Sacred groves and Ramsar sites
Sacred groves are forest patches protected by religious tradition. Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance listed under the 1971 Ramsar Convention.
Sacred groves
India has religious and cultural traditions that protect nature. In many communities, a tract of forest was set aside in the name of a deity or of ancestors. All the trees and wildlife in it are venerated and given total protection: no felling, hunting or collecting. Such forests are called sacred groves. Your textbook names groves in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya and the Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan. It also names the Western Ghats of Karnataka and Maharashtra, and the Sarguja, Chanda and Bastar areas of central India. The textbook places these last three in Madhya Pradesh. Today Sarguja and Bastar are in Chhattisgarh, and Chanda (now Chandrapur) is in Maharashtra. In Meghalaya, sacred groves are the last refuges for a large number of rare and threatened plants.
Extra reading (not in your textbook): local names of sacred groves
| State | Local name |
|---|---|
| Meghalaya | Law kyntang |
| Kerala | Kavu |
| Tamil Nadu | Kovil kadu |
| Karnataka | Devara kadu |
| Maharashtra | Devrai |
| Rajasthan | Oran |
Why sacred groves matter for conservation
- They protect whole ecosystems in situ, cared for by the community itself.
- They shelter rare, endemic and medicinal plants that have vanished from the land around them.
- They protect water sources such as springs and ponds.
- They show that traditional beliefs can be a strong force for conservation.
Ramsar sites (in the syllabus, not described in your textbook)
Wetlands are areas of marsh, swamp, peatland or shallow water, natural or man-made, permanent or seasonal, with fresh, brackish or salt water. They store water, control floods, clean water and support huge numbers of birds and fish. The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands, signed in 1971 at Ramsar, Iran. Wetlands listed under it are called Ramsar sites, or wetlands of international importance. Like sacred groves, they protect species in situ. (Extra reading: India's first Ramsar sites, listed in 1981, were Chilika Lake (Odisha) and Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur, Rajasthan); the convention came into force for India in 1982. Others include Loktak Lake (Manipur), Wular Lake (Jammu and Kashmir), the Sundarbans (West Bengal), Point Calimere (Tamil Nadu) and Vembanad-Kol (Kerala). The list keeps growing. World Wetlands Day is 2 February.)
Small temple and snake groves in Kerala and Tamil Nadu still protect old trees and ponds. Chilika Lake in Odisha supports thousands of fishing families and lakhs of migratory birds each winter.
1 marks: “In which state are sacred groves the last refuge for a large number of rare and threatened plants?” Meghalaya.
2 marks: “What are sacred groves? Name two regions of India where they are found.” Forest patches protected by communities for religious reasons, where all trees and wildlife are venerated. Khasi and Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya), Aravalli Hills (Rajasthan), Western Ghats of Karnataka and Maharashtra (any two).
2 marks: “What is a Ramsar site? Why are sacred groves and Ramsar sites both counted as in situ conservation?” A wetland of international importance listed under the Ramsar Convention (Ramsar, Iran, 1971). Both protect species in their natural habitat, so the whole ecosystem is conserved.
Groves are guarded by faith; Ramsar guards the wetlands. Ramsar: Iran, 1971.