diversity. 
• The existence of sacred groves took place  all over the world, including in India as well as in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and America.
• It is estimated that the total number  of sacred groves in India is likely to be more than 1.5 lakh. 

Significance of Sacred Groves 

1. Protection of Ecosystems: 

• Sacred groves often serve as protected areas, safeguarding biodiversity by restricting human activities that can harm the environment. 

2. Traditional Knowledge: 

• Local communities that manage sacred groves often possess a deep understanding of the local ecology and traditional practices that have been passed down through generations. This knowledge can be valuable for informing conservation efforts for future generations. 

3. Biodiversity Conservation: 

• Sacred groves can act as refuge for a wide range of plant and animal species, especially in areas where habitat loss is a major threat. Biodiversity conservation practices associated with sacred groves often lead to sustainable management of natural resources and the maintenance of biodiversity. 

4. Cultural Preservation: 

• Sacred groves are important repositories of cultural and religious practices of local communities. They are often seen as the dwelling places of deities or spirits, and are used for religious ceremonies and rituals. 

5. Community Empowerment: 

• Sacred groves are often managed by local communities. Supporting the conservation of these areas can help to empower these communities and give them a greater role in decision-making about their natural resources. 

6. Environmental Benefits: 

• They play a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance of an area. The trees and other vegetation in sacred groves help to prevent soil erosion and provide  clean air.  

7. Community Conservation: 

• The core principle  of community conservation is protecting  biodiversity, preserving natural resources, and  managing natural resources sustainably for  future preservation. It can also lead to a number  of other benefits, such as improved livelihoods  for local communities, increased food security,  and enhanced cultural preservation. 

Challenges 

• Sacred Groves have been legally protected under the Community Reserves in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment act, 2002, these are the best examples for community conservation and also unique source for in-situ conservation but, in the modern era, the groves are facing serious threat due to: 

1. Habitat loss: 

• Due to developmental activities like urbanisation, infrastructure development, and expansion of agriculture in top hills many sacred groves are being cleared or fragmented, which can harm the plants and animals that live there. 

2. Climatic change: 

• Threatens the forest health and ecosystem, due to sudden and abrupt changes in temperatures. This is leading to rapid erosion of the sacred groves, their ecology, floral compositions, including medicinal taxa. 

3. Global warming: 

• Increase of temperature for a long time disrupts weather patterns, like heat waves, droughts, floods, forest fires causes changes in forest ecosystem, this will lead to loss of biodiversity. 

4. Invasive/ Alien species: 

• These are introduced species that can harm the native species. Often, they are considered one of the major threats to the entire ecosystem, e.g. Chromolaena odorata, Lantana camara and Prosopis juliflora. 

5. Exploitation of resources: 

• In some cases, local communities may collect too much firewood, medicinal plants, or other resources from the sacred grove. This can put a strain on the ecosystem and lead to degradation. 

Other challenges: 

• Anthropogenic pressure, encroachment, deforestation, cultural degradation, pollution, and no proper legislations, etc. 

Management of Sacred Groves 

• Some groves are under the custody and management of local communities or tribes. Some are owned and managed by the village communities through a system of hereditary trusteeship. All management decisions are made collectively by the entire village during the annual rituals in the sacred grove. Community Involvement, Sustainable Practices, Scientific Collaboration with Organisations, Balancing customs, Religious Beliefs and Conservation are key principles for management of Sacred Groves. 

Legislations:

• The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 empowers the State Government for declaration of any private or community land, as a community reserve, for protecting flora fauna, traditional or cultural conservation values and practices.
• Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002: This act introduced the concept of ‘Community Reserves’, which can be used to provide government protection to sacred groves on community-conserved lands. This act prohibits hunting and logging within these areas. 

Constitutional Protection: 

• There is no specific article directly mentioning sacred groves but there are a few articles that can be interpreted to some level of protection of sacred groves. 
• Article 25(1): This article guarantees the freedom of conscience and the right to practice and propagate religion. This right extends to the protection of practices associated with sacred groves, as long as they do not violate the rights of others. 
• Article 48A: Directs the state to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country. This can be seen as providing an indirect mandate for the protection of sacred groves, as they represent both environmental and cultural importance. 
• Article 51A(g): This article imposes a fundamental duty on every citizen to protect and improve the environment and to have compassion for living creatures reflecting the respect for nature inherent in sacred groves. 

Conclusion 

• Sacred groves have been legally protected under community reserves under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002. These are the best examples of community conservation and unique source for in-situ conservation, but in the modern era, the groves are facing serious threats due to rapid urbanisation, cultural shifting, anthropogenic pressure, global warming, and climatic change, etc., leads to rapid erosion of the sacred groves, their ecology, floral shifting,  anthropogenic pressure, global  warming, and climatic change,  etc., leads to rapid erosion of the  sacred groves, their ecology, floral  & faunal compositions, and sociocultural significance. 
• Hence, there is an urgent need to promote/  initiate conservation measures  both of in-situ, and ex-situ;  stringent government legislation  (legal protection) and awareness  programmes that includes  traditional knowledge, cultivars, folk  varieties, and incentives for research  & development are necessary to  protect these groves for future generations.