Shifting Ideologies: India’s Sacred Groves

1. Shifting Ideologies: India’s Sacred Groves Haley Flora, Lauren Genn, McKenzie Phelan, Schuyler Schwartz ENVS 220 Fall 2012 Background Research Question Population and economic pressure have led to environmental degradation and a decrease in biodiversity in India. Forests have been stripped of resources, however patches of undisturbed forest intersperse the landscape. These sanctuaries of biodiversity are sacred groves. They house endangered species and provide many ecosystem services, such as soil conservation, protection of water resources, and the cleansing of water flowing downstream. Local communities depend on sacred groves for their abundance of various floras, which have significant ethnobotanical value. Ethnobotany describes the relationships that exist between plants and human culture. According to ancient Hindu beliefs, if the forest were to be disturbed, trees cut, or flowers picked, the deities would be offended and cease to protect the local communities from sickness, natural disaster, and their enemies. In reality, sacred groves are managed by a committee of nominated members belonging to each local community chaired by the priests responsible for the performance of religious ceremonies and rituals. The groves are not regulated by the Indian government; they are instead protected by “social fencing” and local traditions. Recent studies have found that the sanctity of the sacred groves has diminished due to the changing values of the local communities. In response, the question that begs asking is whether a regulation-based conservation ethic, biodivinity, or religious environmentalism can best address the protection of these shrinking sacred groves without impacting local access to ethnobotanically valuable flora. How has the 21st century conservation ethic influenced the ethnobotanical management of sacred groves? Woodfordiafruticosa, herb grown in Manipuri groves Map of India: Manipuri Methods We will use a quadrat field survey to perform a quantitative evaluation of flora in sacred groves . We will compare our results to those of KhumbongmayumAshalata Devi’s research in 2005 which looked at four specific groves. We will then collect satellite data and perform GIS mapping to visualize the changes between Khumbongmayum’s2005 article and 2013. Other methods include informal interviews with locals and formal interviews with government institutions. We will seek to investigate the way local residents perceive their role in conserving the sacred groves, access to the sacred flora, and the impact of sociopolitical institutions on our four focus groves. We will also familiarize ourselves with information on history of sacred groves, their religious and cultural backgrounds and the structure and function of sociopolitical institutions associated with each sacred grove. Above: Statues of grove deities Right: Sacred herb brew Timeline Week 1: Fly to Guwahati airport, hire team including surveyors, translators and GIS mappersWeek 2: Identify key informants and locate the KonthoujamLairembi, Mahabali, LangolThongakLairembi and HeingangMarjing groves. Week 3-35: Our team will split in two. One group of two will conduct interviews and another will oversee field data studies Week 36-40: Begin GIS analysis and interview transcription Week 41-46: Interview analysisWeek 46-50: Write research paperWeek 50-60: Peer review and submit to journals Week 61: Publish research paper References Kent, Eliza F. “Sacred Groves and Local Gods: Religion and Environmentalism in South India.” World Views: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology 13, no. 1 (2009): 1–39. Khumbongmayum, Ashalata Devi, M. L. Khan, and R. S. Tripathi. “Sacred Groves of Manipur, Northeast India:biodiversity Value, Status and Strategies for Their Conservation.” Biodiversity & Conservation 14, no. 7 (June 1, 2005): 1541–1582. Ormsby, Alison. “The Impacts of Global and National Policy on the Management and Conservation of Sacred Groves of India.” Human Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Journal 39, no. 6 (December 2011): 783–793. Tiwari, B. K., S. K. Barik, and R. S. Tripathi. “Biodiversity Value, Status, and Strategies for Conservation of Sacred Groves of Meghalaya, India.” Ecosystem Health 4, no. 1 (March 1998): 20–32. Waghchaure, C. K., S. S. Naik, and A. R. Abhang. “Ethno-Medico-Botanical Studies on Katei Baba Sacred Grove and Nearby Area of Adhalwadi from AkoleTaluka, Ahmednagar District (maharashtra).” International Journal of Pharma & Bio Sciences 2, no. 3 (July 13, 2011): B.393–B.398.