Sacred Groves: Myths, Beliefs, and Biodiversity Conservation—A Case Study from Western Himalaya, India

Received Jul 20, 2017; Accepted Sep 7, 2017

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1. Introduction

Conservation of nature and natural resources has been an important part of cultural ethos, especially in remote rural and indigenous communities in many parts of the world, including India. These communities consider themselves connected with their biophysical environment in a web of spiritual relationship. These rural communities consider specific plants, animals, or even rivers and mountains as their ancestors and protect them. In India, nature worship dates back to the pre-Vedic period (5000 B.C.) and is based on the proposition that all creations of nature have to be protected. The forefathers of these communities were fully aware of the importance and significance of natural resources and the necessity of their conservation for the sustenance of future generations. They lived in harmony with nature and thereby played an important role in conservation of biodiversity [1]. One of the important traditions of nature reverence is to conserve those patches of forest that have been dedicated to a god or goddess or ancestral spirits as “sacred groves.” According to Hughes and Chandran [2], sacred groves (SGs) are defined as “segments of landscape containing vegetation, life forms and geographical features, delimited and protected by human societies under the belief that to keep them in a relatively undisturbed state is expression of an important relationship of humans with the divine or with nature.” In short, SGs are the relic forest segments preserved in the name of religion and culture. These groves are mostly associated with temples and are also culturally important. They manifest the spiritual and ecological ethos of rural...