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Sacred groves potential for biodiversity managementJournal ItemHow to cite

Bhagwat Shonil A and Rutte Claudia (2006) Sacred groves potential for biodiversity management Frontiers inEcology and the Environment 4(10) pp 519ndash524

For guidance on citations see FAQs

ccopy 2006 The Ecological Society of America

Version Version of Record

Link(s) to article on publisherrsquos websitehttpdxdoiorgdoi1018901540-9295(2006)4[519SGPFBM]20CO2

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oroopenacuk

519

copy The Ecological Society of America wwwfrontiersinecologyorg

Protected areas are thought to be the cornerstones ofbiodiversity conservation and the safest strongholds for

wildlife (Bruner et al 2001) Since the first national parkwas set up in Yellowstone in 1872 some 104 791 protectedareas have been established around the world representingover 12 of the Earthrsquos land surface (UNEPndashWCMC2005) However only 6 of this formally protected landsurface (World Conservation Union [IUCN] categoriesIndashIV) lies within the areas recognized as biodiversityhotspots The high rates of population growth and compet-ing economic interests for available land (Cincotta et al2000) mean that the formal protected area network inmany regions may never achieve the internationally agreedupon target of at least 10 coverage per region (SCBD2004) Furthermore it has been argued that such ad hoctargets may be insufficient to protect many species in theworldrsquos biodiversity rich regions (Rodrigues et al 2004)

It has been recognized that the existing protected areassystem has two major shortcomings First protected areasdo not cover certain critical habitats and species becausethey are often located on land that has no other useMountainous regions with low human population densi-ties are favored while fertile agricultural valleys with highpopulation densities are often excluded For instancealthough 23 of the Earthrsquos tropical forests are protectedonly 8 of cropland and natural vegetation mosaic habi-tats receive the same protection (Chape et al 2005) As aconsequence the degree to which biodiversity is repre-sented within the existing network of protected areas isunknown and may leave a considerable number of speciesunprotected (Rodrigues et al 2004) Second the manage-ment of protected areas is often ineffective in preventinghuman encroachment (Brandon et al 1998) Of the 7322protected areas in developing countries where many peo-ple still rely on wild resources for food animal fodder andfuel 30 are strictly protected permitting no use ofresources (Pretty 2003) The exclusion of local people isbelieved to be one of the reasons why protected areas areineffective despite the large sums of money and man-power invested in them (Brown 2003)

Here we present evidence of nature conservation tradi-tions from across the world and refer to specific examplesfrom biodiversity rich countries where such traditions areupheld even today Natural sacred sites protected bylocal traditions are often situated within agriculturallandscapes They can play a valuable role in biodiversityconservation because of their long history and the localpeoplersquos willingness to protect and conserve them Weargue that by incorporating natural sacred sites into theexisting protected area networks the effectiveness ofthese networks in achieving conservation objectives

REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS

Sacred groves potential for biodiversitymanagement Shonil A Bhagwat12 and Claudia Rutte34

Existing global protected area networks have two shortcomings (1) they do not cover certain habitats and (2)local people often resent their formal management Here we show that communities around the world tradi-tionally protect natural sites that are dedicated to ancestral spirits or deities Such sites cover a wide variety ofhabitats and are often located in biodiversity rich regions Case studies on sacred groves show that these smallforest patches play an important role in biodiversity conservation Furthermore natural sacred sites are main-tained through traditional methods of community based conservation that do not require governmentalinvolvement Incorporating these sites into conservation networks could enhance the effectiveness of protectedareas by covering a wider variety of habitats and by harnessing the support of local people In this article wediscuss current threats to sacred groves that need to be addressed through management approaches Moreresearch on the ecology and underlying socioeconomic mechanisms of natural sacred sites is required to fullyreveal their potential for biodiversity conservation

Front Ecol Environ 2006 4(10) 519ndash524

In a nutshellbull Natural sacred sites exist in many countries all over the worldbull Communities often share and manage natural sacred sites that

are not under formal protection bull We propose that such habitats should be included in biodiver-

sity managementbull However first further research is needed to more fully under-

stand their potential role in biodiversity conservation

1Natural History Museum Cromwell Road SW7 5BD LondonUK 2Oxford University Centre for the Environment University ofOxford OX1 3QY Oxford UK (shonilbhagwatouceoxacuk)3Department of Conservation Biology University of Bern Baltzerstr6 3012 Bern Switzerland 4Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of Lausanne Biophore 1015 Lausanne Switzerland

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

520

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

could be improved by increasing the variety of protectedhabitats and by harnessing the support of local peopleWe also discuss management approaches for sacred grovesthat could help to mitigate the current threats to thesetradition-linked areas

Conserving sacred sites to protect biodiversity

We searched for peer-reviewed papers and conferenceproceedings on the ISI Web of Knowledge database(httpwokmimasacuk) and found 98 references tonatural sacred sites (WebTable 1) Such sites are found onevery continent except Antarctica (Figure 1) and includea wide variety of habitats that we have classified into tencategories (Table 1)

One such tradition involves the protection of smallpatches of forest as sacred (Gadgil and Vartak 1975)Sacred groves (Figure 2) occur in various forms includingburial grounds (Mgumia and Oba 2003 Wadley andColfer 2004) and sites of ancestral or deity worship(Ramakrishnan et al 1998) and they exist in many differ-ent countries (WebTable 1) The local communitiesestablish rules that vary from grove to grove these oftenprohibit the felling of trees and the killing of animals butdo allow for the collection of firewood fodder and medic-inal plants by local people (Hughes and Chandran 1998)

As a result of these restrictions such sacred areas are pre-served over many generations and can become importantreservoirs of biodiversity For example sacred groves in the

Kodagu district of Karnataka stateIndia (Figure 2) have relict popula-tions of certain threatened treespecies (Actinodaphne lawsoniiHopea ponga Madhuca neriifoli andSyzygium zeylanicum) that are notfound in the formal protected areas(Bhagwat et al 2005a) These grovesalso shelter a high diversity ofmacrofungi 49 out of 163 species areunique to sacred groves (Brown et al2006) In the coastal regions ofKarnataka state numerous ripariangroves of Myristica fatua andGymnacranthera canarica trees havebeen reported (Chandran and Mesta2001) This species which belongsto the nutmeg family is rarely foundin official protected areas In centralTanzania Mgumia and Oba (2003)found a greater woody plant speciesrichness in sacred groves than in astate-managed forest reserve

The presence of sacred groves incultivated landscapes can also pro-vide habitat and corridors allowingthe movement of many differentorganisms (Decher 1997b Wadley

and Colfer 2004) In India sacred groves exist in 19 out of 28states and it is estimated that there are between100000ndash150000 throughout the country (Malhotra et al2001) Although the majority of these groves are less than 1ha in size and cover only 001 of the total geographic areaof the country it is their number and spatial distribution thatmake them so valuable for biodiversity conservation(Bhagwat et al 2005b) In the Kodagu district Kalam (1996)reported at least 1214 sacred groves one for every 300 ha ofland The cover of native shade trees in the neighboring cof-fee plantations also provides habitat corridors for manyspecies in the cultivated landscape (Bhagwat et al 2005b)

It is questionable whether any single sacred grove couldhave conservation value in view of the small size of thesefragmented forest patches (eg Hill and Curran 2001)However as a network the sacred groves in a region canpreserve a sizeable portion of the local biodiversity inareas where it would not be feasible to maintain largetracts of protected forests and where protected reserveswould be unlikely to receive local support However sucha network would depend on there being a certain numberof forest patches each covering a minimum area (egTabarelli and Gascon 2005)

Although more research is needed on the role of sacredgroves in landscape connectivity and on how these tradi-tional sites can be integrated into existing conservationmanagement practices the existence of sacred groves hascome under threat in many places (eg Chandrakanth et al2004) It is therefore important to develop management

Figure 1 Natural sacred sites are found on all continents except Antarctica Ourexamples come from 33 different countries ndash three each from North and South Americafive from Europe 12 from Africa eight from Asia and two from Oceania Numbers inparentheses indicate the total number of examples from that country In addition to theseexamples three others ndash two from Europe and one from the whole world ndash representedmore than one country and are not shown See WebOnly material for full citations to theliterature surveyed

EuropeFrance (1) Greece (1)

Italy (1) Spain (1) UK (2)

AsiaChina (3) India (38)

Indonesia (2) Israel (1)Japan (1) Kazakhstan

(1) Nepal (1) Russia (1)

S AmericaChile (1)

Guatemala(1) Peru (2)

AfricaBenin (2) Egypt (1) Ghana (10) GuineaBissau (1) Kenya (2) Madagascar (1)

Senegal (1) Sierra-Leone (1) South Africa (2)Tanzania (1) Togo (1)

OceaniaAustralia (1)

New Zealand (1)

N AmericaCanada (3)Mexico (3)

USA (5)

SA Bhagwat and C Rutte Sacred groves for biodiversity management

521

copy The Ecological Society of America wwwfrontiersinecologyorg

approaches that encourage the con-servation of these sites Ironicallyestablished conservation programs(eg protected area networks) do notrecognize the value of traditionalinstitutions despite the existing evi-dence for their effectiveness in bio-diversity conservation and pressurefrom researchers to include them inlocal and regional conservationplanning (Colding and Folke 2001Chan-drakanth et al 2004)

Community values of sacredgroves conservation

While it is difficult to determine theorigins of the tradition of conserv-ing sacred groves without historicalevidence it is thought that this dates back to pre-agrariansocieties (Kosambi 1962) With the advent of agriculturepeople may have set aside patches of natural habitats thatwere considered sacred while surrounding forests werecleared for cultivation (Hughes and Chandran 1998)The subsequent increase in population may have com-pelled people to use these sites for day-to-day purposessuch as fuel and food collection It would appear that theorigin of the groves was not necessarily for utilitarian pur-poses but utility may have emerged as a result of theirpresence in the landscape This may have led in turn tothe strengthening of a ldquosocial fencerdquo in order to preventunreasonable exploitation of the resources within theseforest patches This social fence now provides protectionfor a variety of species and habitats as described in theexamples below

In the dry regions of central India some perennial hillstreams and riparian gallery forests receive protection as aresult of religion-based traditions In a village in theKoraput district (Orissa state) for example there is a shrinehidden under stones within some bushes that grow amongtall trees While the surrounding land is barren the trees inthe vicinity of the shrine have remained untouched andprotected because the shrine is considered sacred by thelocal community (Thusu and Jha 1969) Protection of treesfor religious reasons is common in southern India Near thetown of Madurai (Tamilnadu state) groups of tall trees atfour separate sites are considered sacred These tree grovesprovide roosting sites for colonies of the Indian flying fox(Pteropus giganteus) It is believed that this bat which else-where is hunted for its bodyfat (for use in alternative medi-cines) receives protection because the trees are worshippedby the local people (Marimuthu 1988)

The sprinkling of saffron water around a piece of land isa common practice in Udaipur district (Raja-sthan state)in northwestern India (Gandhi 1997) The attempts ofthe local forest department to conserve an area of forestat a site near Udaipur were largely unsuccessful because of

persistent transgressions by local people Frustrated theforest officers decided to sprinkle saffron water around thesite in accordance with the local tradition This wasgreeted with enthusiasm and subsequently the local peo-ple began to respect the boundaries of the conservationarea (Gandhi 1997)

Such social taboos exist in most cultures so that infor-mal practices rather than laws determine human behav-ior (Colding and Folke 2001) There are a number ofexamples where part or all of a terrestrial or aquatic land-scape may never be subjected to resource use (for anextensive review see Colding and Folke [2001]) Theserestrictions may not be specifically designed for natureconservation instead the motivation is based on tradi-tions practices and beliefs passed down through genera-tions (Berkes et al 2000) The rationale for sacred groveconservation is therefore very different from the rationalefor setting aside formal protected areas Furthermoreenforcement and sanctioning mechanisms are also differ-ent Formal protection depends on legal frameworks anda large number of officers to enforce the laws while infor-mal nature conservation is mostly enforced by commu-nity members The former system can be expensive whilethe latter is carried out voluntarily and costs little ornothing (North 1990) The international conservationcommunity has largely failed to recognize this approach

The Integrated Conservation and DevelopmentProjects (ICDPs) a form of international aid specificallyfor conserving natural resources as well as improvingquality of life in developing countries are often criticizedfor their failures and for their attempts to achieve twovery contrasting objectives (Brandon et al 1998 Krameret al 1997 Oates 1999 Terborgh 1999) HoweverBrechin et al (2002) argue that authoritarian protectionpractices overlook certain key aspects of social processesthat could make conservation work more efficiently Thekey aspects of non-authoritarian social regulation of nat-ural resources are acceptance among members of the

Table 1 Natural sacred sites protect a wide variety of habitats in 33countries (see WebOnly material for full citations to the reviewedliterature)

Habitat protected Countriesregions represented

Coastal Australia Guinea-Bissau JapanTogo

Cultivated Indonesia Mexico

Forest BeninChina EgyptGhana India IndonesiaMadagascar Sierra Leone

Garden New Zealand USA Europe

Lakes Egypt India Kenya South Africa

Mixed landscape Canada Guatemala India Mexico Spain UK USA

Montane Chile China France Greece India Italy Kazakhstan Nepal Peru

Russia UK USA Europe global

Riparian Canada India

Savanna Ghana South Africa USA

Woodlots Ghana India Israel SenegalTanzania

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

522

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

community as well as fair enforcement of the agreedrules strong organizational and institutional arrange-ments and constructive dialogue We agree with Brechinet al (2002) and would further argue that informal con-servation traditions also have a high degree of acceptanceamong local communities If the merits of such traditionsare recognized and legitimized within ICDPs there is astrong possibility that ICDPs will work much better thanthey do at present

Management of sacred groves

Although many sacred groves are still well preservedmany have been destroyed and others are now threatenedby human encroachment The ldquosocial fencerdquo traditionallyprovided by the local conservation ethic is weakening ina number of places (eg Kalam 1996 Bonn 2000Chandrakanth et al 2004) The reasons why people nolonger respect the integrity of these sites need to be takeninto account in future management approaches

Legal ownership

In many countries local communities have lost their cus-tomary rights of forest management to the governmentIn India many sacred groves were destroyed by commer-cial forestry operations and local individuals also beganto make use of these formerly community owned forests(eg Chandrakanth et al 2004) Transferring the propertyrights of sacred groves back to local communities mayhelp to prevent further infringements The social customs

and management traditions oflocal communities proved largelysuccessful in the past and thereforehave the potential to protectsacred groves in the future

Social and economic changes

A successful return to the tradi-tional local community manage-ment practices will only be possi-ble if the communities can meetthe challenges posed by the mod-ern world and adapt to its socialand economic changes Someregions of the world are facing sub-stantial population growth andincreasing immigration the result-ing need for land puts some sacredgroves under pressure (Kalam1996) Furthermore immigrantsoften retain their own cultures andcustoms which might not includethe values underlying the mainte-nance of sacred groves These for-est patches are also at risk from

landowners who want to expand their cultivated landFor example neighboring farmers in Kodagu districtdestroyed certain sacred groves while establishing coffeeplantations and ginger fields or when they sold nativetimber trees and replaced them with fast-growing exoticspecies (Kalam 1996 Bonn 2000) Governmental inter-ference may be necessary in cases where powerful individ-uals ignore community interests

Changes in spiritual and religious values

Sacred groves are assumed to have their origins inhunterndashgatherer societies and thus in animistic beliefs Insome countries conversion to other religions has resultedin the degradation of sacred groves In ancient Europe(4thndash5th century AD) for example groves weredestroyed with the arrival of Christianity (Matthews andMatthews 2002) In many places in India local folkdeities have been and continue to be replaced withHindu deities (a process referred to as ldquoSanskritizationrdquoKalam 1996) This has resulted in the erection of templesin some previously sacred groves (Figure 3) Moreover inmany countries local traditions are being challenged bywesternized urban cultures so that the institution ofsacred groves is losing its cultural importance for theyounger generations of local people

Recognizing the cultural and ecological values of sacredgroves may help to revive or reinvent the tradition of pre-serving these sites A greater understanding of the socialnetworks that manage the groves will be necessaryincluding information on the type of community man-

Figure 2 Sacred grove dedicated to the god Aiyappa in Biligunda village KodaguWestern Ghats India Sacred groves are small patches of forest dedicated to ancestral ordeity worship These patches often have a long history of protection and shelter naturalvegetation including some very old trees

SA Bhagwat and C Rutte Sacred groves for biodiversity management

523

copy The Ecological Society of America wwwfrontiersinecologyorg

agement structure and the primarygroups involved in the manage-ment of such sites Educationalprograms that explain the ecologi-cal importance of sacred groves aswell as their role in local tradi-tions could also play a crucial roleFor example in Kodagu district ithas been possible to prevent fur-ther destruction of sacred grovesthrough recognition of the exis-tence of local traditional customsand by endorsing their sacred sta-tus (Kushalappa and Bhagwat2001) We hope that futureresearch will continue to focus onthe social mechanisms that under-pin the sacred grove tradition

Conclusions

While our proposal to incorporatenatural sacred sites in global con-servation initiatives is not entirelynew we seek to emphasize analternative view of conservationthat is not led by authoritarianpractices Such sites could play an important role incommunity based conservation of biodiversity andshould therefore be included in conservation strategiesHowever these traditional institutions are currently fac-ing new threats that need to be recognized by scientistsas well as practitioners The nature and extent of thesethreats vary from nation to nation and even regionallyor by site The integration of sacred groves and othersacred natural sites into the existing protected area net-works must take into account the local ecology of thearea as well as the prevailing threats As a result itwould be unwise to prescribe a single managementapproach The ICDPs that are so often criticized for theirfailures may benefit from a greater sensitivity towardsnatural sacred sites and the communities that managethem More research on the ecological values and thesociocultural mechanisms underlying sacred natural sitesis needed to fully understand and realize their potentialfor biodiversity conservation in the future

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to G Evanno R Bergmuumlller D Penn and CWedekind for their comments and helpful suggestions Themanuscript has also benefited from discussions with NBrown P Savill R Vane-Wright K Willis and P WilliamsSABrsquos positions have been funded through BBSRC andNERC grants and CR is partly funded by the SwissCommission for Research Partnerships with DevelopingCountries and The Cogito Foundation

ReferencesBerkes F Colding J and Folke C 2000 Rediscovery of traditional

ecological knowledge as adaptive management Ecol Appl 101251ndash62

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005a The role of informal protected areas in maintainingbiodiversity in the western Ghats of India Ecol Soc 10 8wwwecologyandsocietyorgvol10iss1art8 Viewed October 2006

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005b A landscape approach to biodiversity conservation ofsacred groves in the Western Ghats of India Conserv Biol 191853ndash62

Bonn E 2000 An economic framework to land extensification InRamakrishnan PS Chandrashekara UM Elouard C et al(Eds) Mountain biodiversity land use dynamics and tradi-tional knowledge Man and the Biosphere Programme NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Brandon K Redford KH and Sanderson SE 1998 Parks in perilpeople politics and protected areas Washington DC TheNature Conservancy and Island Press

Brechin SR Wilshusen PR Fortwangler CL and West PC 2002Beyond the square wheel toward a more comprehensive under-standing of biodiversity conservation as social and politicalprocess Soc Natur Resour 15 41ndash64

Brown K 2003 Three challenges for a real people-centred conser-vation Global Ecol Biogeogr 12 89ndash92

Brown N Bhagwat S and Watkinson S 2006 Macrofungal diver-sity in fragmented and disturbed forests of the Western Ghatsof India J Appl Ecol 43 11ndash17

Bruner AG Gullison RE Rice RE and da Fonseca GAB 2001Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversityScience 291 125ndash28

Chandrakanth MG Bhat MG and Accavva MS 2004 Socio-eco-nomic changes and sacred groves in south India protecting acommunity-based resource management institution NatResour Forum 28 102ndash11

Figure 3 Sacred grove dedicated to the goddess Chamundi in village Mythadi KodaguWestern Ghats India In many sacred groves in India local folk deities continue to bereplaced with Hindu deities a process referred to as ldquoSanskritizationrdquo (Kalam 1996) Thishas resulted in the erection of temples in some previously sacred groves (notice the structurebuilt from cement-concrete and the lack of old trees)

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

524

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

Chandran MDS and Mesta D 2001 On the conservation of theMyristica swamps of the Western Ghats In Shaanker URGaneshaiah KN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resourcesstatus threats and conservation strategies New Delhi IndiaOxford and India Book House

Chape S Harrison J Spalding M and Lysenko I 2005 Measuringthe extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicatorfor meeting global biodiversity targets Philos T Roy Soc B 360443ndash55

Cincotta RP Wisnewski J and Engelman R 2000 Human popula-tion in the biodiversity hotspots Nature 404 990ndash92

Colding J and Folke C 2001 Social taboos ldquoinvisiblerdquo systems oflocal resource management and biological conservation EcolAppl 11 584ndash600

Decher J 1997 Conservation small mammals and the future ofsacred groves in west Africa Biodivers Conserv 6 1007ndash26

Gadgil M and Vartak VD 1975 Sacred groves of India a plea forcontinued conservation J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 72 313ndash20

Gandhi K 1997 Kesar Chirkav traditional system of forest protec-tion Newsletter Sevamandir Udaipur wwwsevamandirorgNewsletterhtm Viewed October 2006

Hill JL and Curran PJ 2001 Species composition in fragmentedforests conservation implications of changing forest area ApplGeogr 21 157ndash74

Hughes JD and Chandran MDS 1998 Sacred groves around theearth an overview In Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG andChandrashekara UM (Eds) Conserving the sacred for biodiversitymanagement New Delhi India Oxford and India Book House

Kalam MA 1996 Sacred groves in Kodagu district of Karnataka(south India) a sociohistorical study Pondicherry IndiaInstitut Franccedilais de Pondicherry

Kosambi DD 1962 Myth and reality studies in the formation ofIndian culture Bombay India Popular Press

Kramer RA van Schaik CP and Johnson J (Eds) 1997 Last standprotected areas and the defense of tropical biodiversity NewYork NY Oxford University Press

Kushalappa CG and Bhagwat SA 2001 Sacred groves biodiver-sity threats and conservation In Shaanker UR GaneshaiahKN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resources statusthreats and conservation strategies New Delhi India Oxfordand India Book House

Malhotra KC Gokhale Y and Chatterjee S 2001 Cultural andecological dimensions of sacred groves in India New Delhi andBhopal India Indian National Science Academy and theIndira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

Marimuthu G 1988 The sacred flying fox of India Bats 6 10ndash11Matthews J and Matthews C 2002 Taliesen the last Celtic

shaman Rochester VT Inner Traditions InternationalMgumia FH and Oba G 2003 Potential role of sacred groves in

biodiversity conservation in Tanzania Environ Conserv 30259ndash65

North DC 1990 Institutions institutional change and economicperformance Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press

Oates JF 1999 Myth and reality in the rainforest how conserva-tion strategies are failing in west Africa Berkeley CAUniversity of California Press

Pretty J 2003 Social capital and the collective management ofresources Science 302 1912ndash14

Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG and Chandrashekara UM 1998Conserving the sacred for biodiversity management NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Rodrigues ASL Andelman SJ Bakarr MI et al 2004 Effectivenessof the global protected area network in representing speciesdiversity Nature 428 640ndash43

SCBD (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)2004 Decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties tothe Convention on Biological Diversity at its seventh meetingMontreal Canada Secretariat of the Convention onBiological Diversity

Tabarelli M and Gascon C 2005 Lessons from fragmentationresearch improving management and policy guidelines for bio-diversity conservation Conserv Biol 19 734ndash39

Terborgh J 1999 Requiem for nature Washington DC IslandPress

Thusu KN and Jha M 1969 The Ollar Gadaba of Koraput NewDelhi India Anthropological Survey of India CalcuttaMemoir No 27

UNEPndashWCMC 2005 World database on protected areaswwwunep-wcmcorgwdpa Viewed October 2006

Wadley RL and Colfer CJP 2004 Sacred forest hunting and con-servation in West Kalimantan Indonesia Hum Ecol 32313ndash38

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Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Issue No 10 Volume 4 December 2006

T H E E C O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y O F A M E R I C A

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

520

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

could be improved by increasing the variety of protectedhabitats and by harnessing the support of local peopleWe also discuss management approaches for sacred grovesthat could help to mitigate the current threats to thesetradition-linked areas

Conserving sacred sites to protect biodiversity

We searched for peer-reviewed papers and conferenceproceedings on the ISI Web of Knowledge database(httpwokmimasacuk) and found 98 references tonatural sacred sites (WebTable 1) Such sites are found onevery continent except Antarctica (Figure 1) and includea wide variety of habitats that we have classified into tencategories (Table 1)

One such tradition involves the protection of smallpatches of forest as sacred (Gadgil and Vartak 1975)Sacred groves (Figure 2) occur in various forms includingburial grounds (Mgumia and Oba 2003 Wadley andColfer 2004) and sites of ancestral or deity worship(Ramakrishnan et al 1998) and they exist in many differ-ent countries (WebTable 1) The local communitiesestablish rules that vary from grove to grove these oftenprohibit the felling of trees and the killing of animals butdo allow for the collection of firewood fodder and medic-inal plants by local people (Hughes and Chandran 1998)

As a result of these restrictions such sacred areas are pre-served over many generations and can become importantreservoirs of biodiversity For example sacred groves in the

Kodagu district of Karnataka stateIndia (Figure 2) have relict popula-tions of certain threatened treespecies (Actinodaphne lawsoniiHopea ponga Madhuca neriifoli andSyzygium zeylanicum) that are notfound in the formal protected areas(Bhagwat et al 2005a) These grovesalso shelter a high diversity ofmacrofungi 49 out of 163 species areunique to sacred groves (Brown et al2006) In the coastal regions ofKarnataka state numerous ripariangroves of Myristica fatua andGymnacranthera canarica trees havebeen reported (Chandran and Mesta2001) This species which belongsto the nutmeg family is rarely foundin official protected areas In centralTanzania Mgumia and Oba (2003)found a greater woody plant speciesrichness in sacred groves than in astate-managed forest reserve

The presence of sacred groves incultivated landscapes can also pro-vide habitat and corridors allowingthe movement of many differentorganisms (Decher 1997b Wadley

and Colfer 2004) In India sacred groves exist in 19 out of 28states and it is estimated that there are between100000ndash150000 throughout the country (Malhotra et al2001) Although the majority of these groves are less than 1ha in size and cover only 001 of the total geographic areaof the country it is their number and spatial distribution thatmake them so valuable for biodiversity conservation(Bhagwat et al 2005b) In the Kodagu district Kalam (1996)reported at least 1214 sacred groves one for every 300 ha ofland The cover of native shade trees in the neighboring cof-fee plantations also provides habitat corridors for manyspecies in the cultivated landscape (Bhagwat et al 2005b)

It is questionable whether any single sacred grove couldhave conservation value in view of the small size of thesefragmented forest patches (eg Hill and Curran 2001)However as a network the sacred groves in a region canpreserve a sizeable portion of the local biodiversity inareas where it would not be feasible to maintain largetracts of protected forests and where protected reserveswould be unlikely to receive local support However sucha network would depend on there being a certain numberof forest patches each covering a minimum area (egTabarelli and Gascon 2005)

Although more research is needed on the role of sacredgroves in landscape connectivity and on how these tradi-tional sites can be integrated into existing conservationmanagement practices the existence of sacred groves hascome under threat in many places (eg Chandrakanth et al2004) It is therefore important to develop management

Figure 1 Natural sacred sites are found on all continents except Antarctica Ourexamples come from 33 different countries ndash three each from North and South Americafive from Europe 12 from Africa eight from Asia and two from Oceania Numbers inparentheses indicate the total number of examples from that country In addition to theseexamples three others ndash two from Europe and one from the whole world ndash representedmore than one country and are not shown See WebOnly material for full citations to theliterature surveyed

EuropeFrance (1) Greece (1)

Italy (1) Spain (1) UK (2)

AsiaChina (3) India (38)

Indonesia (2) Israel (1)Japan (1) Kazakhstan

(1) Nepal (1) Russia (1)

S AmericaChile (1)

Guatemala(1) Peru (2)

AfricaBenin (2) Egypt (1) Ghana (10) GuineaBissau (1) Kenya (2) Madagascar (1)

Senegal (1) Sierra-Leone (1) South Africa (2)Tanzania (1) Togo (1)

OceaniaAustralia (1)

New Zealand (1)

N AmericaCanada (3)Mexico (3)

USA (5)

SA Bhagwat and C Rutte Sacred groves for biodiversity management

521

copy The Ecological Society of America wwwfrontiersinecologyorg

approaches that encourage the con-servation of these sites Ironicallyestablished conservation programs(eg protected area networks) do notrecognize the value of traditionalinstitutions despite the existing evi-dence for their effectiveness in bio-diversity conservation and pressurefrom researchers to include them inlocal and regional conservationplanning (Colding and Folke 2001Chan-drakanth et al 2004)

Community values of sacredgroves conservation

While it is difficult to determine theorigins of the tradition of conserv-ing sacred groves without historicalevidence it is thought that this dates back to pre-agrariansocieties (Kosambi 1962) With the advent of agriculturepeople may have set aside patches of natural habitats thatwere considered sacred while surrounding forests werecleared for cultivation (Hughes and Chandran 1998)The subsequent increase in population may have com-pelled people to use these sites for day-to-day purposessuch as fuel and food collection It would appear that theorigin of the groves was not necessarily for utilitarian pur-poses but utility may have emerged as a result of theirpresence in the landscape This may have led in turn tothe strengthening of a ldquosocial fencerdquo in order to preventunreasonable exploitation of the resources within theseforest patches This social fence now provides protectionfor a variety of species and habitats as described in theexamples below

In the dry regions of central India some perennial hillstreams and riparian gallery forests receive protection as aresult of religion-based traditions In a village in theKoraput district (Orissa state) for example there is a shrinehidden under stones within some bushes that grow amongtall trees While the surrounding land is barren the trees inthe vicinity of the shrine have remained untouched andprotected because the shrine is considered sacred by thelocal community (Thusu and Jha 1969) Protection of treesfor religious reasons is common in southern India Near thetown of Madurai (Tamilnadu state) groups of tall trees atfour separate sites are considered sacred These tree grovesprovide roosting sites for colonies of the Indian flying fox(Pteropus giganteus) It is believed that this bat which else-where is hunted for its bodyfat (for use in alternative medi-cines) receives protection because the trees are worshippedby the local people (Marimuthu 1988)

The sprinkling of saffron water around a piece of land isa common practice in Udaipur district (Raja-sthan state)in northwestern India (Gandhi 1997) The attempts ofthe local forest department to conserve an area of forestat a site near Udaipur were largely unsuccessful because of

persistent transgressions by local people Frustrated theforest officers decided to sprinkle saffron water around thesite in accordance with the local tradition This wasgreeted with enthusiasm and subsequently the local peo-ple began to respect the boundaries of the conservationarea (Gandhi 1997)

Such social taboos exist in most cultures so that infor-mal practices rather than laws determine human behav-ior (Colding and Folke 2001) There are a number ofexamples where part or all of a terrestrial or aquatic land-scape may never be subjected to resource use (for anextensive review see Colding and Folke [2001]) Theserestrictions may not be specifically designed for natureconservation instead the motivation is based on tradi-tions practices and beliefs passed down through genera-tions (Berkes et al 2000) The rationale for sacred groveconservation is therefore very different from the rationalefor setting aside formal protected areas Furthermoreenforcement and sanctioning mechanisms are also differ-ent Formal protection depends on legal frameworks anda large number of officers to enforce the laws while infor-mal nature conservation is mostly enforced by commu-nity members The former system can be expensive whilethe latter is carried out voluntarily and costs little ornothing (North 1990) The international conservationcommunity has largely failed to recognize this approach

The Integrated Conservation and DevelopmentProjects (ICDPs) a form of international aid specificallyfor conserving natural resources as well as improvingquality of life in developing countries are often criticizedfor their failures and for their attempts to achieve twovery contrasting objectives (Brandon et al 1998 Krameret al 1997 Oates 1999 Terborgh 1999) HoweverBrechin et al (2002) argue that authoritarian protectionpractices overlook certain key aspects of social processesthat could make conservation work more efficiently Thekey aspects of non-authoritarian social regulation of nat-ural resources are acceptance among members of the

Table 1 Natural sacred sites protect a wide variety of habitats in 33countries (see WebOnly material for full citations to the reviewedliterature)

Habitat protected Countriesregions represented

Coastal Australia Guinea-Bissau JapanTogo

Cultivated Indonesia Mexico

Forest BeninChina EgyptGhana India IndonesiaMadagascar Sierra Leone

Garden New Zealand USA Europe

Lakes Egypt India Kenya South Africa

Mixed landscape Canada Guatemala India Mexico Spain UK USA

Montane Chile China France Greece India Italy Kazakhstan Nepal Peru

Russia UK USA Europe global

Riparian Canada India

Savanna Ghana South Africa USA

Woodlots Ghana India Israel SenegalTanzania

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

522

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

community as well as fair enforcement of the agreedrules strong organizational and institutional arrange-ments and constructive dialogue We agree with Brechinet al (2002) and would further argue that informal con-servation traditions also have a high degree of acceptanceamong local communities If the merits of such traditionsare recognized and legitimized within ICDPs there is astrong possibility that ICDPs will work much better thanthey do at present

Management of sacred groves

Although many sacred groves are still well preservedmany have been destroyed and others are now threatenedby human encroachment The ldquosocial fencerdquo traditionallyprovided by the local conservation ethic is weakening ina number of places (eg Kalam 1996 Bonn 2000Chandrakanth et al 2004) The reasons why people nolonger respect the integrity of these sites need to be takeninto account in future management approaches

Legal ownership

In many countries local communities have lost their cus-tomary rights of forest management to the governmentIn India many sacred groves were destroyed by commer-cial forestry operations and local individuals also beganto make use of these formerly community owned forests(eg Chandrakanth et al 2004) Transferring the propertyrights of sacred groves back to local communities mayhelp to prevent further infringements The social customs

and management traditions oflocal communities proved largelysuccessful in the past and thereforehave the potential to protectsacred groves in the future

Social and economic changes

A successful return to the tradi-tional local community manage-ment practices will only be possi-ble if the communities can meetthe challenges posed by the mod-ern world and adapt to its socialand economic changes Someregions of the world are facing sub-stantial population growth andincreasing immigration the result-ing need for land puts some sacredgroves under pressure (Kalam1996) Furthermore immigrantsoften retain their own cultures andcustoms which might not includethe values underlying the mainte-nance of sacred groves These for-est patches are also at risk from

landowners who want to expand their cultivated landFor example neighboring farmers in Kodagu districtdestroyed certain sacred groves while establishing coffeeplantations and ginger fields or when they sold nativetimber trees and replaced them with fast-growing exoticspecies (Kalam 1996 Bonn 2000) Governmental inter-ference may be necessary in cases where powerful individ-uals ignore community interests

Changes in spiritual and religious values

Sacred groves are assumed to have their origins inhunterndashgatherer societies and thus in animistic beliefs Insome countries conversion to other religions has resultedin the degradation of sacred groves In ancient Europe(4thndash5th century AD) for example groves weredestroyed with the arrival of Christianity (Matthews andMatthews 2002) In many places in India local folkdeities have been and continue to be replaced withHindu deities (a process referred to as ldquoSanskritizationrdquoKalam 1996) This has resulted in the erection of templesin some previously sacred groves (Figure 3) Moreover inmany countries local traditions are being challenged bywesternized urban cultures so that the institution ofsacred groves is losing its cultural importance for theyounger generations of local people

Recognizing the cultural and ecological values of sacredgroves may help to revive or reinvent the tradition of pre-serving these sites A greater understanding of the socialnetworks that manage the groves will be necessaryincluding information on the type of community man-

Figure 2 Sacred grove dedicated to the god Aiyappa in Biligunda village KodaguWestern Ghats India Sacred groves are small patches of forest dedicated to ancestral ordeity worship These patches often have a long history of protection and shelter naturalvegetation including some very old trees

SA Bhagwat and C Rutte Sacred groves for biodiversity management

523

copy The Ecological Society of America wwwfrontiersinecologyorg

agement structure and the primarygroups involved in the manage-ment of such sites Educationalprograms that explain the ecologi-cal importance of sacred groves aswell as their role in local tradi-tions could also play a crucial roleFor example in Kodagu district ithas been possible to prevent fur-ther destruction of sacred grovesthrough recognition of the exis-tence of local traditional customsand by endorsing their sacred sta-tus (Kushalappa and Bhagwat2001) We hope that futureresearch will continue to focus onthe social mechanisms that under-pin the sacred grove tradition

Conclusions

While our proposal to incorporatenatural sacred sites in global con-servation initiatives is not entirelynew we seek to emphasize analternative view of conservationthat is not led by authoritarianpractices Such sites could play an important role incommunity based conservation of biodiversity andshould therefore be included in conservation strategiesHowever these traditional institutions are currently fac-ing new threats that need to be recognized by scientistsas well as practitioners The nature and extent of thesethreats vary from nation to nation and even regionallyor by site The integration of sacred groves and othersacred natural sites into the existing protected area net-works must take into account the local ecology of thearea as well as the prevailing threats As a result itwould be unwise to prescribe a single managementapproach The ICDPs that are so often criticized for theirfailures may benefit from a greater sensitivity towardsnatural sacred sites and the communities that managethem More research on the ecological values and thesociocultural mechanisms underlying sacred natural sitesis needed to fully understand and realize their potentialfor biodiversity conservation in the future

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to G Evanno R Bergmuumlller D Penn and CWedekind for their comments and helpful suggestions Themanuscript has also benefited from discussions with NBrown P Savill R Vane-Wright K Willis and P WilliamsSABrsquos positions have been funded through BBSRC andNERC grants and CR is partly funded by the SwissCommission for Research Partnerships with DevelopingCountries and The Cogito Foundation

ReferencesBerkes F Colding J and Folke C 2000 Rediscovery of traditional

ecological knowledge as adaptive management Ecol Appl 101251ndash62

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005a The role of informal protected areas in maintainingbiodiversity in the western Ghats of India Ecol Soc 10 8wwwecologyandsocietyorgvol10iss1art8 Viewed October 2006

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005b A landscape approach to biodiversity conservation ofsacred groves in the Western Ghats of India Conserv Biol 191853ndash62

Bonn E 2000 An economic framework to land extensification InRamakrishnan PS Chandrashekara UM Elouard C et al(Eds) Mountain biodiversity land use dynamics and tradi-tional knowledge Man and the Biosphere Programme NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Brandon K Redford KH and Sanderson SE 1998 Parks in perilpeople politics and protected areas Washington DC TheNature Conservancy and Island Press

Brechin SR Wilshusen PR Fortwangler CL and West PC 2002Beyond the square wheel toward a more comprehensive under-standing of biodiversity conservation as social and politicalprocess Soc Natur Resour 15 41ndash64

Brown K 2003 Three challenges for a real people-centred conser-vation Global Ecol Biogeogr 12 89ndash92

Brown N Bhagwat S and Watkinson S 2006 Macrofungal diver-sity in fragmented and disturbed forests of the Western Ghatsof India J Appl Ecol 43 11ndash17

Bruner AG Gullison RE Rice RE and da Fonseca GAB 2001Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversityScience 291 125ndash28

Chandrakanth MG Bhat MG and Accavva MS 2004 Socio-eco-nomic changes and sacred groves in south India protecting acommunity-based resource management institution NatResour Forum 28 102ndash11

Figure 3 Sacred grove dedicated to the goddess Chamundi in village Mythadi KodaguWestern Ghats India In many sacred groves in India local folk deities continue to bereplaced with Hindu deities a process referred to as ldquoSanskritizationrdquo (Kalam 1996) Thishas resulted in the erection of temples in some previously sacred groves (notice the structurebuilt from cement-concrete and the lack of old trees)

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

524

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

Chandran MDS and Mesta D 2001 On the conservation of theMyristica swamps of the Western Ghats In Shaanker URGaneshaiah KN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resourcesstatus threats and conservation strategies New Delhi IndiaOxford and India Book House

Chape S Harrison J Spalding M and Lysenko I 2005 Measuringthe extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicatorfor meeting global biodiversity targets Philos T Roy Soc B 360443ndash55

Cincotta RP Wisnewski J and Engelman R 2000 Human popula-tion in the biodiversity hotspots Nature 404 990ndash92

Colding J and Folke C 2001 Social taboos ldquoinvisiblerdquo systems oflocal resource management and biological conservation EcolAppl 11 584ndash600

Decher J 1997 Conservation small mammals and the future ofsacred groves in west Africa Biodivers Conserv 6 1007ndash26

Gadgil M and Vartak VD 1975 Sacred groves of India a plea forcontinued conservation J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 72 313ndash20

Gandhi K 1997 Kesar Chirkav traditional system of forest protec-tion Newsletter Sevamandir Udaipur wwwsevamandirorgNewsletterhtm Viewed October 2006

Hill JL and Curran PJ 2001 Species composition in fragmentedforests conservation implications of changing forest area ApplGeogr 21 157ndash74

Hughes JD and Chandran MDS 1998 Sacred groves around theearth an overview In Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG andChandrashekara UM (Eds) Conserving the sacred for biodiversitymanagement New Delhi India Oxford and India Book House

Kalam MA 1996 Sacred groves in Kodagu district of Karnataka(south India) a sociohistorical study Pondicherry IndiaInstitut Franccedilais de Pondicherry

Kosambi DD 1962 Myth and reality studies in the formation ofIndian culture Bombay India Popular Press

Kramer RA van Schaik CP and Johnson J (Eds) 1997 Last standprotected areas and the defense of tropical biodiversity NewYork NY Oxford University Press

Kushalappa CG and Bhagwat SA 2001 Sacred groves biodiver-sity threats and conservation In Shaanker UR GaneshaiahKN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resources statusthreats and conservation strategies New Delhi India Oxfordand India Book House

Malhotra KC Gokhale Y and Chatterjee S 2001 Cultural andecological dimensions of sacred groves in India New Delhi andBhopal India Indian National Science Academy and theIndira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

Marimuthu G 1988 The sacred flying fox of India Bats 6 10ndash11Matthews J and Matthews C 2002 Taliesen the last Celtic

shaman Rochester VT Inner Traditions InternationalMgumia FH and Oba G 2003 Potential role of sacred groves in

biodiversity conservation in Tanzania Environ Conserv 30259ndash65

North DC 1990 Institutions institutional change and economicperformance Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press

Oates JF 1999 Myth and reality in the rainforest how conserva-tion strategies are failing in west Africa Berkeley CAUniversity of California Press

Pretty J 2003 Social capital and the collective management ofresources Science 302 1912ndash14

Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG and Chandrashekara UM 1998Conserving the sacred for biodiversity management NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Rodrigues ASL Andelman SJ Bakarr MI et al 2004 Effectivenessof the global protected area network in representing speciesdiversity Nature 428 640ndash43

SCBD (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)2004 Decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties tothe Convention on Biological Diversity at its seventh meetingMontreal Canada Secretariat of the Convention onBiological Diversity

Tabarelli M and Gascon C 2005 Lessons from fragmentationresearch improving management and policy guidelines for bio-diversity conservation Conserv Biol 19 734ndash39

Terborgh J 1999 Requiem for nature Washington DC IslandPress

Thusu KN and Jha M 1969 The Ollar Gadaba of Koraput NewDelhi India Anthropological Survey of India CalcuttaMemoir No 27

UNEPndashWCMC 2005 World database on protected areaswwwunep-wcmcorgwdpa Viewed October 2006

Wadley RL and Colfer CJP 2004 Sacred forest hunting and con-servation in West Kalimantan Indonesia Hum Ecol 32313ndash38

TAKE THIS JOURNAL TO YOUR LIBRARIAN PLEASEAre you enjoying this issue of Frontiers

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esaesa

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Issue No 10 Volume 4 December 2006

T H E E C O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y O F A M E R I C A

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

SA Bhagwat and C Rutte Sacred groves for biodiversity management

521

copy The Ecological Society of America wwwfrontiersinecologyorg

approaches that encourage the con-servation of these sites Ironicallyestablished conservation programs(eg protected area networks) do notrecognize the value of traditionalinstitutions despite the existing evi-dence for their effectiveness in bio-diversity conservation and pressurefrom researchers to include them inlocal and regional conservationplanning (Colding and Folke 2001Chan-drakanth et al 2004)

Community values of sacredgroves conservation

While it is difficult to determine theorigins of the tradition of conserv-ing sacred groves without historicalevidence it is thought that this dates back to pre-agrariansocieties (Kosambi 1962) With the advent of agriculturepeople may have set aside patches of natural habitats thatwere considered sacred while surrounding forests werecleared for cultivation (Hughes and Chandran 1998)The subsequent increase in population may have com-pelled people to use these sites for day-to-day purposessuch as fuel and food collection It would appear that theorigin of the groves was not necessarily for utilitarian pur-poses but utility may have emerged as a result of theirpresence in the landscape This may have led in turn tothe strengthening of a ldquosocial fencerdquo in order to preventunreasonable exploitation of the resources within theseforest patches This social fence now provides protectionfor a variety of species and habitats as described in theexamples below

In the dry regions of central India some perennial hillstreams and riparian gallery forests receive protection as aresult of religion-based traditions In a village in theKoraput district (Orissa state) for example there is a shrinehidden under stones within some bushes that grow amongtall trees While the surrounding land is barren the trees inthe vicinity of the shrine have remained untouched andprotected because the shrine is considered sacred by thelocal community (Thusu and Jha 1969) Protection of treesfor religious reasons is common in southern India Near thetown of Madurai (Tamilnadu state) groups of tall trees atfour separate sites are considered sacred These tree grovesprovide roosting sites for colonies of the Indian flying fox(Pteropus giganteus) It is believed that this bat which else-where is hunted for its bodyfat (for use in alternative medi-cines) receives protection because the trees are worshippedby the local people (Marimuthu 1988)

The sprinkling of saffron water around a piece of land isa common practice in Udaipur district (Raja-sthan state)in northwestern India (Gandhi 1997) The attempts ofthe local forest department to conserve an area of forestat a site near Udaipur were largely unsuccessful because of

persistent transgressions by local people Frustrated theforest officers decided to sprinkle saffron water around thesite in accordance with the local tradition This wasgreeted with enthusiasm and subsequently the local peo-ple began to respect the boundaries of the conservationarea (Gandhi 1997)

Such social taboos exist in most cultures so that infor-mal practices rather than laws determine human behav-ior (Colding and Folke 2001) There are a number ofexamples where part or all of a terrestrial or aquatic land-scape may never be subjected to resource use (for anextensive review see Colding and Folke [2001]) Theserestrictions may not be specifically designed for natureconservation instead the motivation is based on tradi-tions practices and beliefs passed down through genera-tions (Berkes et al 2000) The rationale for sacred groveconservation is therefore very different from the rationalefor setting aside formal protected areas Furthermoreenforcement and sanctioning mechanisms are also differ-ent Formal protection depends on legal frameworks anda large number of officers to enforce the laws while infor-mal nature conservation is mostly enforced by commu-nity members The former system can be expensive whilethe latter is carried out voluntarily and costs little ornothing (North 1990) The international conservationcommunity has largely failed to recognize this approach

The Integrated Conservation and DevelopmentProjects (ICDPs) a form of international aid specificallyfor conserving natural resources as well as improvingquality of life in developing countries are often criticizedfor their failures and for their attempts to achieve twovery contrasting objectives (Brandon et al 1998 Krameret al 1997 Oates 1999 Terborgh 1999) HoweverBrechin et al (2002) argue that authoritarian protectionpractices overlook certain key aspects of social processesthat could make conservation work more efficiently Thekey aspects of non-authoritarian social regulation of nat-ural resources are acceptance among members of the

Table 1 Natural sacred sites protect a wide variety of habitats in 33countries (see WebOnly material for full citations to the reviewedliterature)

Habitat protected Countriesregions represented

Coastal Australia Guinea-Bissau JapanTogo

Cultivated Indonesia Mexico

Forest BeninChina EgyptGhana India IndonesiaMadagascar Sierra Leone

Garden New Zealand USA Europe

Lakes Egypt India Kenya South Africa

Mixed landscape Canada Guatemala India Mexico Spain UK USA

Montane Chile China France Greece India Italy Kazakhstan Nepal Peru

Russia UK USA Europe global

Riparian Canada India

Savanna Ghana South Africa USA

Woodlots Ghana India Israel SenegalTanzania

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

522

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

community as well as fair enforcement of the agreedrules strong organizational and institutional arrange-ments and constructive dialogue We agree with Brechinet al (2002) and would further argue that informal con-servation traditions also have a high degree of acceptanceamong local communities If the merits of such traditionsare recognized and legitimized within ICDPs there is astrong possibility that ICDPs will work much better thanthey do at present

Management of sacred groves

Although many sacred groves are still well preservedmany have been destroyed and others are now threatenedby human encroachment The ldquosocial fencerdquo traditionallyprovided by the local conservation ethic is weakening ina number of places (eg Kalam 1996 Bonn 2000Chandrakanth et al 2004) The reasons why people nolonger respect the integrity of these sites need to be takeninto account in future management approaches

Legal ownership

In many countries local communities have lost their cus-tomary rights of forest management to the governmentIn India many sacred groves were destroyed by commer-cial forestry operations and local individuals also beganto make use of these formerly community owned forests(eg Chandrakanth et al 2004) Transferring the propertyrights of sacred groves back to local communities mayhelp to prevent further infringements The social customs

and management traditions oflocal communities proved largelysuccessful in the past and thereforehave the potential to protectsacred groves in the future

Social and economic changes

A successful return to the tradi-tional local community manage-ment practices will only be possi-ble if the communities can meetthe challenges posed by the mod-ern world and adapt to its socialand economic changes Someregions of the world are facing sub-stantial population growth andincreasing immigration the result-ing need for land puts some sacredgroves under pressure (Kalam1996) Furthermore immigrantsoften retain their own cultures andcustoms which might not includethe values underlying the mainte-nance of sacred groves These for-est patches are also at risk from

landowners who want to expand their cultivated landFor example neighboring farmers in Kodagu districtdestroyed certain sacred groves while establishing coffeeplantations and ginger fields or when they sold nativetimber trees and replaced them with fast-growing exoticspecies (Kalam 1996 Bonn 2000) Governmental inter-ference may be necessary in cases where powerful individ-uals ignore community interests

Changes in spiritual and religious values

Sacred groves are assumed to have their origins inhunterndashgatherer societies and thus in animistic beliefs Insome countries conversion to other religions has resultedin the degradation of sacred groves In ancient Europe(4thndash5th century AD) for example groves weredestroyed with the arrival of Christianity (Matthews andMatthews 2002) In many places in India local folkdeities have been and continue to be replaced withHindu deities (a process referred to as ldquoSanskritizationrdquoKalam 1996) This has resulted in the erection of templesin some previously sacred groves (Figure 3) Moreover inmany countries local traditions are being challenged bywesternized urban cultures so that the institution ofsacred groves is losing its cultural importance for theyounger generations of local people

Recognizing the cultural and ecological values of sacredgroves may help to revive or reinvent the tradition of pre-serving these sites A greater understanding of the socialnetworks that manage the groves will be necessaryincluding information on the type of community man-

Figure 2 Sacred grove dedicated to the god Aiyappa in Biligunda village KodaguWestern Ghats India Sacred groves are small patches of forest dedicated to ancestral ordeity worship These patches often have a long history of protection and shelter naturalvegetation including some very old trees

SA Bhagwat and C Rutte Sacred groves for biodiversity management

523

copy The Ecological Society of America wwwfrontiersinecologyorg

agement structure and the primarygroups involved in the manage-ment of such sites Educationalprograms that explain the ecologi-cal importance of sacred groves aswell as their role in local tradi-tions could also play a crucial roleFor example in Kodagu district ithas been possible to prevent fur-ther destruction of sacred grovesthrough recognition of the exis-tence of local traditional customsand by endorsing their sacred sta-tus (Kushalappa and Bhagwat2001) We hope that futureresearch will continue to focus onthe social mechanisms that under-pin the sacred grove tradition

Conclusions

While our proposal to incorporatenatural sacred sites in global con-servation initiatives is not entirelynew we seek to emphasize analternative view of conservationthat is not led by authoritarianpractices Such sites could play an important role incommunity based conservation of biodiversity andshould therefore be included in conservation strategiesHowever these traditional institutions are currently fac-ing new threats that need to be recognized by scientistsas well as practitioners The nature and extent of thesethreats vary from nation to nation and even regionallyor by site The integration of sacred groves and othersacred natural sites into the existing protected area net-works must take into account the local ecology of thearea as well as the prevailing threats As a result itwould be unwise to prescribe a single managementapproach The ICDPs that are so often criticized for theirfailures may benefit from a greater sensitivity towardsnatural sacred sites and the communities that managethem More research on the ecological values and thesociocultural mechanisms underlying sacred natural sitesis needed to fully understand and realize their potentialfor biodiversity conservation in the future

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to G Evanno R Bergmuumlller D Penn and CWedekind for their comments and helpful suggestions Themanuscript has also benefited from discussions with NBrown P Savill R Vane-Wright K Willis and P WilliamsSABrsquos positions have been funded through BBSRC andNERC grants and CR is partly funded by the SwissCommission for Research Partnerships with DevelopingCountries and The Cogito Foundation

ReferencesBerkes F Colding J and Folke C 2000 Rediscovery of traditional

ecological knowledge as adaptive management Ecol Appl 101251ndash62

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005a The role of informal protected areas in maintainingbiodiversity in the western Ghats of India Ecol Soc 10 8wwwecologyandsocietyorgvol10iss1art8 Viewed October 2006

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005b A landscape approach to biodiversity conservation ofsacred groves in the Western Ghats of India Conserv Biol 191853ndash62

Bonn E 2000 An economic framework to land extensification InRamakrishnan PS Chandrashekara UM Elouard C et al(Eds) Mountain biodiversity land use dynamics and tradi-tional knowledge Man and the Biosphere Programme NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Brandon K Redford KH and Sanderson SE 1998 Parks in perilpeople politics and protected areas Washington DC TheNature Conservancy and Island Press

Brechin SR Wilshusen PR Fortwangler CL and West PC 2002Beyond the square wheel toward a more comprehensive under-standing of biodiversity conservation as social and politicalprocess Soc Natur Resour 15 41ndash64

Brown K 2003 Three challenges for a real people-centred conser-vation Global Ecol Biogeogr 12 89ndash92

Brown N Bhagwat S and Watkinson S 2006 Macrofungal diver-sity in fragmented and disturbed forests of the Western Ghatsof India J Appl Ecol 43 11ndash17

Bruner AG Gullison RE Rice RE and da Fonseca GAB 2001Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversityScience 291 125ndash28

Chandrakanth MG Bhat MG and Accavva MS 2004 Socio-eco-nomic changes and sacred groves in south India protecting acommunity-based resource management institution NatResour Forum 28 102ndash11

Figure 3 Sacred grove dedicated to the goddess Chamundi in village Mythadi KodaguWestern Ghats India In many sacred groves in India local folk deities continue to bereplaced with Hindu deities a process referred to as ldquoSanskritizationrdquo (Kalam 1996) Thishas resulted in the erection of temples in some previously sacred groves (notice the structurebuilt from cement-concrete and the lack of old trees)

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

524

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

Chandran MDS and Mesta D 2001 On the conservation of theMyristica swamps of the Western Ghats In Shaanker URGaneshaiah KN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resourcesstatus threats and conservation strategies New Delhi IndiaOxford and India Book House

Chape S Harrison J Spalding M and Lysenko I 2005 Measuringthe extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicatorfor meeting global biodiversity targets Philos T Roy Soc B 360443ndash55

Cincotta RP Wisnewski J and Engelman R 2000 Human popula-tion in the biodiversity hotspots Nature 404 990ndash92

Colding J and Folke C 2001 Social taboos ldquoinvisiblerdquo systems oflocal resource management and biological conservation EcolAppl 11 584ndash600

Decher J 1997 Conservation small mammals and the future ofsacred groves in west Africa Biodivers Conserv 6 1007ndash26

Gadgil M and Vartak VD 1975 Sacred groves of India a plea forcontinued conservation J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 72 313ndash20

Gandhi K 1997 Kesar Chirkav traditional system of forest protec-tion Newsletter Sevamandir Udaipur wwwsevamandirorgNewsletterhtm Viewed October 2006

Hill JL and Curran PJ 2001 Species composition in fragmentedforests conservation implications of changing forest area ApplGeogr 21 157ndash74

Hughes JD and Chandran MDS 1998 Sacred groves around theearth an overview In Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG andChandrashekara UM (Eds) Conserving the sacred for biodiversitymanagement New Delhi India Oxford and India Book House

Kalam MA 1996 Sacred groves in Kodagu district of Karnataka(south India) a sociohistorical study Pondicherry IndiaInstitut Franccedilais de Pondicherry

Kosambi DD 1962 Myth and reality studies in the formation ofIndian culture Bombay India Popular Press

Kramer RA van Schaik CP and Johnson J (Eds) 1997 Last standprotected areas and the defense of tropical biodiversity NewYork NY Oxford University Press

Kushalappa CG and Bhagwat SA 2001 Sacred groves biodiver-sity threats and conservation In Shaanker UR GaneshaiahKN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resources statusthreats and conservation strategies New Delhi India Oxfordand India Book House

Malhotra KC Gokhale Y and Chatterjee S 2001 Cultural andecological dimensions of sacred groves in India New Delhi andBhopal India Indian National Science Academy and theIndira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

Marimuthu G 1988 The sacred flying fox of India Bats 6 10ndash11Matthews J and Matthews C 2002 Taliesen the last Celtic

shaman Rochester VT Inner Traditions InternationalMgumia FH and Oba G 2003 Potential role of sacred groves in

biodiversity conservation in Tanzania Environ Conserv 30259ndash65

North DC 1990 Institutions institutional change and economicperformance Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press

Oates JF 1999 Myth and reality in the rainforest how conserva-tion strategies are failing in west Africa Berkeley CAUniversity of California Press

Pretty J 2003 Social capital and the collective management ofresources Science 302 1912ndash14

Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG and Chandrashekara UM 1998Conserving the sacred for biodiversity management NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Rodrigues ASL Andelman SJ Bakarr MI et al 2004 Effectivenessof the global protected area network in representing speciesdiversity Nature 428 640ndash43

SCBD (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)2004 Decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties tothe Convention on Biological Diversity at its seventh meetingMontreal Canada Secretariat of the Convention onBiological Diversity

Tabarelli M and Gascon C 2005 Lessons from fragmentationresearch improving management and policy guidelines for bio-diversity conservation Conserv Biol 19 734ndash39

Terborgh J 1999 Requiem for nature Washington DC IslandPress

Thusu KN and Jha M 1969 The Ollar Gadaba of Koraput NewDelhi India Anthropological Survey of India CalcuttaMemoir No 27

UNEPndashWCMC 2005 World database on protected areaswwwunep-wcmcorgwdpa Viewed October 2006

Wadley RL and Colfer CJP 2004 Sacred forest hunting and con-servation in West Kalimantan Indonesia Hum Ecol 32313ndash38

TAKE THIS JOURNAL TO YOUR LIBRARIAN PLEASEAre you enjoying this issue of Frontiers

If your library had a subscription colleagues and students could enjoy it tooPlease consider recommending Frontiers in Ecology and Environment to your library

Clip or copy the form below Thank you for your support

Library Recommendation Form

To Acquisition Librarian Serials

From

Dept

Signature Date

I recommend the library subscribe to Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (ISSN 1540-9295)

To request a free sample issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment call (301) 588-4691 or email Sika Dunyoh

at sikaesaorg Order Frontiers by contacting ESA Headquarters at (202) 833-8773 online at wwwesaorg or through your subscription agent

esaesa

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Issue No 10 Volume 4 December 2006

T H E E C O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y O F A M E R I C A

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

522

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

community as well as fair enforcement of the agreedrules strong organizational and institutional arrange-ments and constructive dialogue We agree with Brechinet al (2002) and would further argue that informal con-servation traditions also have a high degree of acceptanceamong local communities If the merits of such traditionsare recognized and legitimized within ICDPs there is astrong possibility that ICDPs will work much better thanthey do at present

Management of sacred groves

Although many sacred groves are still well preservedmany have been destroyed and others are now threatenedby human encroachment The ldquosocial fencerdquo traditionallyprovided by the local conservation ethic is weakening ina number of places (eg Kalam 1996 Bonn 2000Chandrakanth et al 2004) The reasons why people nolonger respect the integrity of these sites need to be takeninto account in future management approaches

Legal ownership

In many countries local communities have lost their cus-tomary rights of forest management to the governmentIn India many sacred groves were destroyed by commer-cial forestry operations and local individuals also beganto make use of these formerly community owned forests(eg Chandrakanth et al 2004) Transferring the propertyrights of sacred groves back to local communities mayhelp to prevent further infringements The social customs

and management traditions oflocal communities proved largelysuccessful in the past and thereforehave the potential to protectsacred groves in the future

Social and economic changes

A successful return to the tradi-tional local community manage-ment practices will only be possi-ble if the communities can meetthe challenges posed by the mod-ern world and adapt to its socialand economic changes Someregions of the world are facing sub-stantial population growth andincreasing immigration the result-ing need for land puts some sacredgroves under pressure (Kalam1996) Furthermore immigrantsoften retain their own cultures andcustoms which might not includethe values underlying the mainte-nance of sacred groves These for-est patches are also at risk from

landowners who want to expand their cultivated landFor example neighboring farmers in Kodagu districtdestroyed certain sacred groves while establishing coffeeplantations and ginger fields or when they sold nativetimber trees and replaced them with fast-growing exoticspecies (Kalam 1996 Bonn 2000) Governmental inter-ference may be necessary in cases where powerful individ-uals ignore community interests

Changes in spiritual and religious values

Sacred groves are assumed to have their origins inhunterndashgatherer societies and thus in animistic beliefs Insome countries conversion to other religions has resultedin the degradation of sacred groves In ancient Europe(4thndash5th century AD) for example groves weredestroyed with the arrival of Christianity (Matthews andMatthews 2002) In many places in India local folkdeities have been and continue to be replaced withHindu deities (a process referred to as ldquoSanskritizationrdquoKalam 1996) This has resulted in the erection of templesin some previously sacred groves (Figure 3) Moreover inmany countries local traditions are being challenged bywesternized urban cultures so that the institution ofsacred groves is losing its cultural importance for theyounger generations of local people

Recognizing the cultural and ecological values of sacredgroves may help to revive or reinvent the tradition of pre-serving these sites A greater understanding of the socialnetworks that manage the groves will be necessaryincluding information on the type of community man-

Figure 2 Sacred grove dedicated to the god Aiyappa in Biligunda village KodaguWestern Ghats India Sacred groves are small patches of forest dedicated to ancestral ordeity worship These patches often have a long history of protection and shelter naturalvegetation including some very old trees

SA Bhagwat and C Rutte Sacred groves for biodiversity management

523

copy The Ecological Society of America wwwfrontiersinecologyorg

agement structure and the primarygroups involved in the manage-ment of such sites Educationalprograms that explain the ecologi-cal importance of sacred groves aswell as their role in local tradi-tions could also play a crucial roleFor example in Kodagu district ithas been possible to prevent fur-ther destruction of sacred grovesthrough recognition of the exis-tence of local traditional customsand by endorsing their sacred sta-tus (Kushalappa and Bhagwat2001) We hope that futureresearch will continue to focus onthe social mechanisms that under-pin the sacred grove tradition

Conclusions

While our proposal to incorporatenatural sacred sites in global con-servation initiatives is not entirelynew we seek to emphasize analternative view of conservationthat is not led by authoritarianpractices Such sites could play an important role incommunity based conservation of biodiversity andshould therefore be included in conservation strategiesHowever these traditional institutions are currently fac-ing new threats that need to be recognized by scientistsas well as practitioners The nature and extent of thesethreats vary from nation to nation and even regionallyor by site The integration of sacred groves and othersacred natural sites into the existing protected area net-works must take into account the local ecology of thearea as well as the prevailing threats As a result itwould be unwise to prescribe a single managementapproach The ICDPs that are so often criticized for theirfailures may benefit from a greater sensitivity towardsnatural sacred sites and the communities that managethem More research on the ecological values and thesociocultural mechanisms underlying sacred natural sitesis needed to fully understand and realize their potentialfor biodiversity conservation in the future

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to G Evanno R Bergmuumlller D Penn and CWedekind for their comments and helpful suggestions Themanuscript has also benefited from discussions with NBrown P Savill R Vane-Wright K Willis and P WilliamsSABrsquos positions have been funded through BBSRC andNERC grants and CR is partly funded by the SwissCommission for Research Partnerships with DevelopingCountries and The Cogito Foundation

ReferencesBerkes F Colding J and Folke C 2000 Rediscovery of traditional

ecological knowledge as adaptive management Ecol Appl 101251ndash62

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005a The role of informal protected areas in maintainingbiodiversity in the western Ghats of India Ecol Soc 10 8wwwecologyandsocietyorgvol10iss1art8 Viewed October 2006

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005b A landscape approach to biodiversity conservation ofsacred groves in the Western Ghats of India Conserv Biol 191853ndash62

Bonn E 2000 An economic framework to land extensification InRamakrishnan PS Chandrashekara UM Elouard C et al(Eds) Mountain biodiversity land use dynamics and tradi-tional knowledge Man and the Biosphere Programme NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Brandon K Redford KH and Sanderson SE 1998 Parks in perilpeople politics and protected areas Washington DC TheNature Conservancy and Island Press

Brechin SR Wilshusen PR Fortwangler CL and West PC 2002Beyond the square wheel toward a more comprehensive under-standing of biodiversity conservation as social and politicalprocess Soc Natur Resour 15 41ndash64

Brown K 2003 Three challenges for a real people-centred conser-vation Global Ecol Biogeogr 12 89ndash92

Brown N Bhagwat S and Watkinson S 2006 Macrofungal diver-sity in fragmented and disturbed forests of the Western Ghatsof India J Appl Ecol 43 11ndash17

Bruner AG Gullison RE Rice RE and da Fonseca GAB 2001Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversityScience 291 125ndash28

Chandrakanth MG Bhat MG and Accavva MS 2004 Socio-eco-nomic changes and sacred groves in south India protecting acommunity-based resource management institution NatResour Forum 28 102ndash11

Figure 3 Sacred grove dedicated to the goddess Chamundi in village Mythadi KodaguWestern Ghats India In many sacred groves in India local folk deities continue to bereplaced with Hindu deities a process referred to as ldquoSanskritizationrdquo (Kalam 1996) Thishas resulted in the erection of temples in some previously sacred groves (notice the structurebuilt from cement-concrete and the lack of old trees)

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

524

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

Chandran MDS and Mesta D 2001 On the conservation of theMyristica swamps of the Western Ghats In Shaanker URGaneshaiah KN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resourcesstatus threats and conservation strategies New Delhi IndiaOxford and India Book House

Chape S Harrison J Spalding M and Lysenko I 2005 Measuringthe extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicatorfor meeting global biodiversity targets Philos T Roy Soc B 360443ndash55

Cincotta RP Wisnewski J and Engelman R 2000 Human popula-tion in the biodiversity hotspots Nature 404 990ndash92

Colding J and Folke C 2001 Social taboos ldquoinvisiblerdquo systems oflocal resource management and biological conservation EcolAppl 11 584ndash600

Decher J 1997 Conservation small mammals and the future ofsacred groves in west Africa Biodivers Conserv 6 1007ndash26

Gadgil M and Vartak VD 1975 Sacred groves of India a plea forcontinued conservation J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 72 313ndash20

Gandhi K 1997 Kesar Chirkav traditional system of forest protec-tion Newsletter Sevamandir Udaipur wwwsevamandirorgNewsletterhtm Viewed October 2006

Hill JL and Curran PJ 2001 Species composition in fragmentedforests conservation implications of changing forest area ApplGeogr 21 157ndash74

Hughes JD and Chandran MDS 1998 Sacred groves around theearth an overview In Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG andChandrashekara UM (Eds) Conserving the sacred for biodiversitymanagement New Delhi India Oxford and India Book House

Kalam MA 1996 Sacred groves in Kodagu district of Karnataka(south India) a sociohistorical study Pondicherry IndiaInstitut Franccedilais de Pondicherry

Kosambi DD 1962 Myth and reality studies in the formation ofIndian culture Bombay India Popular Press

Kramer RA van Schaik CP and Johnson J (Eds) 1997 Last standprotected areas and the defense of tropical biodiversity NewYork NY Oxford University Press

Kushalappa CG and Bhagwat SA 2001 Sacred groves biodiver-sity threats and conservation In Shaanker UR GaneshaiahKN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resources statusthreats and conservation strategies New Delhi India Oxfordand India Book House

Malhotra KC Gokhale Y and Chatterjee S 2001 Cultural andecological dimensions of sacred groves in India New Delhi andBhopal India Indian National Science Academy and theIndira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

Marimuthu G 1988 The sacred flying fox of India Bats 6 10ndash11Matthews J and Matthews C 2002 Taliesen the last Celtic

shaman Rochester VT Inner Traditions InternationalMgumia FH and Oba G 2003 Potential role of sacred groves in

biodiversity conservation in Tanzania Environ Conserv 30259ndash65

North DC 1990 Institutions institutional change and economicperformance Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press

Oates JF 1999 Myth and reality in the rainforest how conserva-tion strategies are failing in west Africa Berkeley CAUniversity of California Press

Pretty J 2003 Social capital and the collective management ofresources Science 302 1912ndash14

Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG and Chandrashekara UM 1998Conserving the sacred for biodiversity management NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Rodrigues ASL Andelman SJ Bakarr MI et al 2004 Effectivenessof the global protected area network in representing speciesdiversity Nature 428 640ndash43

SCBD (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)2004 Decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties tothe Convention on Biological Diversity at its seventh meetingMontreal Canada Secretariat of the Convention onBiological Diversity

Tabarelli M and Gascon C 2005 Lessons from fragmentationresearch improving management and policy guidelines for bio-diversity conservation Conserv Biol 19 734ndash39

Terborgh J 1999 Requiem for nature Washington DC IslandPress

Thusu KN and Jha M 1969 The Ollar Gadaba of Koraput NewDelhi India Anthropological Survey of India CalcuttaMemoir No 27

UNEPndashWCMC 2005 World database on protected areaswwwunep-wcmcorgwdpa Viewed October 2006

Wadley RL and Colfer CJP 2004 Sacred forest hunting and con-servation in West Kalimantan Indonesia Hum Ecol 32313ndash38

TAKE THIS JOURNAL TO YOUR LIBRARIAN PLEASEAre you enjoying this issue of Frontiers

If your library had a subscription colleagues and students could enjoy it tooPlease consider recommending Frontiers in Ecology and Environment to your library

Clip or copy the form below Thank you for your support

Library Recommendation Form

To Acquisition Librarian Serials

From

Dept

Signature Date

I recommend the library subscribe to Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (ISSN 1540-9295)

To request a free sample issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment call (301) 588-4691 or email Sika Dunyoh

at sikaesaorg Order Frontiers by contacting ESA Headquarters at (202) 833-8773 online at wwwesaorg or through your subscription agent

esaesa

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Issue No 10 Volume 4 December 2006

T H E E C O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y O F A M E R I C A

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

SA Bhagwat and C Rutte Sacred groves for biodiversity management

523

copy The Ecological Society of America wwwfrontiersinecologyorg

agement structure and the primarygroups involved in the manage-ment of such sites Educationalprograms that explain the ecologi-cal importance of sacred groves aswell as their role in local tradi-tions could also play a crucial roleFor example in Kodagu district ithas been possible to prevent fur-ther destruction of sacred grovesthrough recognition of the exis-tence of local traditional customsand by endorsing their sacred sta-tus (Kushalappa and Bhagwat2001) We hope that futureresearch will continue to focus onthe social mechanisms that under-pin the sacred grove tradition

Conclusions

While our proposal to incorporatenatural sacred sites in global con-servation initiatives is not entirelynew we seek to emphasize analternative view of conservationthat is not led by authoritarianpractices Such sites could play an important role incommunity based conservation of biodiversity andshould therefore be included in conservation strategiesHowever these traditional institutions are currently fac-ing new threats that need to be recognized by scientistsas well as practitioners The nature and extent of thesethreats vary from nation to nation and even regionallyor by site The integration of sacred groves and othersacred natural sites into the existing protected area net-works must take into account the local ecology of thearea as well as the prevailing threats As a result itwould be unwise to prescribe a single managementapproach The ICDPs that are so often criticized for theirfailures may benefit from a greater sensitivity towardsnatural sacred sites and the communities that managethem More research on the ecological values and thesociocultural mechanisms underlying sacred natural sitesis needed to fully understand and realize their potentialfor biodiversity conservation in the future

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to G Evanno R Bergmuumlller D Penn and CWedekind for their comments and helpful suggestions Themanuscript has also benefited from discussions with NBrown P Savill R Vane-Wright K Willis and P WilliamsSABrsquos positions have been funded through BBSRC andNERC grants and CR is partly funded by the SwissCommission for Research Partnerships with DevelopingCountries and The Cogito Foundation

ReferencesBerkes F Colding J and Folke C 2000 Rediscovery of traditional

ecological knowledge as adaptive management Ecol Appl 101251ndash62

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005a The role of informal protected areas in maintainingbiodiversity in the western Ghats of India Ecol Soc 10 8wwwecologyandsocietyorgvol10iss1art8 Viewed October 2006

Bhagwat SA Kushalappa CG Williams PH and Brown ND2005b A landscape approach to biodiversity conservation ofsacred groves in the Western Ghats of India Conserv Biol 191853ndash62

Bonn E 2000 An economic framework to land extensification InRamakrishnan PS Chandrashekara UM Elouard C et al(Eds) Mountain biodiversity land use dynamics and tradi-tional knowledge Man and the Biosphere Programme NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Brandon K Redford KH and Sanderson SE 1998 Parks in perilpeople politics and protected areas Washington DC TheNature Conservancy and Island Press

Brechin SR Wilshusen PR Fortwangler CL and West PC 2002Beyond the square wheel toward a more comprehensive under-standing of biodiversity conservation as social and politicalprocess Soc Natur Resour 15 41ndash64

Brown K 2003 Three challenges for a real people-centred conser-vation Global Ecol Biogeogr 12 89ndash92

Brown N Bhagwat S and Watkinson S 2006 Macrofungal diver-sity in fragmented and disturbed forests of the Western Ghatsof India J Appl Ecol 43 11ndash17

Bruner AG Gullison RE Rice RE and da Fonseca GAB 2001Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversityScience 291 125ndash28

Chandrakanth MG Bhat MG and Accavva MS 2004 Socio-eco-nomic changes and sacred groves in south India protecting acommunity-based resource management institution NatResour Forum 28 102ndash11

Figure 3 Sacred grove dedicated to the goddess Chamundi in village Mythadi KodaguWestern Ghats India In many sacred groves in India local folk deities continue to bereplaced with Hindu deities a process referred to as ldquoSanskritizationrdquo (Kalam 1996) Thishas resulted in the erection of temples in some previously sacred groves (notice the structurebuilt from cement-concrete and the lack of old trees)

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

524

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

Chandran MDS and Mesta D 2001 On the conservation of theMyristica swamps of the Western Ghats In Shaanker URGaneshaiah KN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resourcesstatus threats and conservation strategies New Delhi IndiaOxford and India Book House

Chape S Harrison J Spalding M and Lysenko I 2005 Measuringthe extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicatorfor meeting global biodiversity targets Philos T Roy Soc B 360443ndash55

Cincotta RP Wisnewski J and Engelman R 2000 Human popula-tion in the biodiversity hotspots Nature 404 990ndash92

Colding J and Folke C 2001 Social taboos ldquoinvisiblerdquo systems oflocal resource management and biological conservation EcolAppl 11 584ndash600

Decher J 1997 Conservation small mammals and the future ofsacred groves in west Africa Biodivers Conserv 6 1007ndash26

Gadgil M and Vartak VD 1975 Sacred groves of India a plea forcontinued conservation J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 72 313ndash20

Gandhi K 1997 Kesar Chirkav traditional system of forest protec-tion Newsletter Sevamandir Udaipur wwwsevamandirorgNewsletterhtm Viewed October 2006

Hill JL and Curran PJ 2001 Species composition in fragmentedforests conservation implications of changing forest area ApplGeogr 21 157ndash74

Hughes JD and Chandran MDS 1998 Sacred groves around theearth an overview In Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG andChandrashekara UM (Eds) Conserving the sacred for biodiversitymanagement New Delhi India Oxford and India Book House

Kalam MA 1996 Sacred groves in Kodagu district of Karnataka(south India) a sociohistorical study Pondicherry IndiaInstitut Franccedilais de Pondicherry

Kosambi DD 1962 Myth and reality studies in the formation ofIndian culture Bombay India Popular Press

Kramer RA van Schaik CP and Johnson J (Eds) 1997 Last standprotected areas and the defense of tropical biodiversity NewYork NY Oxford University Press

Kushalappa CG and Bhagwat SA 2001 Sacred groves biodiver-sity threats and conservation In Shaanker UR GaneshaiahKN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resources statusthreats and conservation strategies New Delhi India Oxfordand India Book House

Malhotra KC Gokhale Y and Chatterjee S 2001 Cultural andecological dimensions of sacred groves in India New Delhi andBhopal India Indian National Science Academy and theIndira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

Marimuthu G 1988 The sacred flying fox of India Bats 6 10ndash11Matthews J and Matthews C 2002 Taliesen the last Celtic

shaman Rochester VT Inner Traditions InternationalMgumia FH and Oba G 2003 Potential role of sacred groves in

biodiversity conservation in Tanzania Environ Conserv 30259ndash65

North DC 1990 Institutions institutional change and economicperformance Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press

Oates JF 1999 Myth and reality in the rainforest how conserva-tion strategies are failing in west Africa Berkeley CAUniversity of California Press

Pretty J 2003 Social capital and the collective management ofresources Science 302 1912ndash14

Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG and Chandrashekara UM 1998Conserving the sacred for biodiversity management NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Rodrigues ASL Andelman SJ Bakarr MI et al 2004 Effectivenessof the global protected area network in representing speciesdiversity Nature 428 640ndash43

SCBD (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)2004 Decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties tothe Convention on Biological Diversity at its seventh meetingMontreal Canada Secretariat of the Convention onBiological Diversity

Tabarelli M and Gascon C 2005 Lessons from fragmentationresearch improving management and policy guidelines for bio-diversity conservation Conserv Biol 19 734ndash39

Terborgh J 1999 Requiem for nature Washington DC IslandPress

Thusu KN and Jha M 1969 The Ollar Gadaba of Koraput NewDelhi India Anthropological Survey of India CalcuttaMemoir No 27

UNEPndashWCMC 2005 World database on protected areaswwwunep-wcmcorgwdpa Viewed October 2006

Wadley RL and Colfer CJP 2004 Sacred forest hunting and con-servation in West Kalimantan Indonesia Hum Ecol 32313ndash38

TAKE THIS JOURNAL TO YOUR LIBRARIAN PLEASEAre you enjoying this issue of Frontiers

If your library had a subscription colleagues and students could enjoy it tooPlease consider recommending Frontiers in Ecology and Environment to your library

Clip or copy the form below Thank you for your support

Library Recommendation Form

To Acquisition Librarian Serials

From

Dept

Signature Date

I recommend the library subscribe to Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (ISSN 1540-9295)

To request a free sample issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment call (301) 588-4691 or email Sika Dunyoh

at sikaesaorg Order Frontiers by contacting ESA Headquarters at (202) 833-8773 online at wwwesaorg or through your subscription agent

esaesa

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Issue No 10 Volume 4 December 2006

T H E E C O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y O F A M E R I C A

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

Sacred groves for biodiversity management SA Bhagwat and C Rutte

524

wwwfrontiersinecologyorg copy The Ecological Society of America

Chandran MDS and Mesta D 2001 On the conservation of theMyristica swamps of the Western Ghats In Shaanker URGaneshaiah KN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resourcesstatus threats and conservation strategies New Delhi IndiaOxford and India Book House

Chape S Harrison J Spalding M and Lysenko I 2005 Measuringthe extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicatorfor meeting global biodiversity targets Philos T Roy Soc B 360443ndash55

Cincotta RP Wisnewski J and Engelman R 2000 Human popula-tion in the biodiversity hotspots Nature 404 990ndash92

Colding J and Folke C 2001 Social taboos ldquoinvisiblerdquo systems oflocal resource management and biological conservation EcolAppl 11 584ndash600

Decher J 1997 Conservation small mammals and the future ofsacred groves in west Africa Biodivers Conserv 6 1007ndash26

Gadgil M and Vartak VD 1975 Sacred groves of India a plea forcontinued conservation J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 72 313ndash20

Gandhi K 1997 Kesar Chirkav traditional system of forest protec-tion Newsletter Sevamandir Udaipur wwwsevamandirorgNewsletterhtm Viewed October 2006

Hill JL and Curran PJ 2001 Species composition in fragmentedforests conservation implications of changing forest area ApplGeogr 21 157ndash74

Hughes JD and Chandran MDS 1998 Sacred groves around theearth an overview In Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG andChandrashekara UM (Eds) Conserving the sacred for biodiversitymanagement New Delhi India Oxford and India Book House

Kalam MA 1996 Sacred groves in Kodagu district of Karnataka(south India) a sociohistorical study Pondicherry IndiaInstitut Franccedilais de Pondicherry

Kosambi DD 1962 Myth and reality studies in the formation ofIndian culture Bombay India Popular Press

Kramer RA van Schaik CP and Johnson J (Eds) 1997 Last standprotected areas and the defense of tropical biodiversity NewYork NY Oxford University Press

Kushalappa CG and Bhagwat SA 2001 Sacred groves biodiver-sity threats and conservation In Shaanker UR GaneshaiahKN and Bawa KS (Eds) Forest genetic resources statusthreats and conservation strategies New Delhi India Oxfordand India Book House

Malhotra KC Gokhale Y and Chatterjee S 2001 Cultural andecological dimensions of sacred groves in India New Delhi andBhopal India Indian National Science Academy and theIndira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya

Marimuthu G 1988 The sacred flying fox of India Bats 6 10ndash11Matthews J and Matthews C 2002 Taliesen the last Celtic

shaman Rochester VT Inner Traditions InternationalMgumia FH and Oba G 2003 Potential role of sacred groves in

biodiversity conservation in Tanzania Environ Conserv 30259ndash65

North DC 1990 Institutions institutional change and economicperformance Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press

Oates JF 1999 Myth and reality in the rainforest how conserva-tion strategies are failing in west Africa Berkeley CAUniversity of California Press

Pretty J 2003 Social capital and the collective management ofresources Science 302 1912ndash14

Ramakrishnan PS Saxena KG and Chandrashekara UM 1998Conserving the sacred for biodiversity management NewDelhi India Oxford and India Book House

Rodrigues ASL Andelman SJ Bakarr MI et al 2004 Effectivenessof the global protected area network in representing speciesdiversity Nature 428 640ndash43

SCBD (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)2004 Decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties tothe Convention on Biological Diversity at its seventh meetingMontreal Canada Secretariat of the Convention onBiological Diversity

Tabarelli M and Gascon C 2005 Lessons from fragmentationresearch improving management and policy guidelines for bio-diversity conservation Conserv Biol 19 734ndash39

Terborgh J 1999 Requiem for nature Washington DC IslandPress

Thusu KN and Jha M 1969 The Ollar Gadaba of Koraput NewDelhi India Anthropological Survey of India CalcuttaMemoir No 27

UNEPndashWCMC 2005 World database on protected areaswwwunep-wcmcorgwdpa Viewed October 2006

Wadley RL and Colfer CJP 2004 Sacred forest hunting and con-servation in West Kalimantan Indonesia Hum Ecol 32313ndash38

TAKE THIS JOURNAL TO YOUR LIBRARIAN PLEASEAre you enjoying this issue of Frontiers

If your library had a subscription colleagues and students could enjoy it tooPlease consider recommending Frontiers in Ecology and Environment to your library

Clip or copy the form below Thank you for your support

Library Recommendation Form

To Acquisition Librarian Serials

From

Dept

Signature Date

I recommend the library subscribe to Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (ISSN 1540-9295)

To request a free sample issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment call (301) 588-4691 or email Sika Dunyoh

at sikaesaorg Order Frontiers by contacting ESA Headquarters at (202) 833-8773 online at wwwesaorg or through your subscription agent

esaesa

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Biodiversity in sacred groves

Advances in marine ecosystem-based management

Poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

Issue No 10 Volume 4 December 2006

T H E E C O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y O F A M E R I C A

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment

Frontiers in Ecologyand the Environment