Shelve

the Save Sacred Grove Plan to Save the Sacred Groves : An appeal
to Government of Odisha to revisit Sacred Grove Plan
Pranab Ranjan Choudhury1
Sacred groves comprise of patches of forests or natural vegetation from a few trees to forests
of several acres that are usually dedicated to local folk deities or tree spirits. These spaces are
protected by local communities because of their religious beliefs and traditional rituals that run
through several generations2

Often the Sacred Groves, existing like an island in a largely agrarian landscape, act as the
repository of once prevalent biodiversity of the region. Thus the peoples faith in the deity
believed to reside in the sacred grove helps protect the native biodiversity as well.

Government of Odisha has come up recently with a strategy to save Sacred Groves to win
Tribals' Confidence3, when they protest the Government Policy around industrialization, mining
and displacement.

While state recognition and attention towards, hitherto neglected Sacred Groves, is a welcome
step, the motivation and the approach seems to be flawed and not in harmony with tenets of
scientific biodiversity conservation nor with the world view of community controlled cultural
conservation. Lauding the states concern for conservation, one wonders how this would be
extended to these unique community cultural ecosystems, with a skewed understanding of their
conservation governance, cultural ethos and status of biodiversity, in absence of adequate
scientific documentation in Odisha. Moreover, extending the approach of co-management
without recognizing the community efforts and control in conserving the sites, put question
marks on the intention. While it is the Forest Department, which is willing to extend its stake to
these community controlled areas through co-management strategy, mention of providing the
tribal community a stake in conservation activities in the proposed management plans also
sounds not very altruistic.

This delayed response around sacred groves, in comparision to the actions of other states,
especially those around the Western Ghats, also come in at a time, when Govt of India, is
pushing hard for implementation of FRA4, which include CFR for which most of the Sacred
Groves will be eligible for. Whether this plan to avoid attention on CFR and introduce forest
departments jointness to what has been and should have been through purely community
initiatives and control, is not quite clear, though definitely worth looking at.
1

Development Researcher, Bhubaneswar , prchoudhury70@gmail.com

http://www.activeremedy.org.uk/pages/files/other/Sacred_Groves_of_India.pdf
3
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Save-Sacred-Groves-Plan-to-WinTribals-Confidence/2015/06/29/article2892059.ece
4
http://www.financialexpress.com/article/economy/centre-asks-nine-states-toexpeditiously-implement-forest-rights-act/88408/
2


Sacredness of a traditionally held space (often wild) by a community is behind the creation,
protection and preservation of such spaces. Any management practice must thus respect and
uphold for a sustained result, this value of sacredness, above anything else, of the site in
question.

The management practice, as indicated in the news item, are around initiating conservation
plans which will include plantation activities, provisioning access to water and even construction
of sheds for tribal communities to congregate. Forest and Environment Department of Odisha
Government, which has identified about 2100 such sites, will spend Rest 1 lakh on each of these
sacred groves during the year. The plan is to cover all the 2100-odd sacred groves with the
development and conservation plans by 2019.

The sacred groves are important repositories of floral and faunal diversity that have been
conserved by local communities, usually tribals, over generations. They are often the last refuge
of endemic species or the surviving elements of natural climax vegetation. Sacred Groves usually
constitute of old mature/ even standing dead trees or snags like fallen branches / accumulation
of drift wood in nalah which provide special habitats for large birds like Horn bills/ barbets/
woodpeckers or even small mammals like squirrels/ palm civets etc. Old growth also supports
epiphytes and saprophytes and and other floral and faunal attribues. Study conducted by OFSDP
(JICA funded Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project) have documented many unique and
endemic fauna and flora in the sacred groves of Odisha.

Sacred Groves provide an unique ecosystem in itself, much akin to an old growth forest. Any
attempt to take up plantation, as the plan envisages, will significantly change the ecosystems,
threatening continuity of many species affecting the conservation value substantially.
Silvilcultural aspects of many of the endemic or dominant flora of the sacred grove are not well
documented. As a result of limited documented knowledge on these species and almost no
experience in raising their nusery and plantation, it is difficult to comprehend, how forest
department can take up plantations. In absence of this expertise and experience, field staff of
Forest Department may resort to taking up plantation of any other species, out of peer pressure
to achieve target and spend money, as has been experienced in many JFM projects, it is
apprehended. This will be a big threat to sacred grove ecosystem and biodiversity, it is felt.

Construction of Shed, temples and other cement/concrete structures have been part of a
practice akin to sansikritization of tribal culture. While documenting, sacred groves in different
forest divisions of OFSDP, it was noticed that most of the groves located around road sides in
Phulbani divsions, were having such structures in form of temples, platforms, boundary walls
and sheds etc. Most of them were built through MP or MLA LAD funds or through donations.
These initiatives have made these sites popular, leading to frequneting of more visitors, most of
whom are unaware of cultural and biodiversity value of the site. The results, it was observed
are, reduced biodiversity, elimination of ground flora, introduction of domesticated flowering

species along with excess soil erosion due to these disturbances. These sites, ironically were in
sharp contrast to many sites in Baliguda division, where the cultural ethos, biodiversity richness
and pristine nature of ecosystem, still seems to exist in absence of these externally imposed
interventions. Given these reality checks and experiences elsewhere, why should one invest on
such activity and who will gain from these interventions remain moot questions.

Similarly provisioning of water source, also raises a question about the purpose or motive
behind it. Who is it for, outside tourists or for the tribal gatherings? Most of the scared groves
being resting place of deity and burial ground associated with small habitats, community
congregations are infrequent, for a short time and in smaller number. Bigger gatherrings are
either limited to once or twice in year or are around bigger sites, which are either already
sansikritised or associated with bigger clans. All these bigger sites have already structural and
water related interventions with considerably reduced biodiversity and face ecosysyem
degradation.

Most of the scared groves in Odisha, as per documentation by OFSDP are less than 1 ha in size.
The threats perceived, as per the documentation exercise, were those from modernization and
sanskritization, gradual encroachment of the area when they are located in enclaves within
agricultural landscapes, unauthorized removals of biomass and development projects (roads,
mining, dams, canals, industries etc) etc. The provisioning of plantation, shed and water within
this 1 ha of area sounds quite unconvincing given the past experiences and also their
implications on biodiversity and cultural heritage. After much deliberation on this aspect, OFSDP
which had pioneered engagements with Sacred Groves in Odisha, had categorically restrained
from taking up activities like plantation, shed construction, water provisioning etc. and instead
supported community to form Sacred Grove management committee to oversee goveranance,
involve local researchers in participatory documenting of biodiversity and cultural heritage and
in GIS mapping of the area.

State intervention in community controlled protected areas, many times have backfired and is
not the only option to promote conservation. Indigenous communities, across the globe,
inhabits the remaining biodiversity hotspots and unique ecosystems (Alcorn, 2011) and have
demonstrated restrain and ingenuity in effectively protecting them (Ricketts et al. 2010).
Indigenous People controlled territories are superior to other protected areas in preventing
deforestation (Hayes and Ostrom 2005, Nepstad et al. 2006) The decentralized local institutions
of indegenous communities along with their culture of conservation have ensured sustainable
natural resources management (Ostrom 2009).

Therefore, while states decision to promote conservation of sacred groves is a welcome
initiative, the approach and intervention are required to be aligned to ensure biodiversity
conservation, respect cultural heritage and moreover recognize and accept the community
control to sustianably govern these left ove remnants of endemic vegetation.

Considering global and local experiences and evidence, the following approach and action are
suggested for consideration and implementation by the state.

- Adopt precautionary principle and appreciate the concerns and rationale of tribal
communities vis--vis scared groves before making any decision on co-managing
through funding. No action must hurt the faith and cultural beliefs of tribal communities
and adversely affect the well-established linkage between tribals and nature.
- Take up a wider consultation with tribal communities, civil society and researchers,
especially anthropologists, ecologists and social scientists before taking any important
decision on the management and conservation of these biodiversity rich areas.
- Commensurating with the threats, consider interventions around community tenure
and governance (viz. CFR rights) with proper boundary demarcation with use of GIS and
other mapping process
- Appreciate the need of understanding the process (hows? and whys?) and trend
through participatory documentation of biodiversity and cultural heritage

There is an urgent need to defer the action of Government relating to management of these
groves till state develops a comprehensive understanding of the Sacred Groves and their
biocultural diversity. State also requires to acknowledge community contribution and capacity
and recognize community control and allow them ito continue the management of the groves
through their rights recognition rather than adopting a co-management option. The financial
support, if at all to be extended, must be provided as compensation of the community
conservation effort as untied fund, without any rider.

References :
Alcorn J (2011) The importance of Self-Determination, Territory, And Rights to Land and other
Natural Resources; Property Rights And Resource Governance Briefing Paper #13;USAID Issue
Brief Tenure And Indigenous Peoples
http://usaidlandtenure.net/sites/default/files/USAID_Land_Tenure_2012_Liberia_Course_Mod
ule_3_Indigenous_Peoples_Issue_Brief.pdf

Hayes, T. M., and E. Ostrom (2005) Conserving the worlds forests: are protected areas the only
way? Indiana Law Review 38:595617

Nepstad D, Schwartzman, S, Bamberger B, Santilli M, Ray D, Schlesinger P, Lefebvre, P Alenca A,
Prinz, E, Greg Fiske, and Alicia Rolla (2006) Inhibition of Amazon Deforestation and Fire by Parks
and Indigenous Lands, Conservation Biology Volume 20, No. 1, 6573

Ricketts TH, Soares-Filho B, da Fonseca GAB, Nepstad D, Pfaff A, Petsonk A, et al. (2010)
Indigenous Lands, Protected Areas, and Slowing Climate Change. PLoS Biol 8(3): e1000331.
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000331