Conservation & Restoration of Sacred Groves
SACRED GROVES
A sacred Grove comprises patches of natural vegetation – from a few trees to several acres – that are dedicated to local deities or tree spirits. These spaces are protected by local communities because of their religious beliefs and traditional rituals that run through several generations.
In order to restore and conserve the sacred groves which are endangered or on the verge of extinction, CPREEC commenced its conservation and restoration programme in 1993-1994. Till date CPREEC has successfully restored 53 sacred groves in the States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
India has a long tradition of conserving nature by giving it a spiritual dimension.There is a strong symbiotic relationship between the biophysical ecosystem andsocio-economic institutions, with strong cultural relations binding them. Culture andenvironment have been regarded as complimentary, yet dynamic. The various culturalconnections are expressed through myths and religious practices that celebrate plantsand animals, forests, rivers, mountains and precincts that are so essential for existence.
The sacred groves are an undisturbed patch of vegetation left on the outskirts ofthe villages in the plain or a part of a forested area. They are dedicated to local folk deitiesor ancestral spirits that are protected by the local people through traditions and taboosincorporating spiritual and ecological values, and are called sacred groves. These grovesare found all over the country with local names and associated deities
RESTORATION OF SACRED GROVES
- 53 SACRED GROVES RESTORED in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
- Over 3.5 Lakhs of Saplings planted in about 200 acres
- RIPPLE EFFECT – 25 GROVES RESTORED
The local villagers are involved in conservation and maintenance. After restoration, sites are handed back to the village
List of Sacred Groves Restored State & District wise
TAMILNADU
Thiruvallur
1. Velliyur
2. Veeraanathur
3. Aiyaneri
4. Poondi
Kanchipuram
5. Daamal
6. Nenmeli
7. Thaiyur
8. Kunnam
Thiruvannamalai
9. Pavithram
10. Paavupattu
11. Hasanamaapettai
12. Maynallur
Pudukkottai
13. Peraambur
14. Sittannavaasal
15. Annavaasal
16. Vadavaalam
17. Ilayaavayal
18. Karambakkudi
Madurai
19. Paappaapatti
20. Thimmanatham
21. Koodal Senkulam
Sivagangai
22. Kollangudi
Thirunelveli
23. Perunkottur
Vellore
24. Sirunamalli
25. Putteri
26. Nambirajapuram
27. Arunkundram
28. Nelvaay
Trichy
29. Poigaipatti
30. Kannudayanpatti
Nagapattinam
31. Thiruppugalur
Thanjavur
32. Punnainallur
33. Vennaatrangarai
34. Paapanaasam
Thiruvarur
35. Mannaargudi
Erode
36. Bannaari
The Nilgiris
37. Masinagudi
Villupuram
38. Thiruvaamaathur
39. Siruvangur
Virudhunagar
40. Inam Meenaakshipuram
Ramanathapuram
41 Rameshwaram
ANDHRA PRADESH
Nellore
42.Prabugiripattinam
43. Mallam
Chittoor
44. Yerpedu
45. Ramagiri
46. Gurramkonda
47. Eguapalyam
Cuddappah
48. Odhiveedu
KARNATAKA
Mandya
49. Chikkade
50. Haravu
Mysore
51. Doddahejjur
Tumkur
52. Karahalli
53. Kallukote
NENMELI ECO-VILLAGE
before
After
One of our most successful projects has been the Nenmeli eco-village project, which has inspired us to initiate similar programmes in other villages.
Nenmeli is a village in the Kanchipuram district of Tamilnadu, about 70 km from Chennai. In 1995,the people of Nenmeli approached CPREEC seeking assistance for solving the acute water problem in their village. Our organization took up the challenge to reverse water scarcity and environmental degradation at low cost.
Nenmeli, originally a watershed, had turned into a barren wasteland due to extensive deforestation. There is a small hillock in the middle of agricultural lands overlooking two artificial tanks. During the rains, the soil got washed off into the two artificial reservoirs, which silted up. Soon there was no water in the village and the people migrated to Chennai in search of work.
CPREEC with community participation first contoured the hillock and bunded it with locally available rocks and stones. The site was fenced with trees and the pits were mulched to retain moisture. The two water tanks were desilted. The lands attached to the village temple, were converted into sacred groves. Another 5.5 acres of land, adjoining the temple land was also afforested. Local women were involved in the establishment of a herbal garden in these lands. They were also trained to plant and manage their own kitchen gardens, vermicompost their biodegradable waste and construct smokeless chulhas. CPREEC installed a community smokeless chulha in the village school. They were also taught to prepare simple herbal kits with the medicinal plants available.
CPREEC also took up the initiative of promoting conservation through environmental education and awareness creation. Books, pamphlets, and posters were developed and distributed to the local people. Informal meetings were organized to sensitize the community on environmental issues. CPREEC’s video-on-wheels and cultural programmes supplemented the education programme to make the subject more interesting.
Today, Nenmeli appears green with trees and medicinal plants. The wells have eight feet of water in the hottest and driest summers. It serves as a model village for watershed management and biodiversity conservation.
Students visiting the model village at Nenmeli
CONSERVATION & RESTORATION OF SACRED GROVES IN SOUTH INDIA
India has always revered our environment since ancient times. The five sacred elements or panchaboothas – air, water, land, fire and space – were inviolable. Nature was revered in the form of sacred forests and trees, sacred gardens and mountains, sacred rivers and tanks and sacred animals. By regarding all creation as sacred, nature was protected.
Sacred groves represent an ancient Indian conservation tradition, protected by local people out of reverence and respect, fear and sentiment and consist of a shrine with a water reservoir, the entire grove surrounded by a forest or thicket of trees. The threat to these natural repositories threatens human existence.
CPREEC has been restoring degraded sacred groves in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu as part of the ‘Awareness through Action’ programme initiated in 1994. Sacred groves that are endangered or in near extinction condition and are in need of restoration are identified and selected by C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre (CPREEC) for restoration. Appropriate species suitable to the area were selected and planted with the cooperation of the temple authorities and local villagers.
Awareness raising programmes were conducted for school students, teachers, villagers, priests and women on the importance of sacred grove conservation. Saplings were also distributed to school students to motivate them and their parents to raise and nurture trees.
NAKSHATRA-RASI THOTTAM
The effort to conserve sacred groves is now catering to the understanding and beliefs of the common masses. The establishment of nakshatra vana, pavithravana and navagrahavana in various parts of India from the Jharkand in the north to most of the southern states is a step in this direction. CPREEC has also taken initiatives in this regard. The nakshatra-rasithottam at the Meenakshi temple lands at the KoodalSenkulam near the Madurai airport is one of the first of its kind by an educational centre.
The 27 species of plants corresponding to the twenty-seven stars of the Hindu zodiac calendar have been identified and public can plant a sapling of tree of their birth star and pay for its maintenance. This novel effort in encouraging community participation in preservation of plants as well as nurturing a religious element has found adaptation in many other temples, private institutions and even public parks.
- 2018 – Religion and Ecology
- 2018 – Ecological Studies of Sacred Groves in Five Agro-Climatic Zones of Tamil Nadu, State Forest Research Institute (SFRI), Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Government of Tamil Nadu
- 2012 – 2017 – All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Sacred Grove Eco-System Services Assessment in Inland Plains of Tamil Nadu for Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India
- 2012 – Inventory of Sacred Groves and Preparation of Management Plan for Forest Department, Government of Tamil Nadu
- 2011 – National Conference on “Conservation of Sacred Groves to protect local Biodiversity”
- 1998 – National Conference on the “Conservation of Sacred Groves and Ecological Heritage Sites of India”, in Chennai
- 1997 – Seminar on “ Ecological Traditions of Tamilnadu” in Chennai
DOWNLOAD – Pamphlet on Restoration of Sacred Groves
For more details visit us on : http://cpreecenvis.nic.in/Database/Groves_811.aspx