Safety net for sacred groves

T. Nandakumar
Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, March 31, 2015

The Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) has initiated a networking project to arrest the depletion of sacred groves in the State and protect local biodiversity hotspots.

A two-day workshop held at the institute recently highlighted the need for an incentive-based system to preserve the complex ecosystems that are home to rare flora and fauna including endangered species. Participants from several districts expressed concern over the diverse threats faced by the sacred groves that had stood the test of time for centuries.

The workshop culminated in the creation of a sacred grove network involving nature lovers, conservation groups and researchers. A.V. Reghu and M. Amrit, scientists, KFRI, said the network would act as a platform to share information on the threats faced by the groves and formulate strategies for conservation. The workshop stressed the need to incentivise the conservation of sacred groves.

Assembly panel report

The KFRI initiative assumes significance in the light of a report recently tabled in the Assembly, highlighting the gravity of the threats faced by sacred groves in Kerala. According to the report prepared by the Assembly Committee on Forest and Environment, the breakdown of the joint family system and construction of new houses in place of old ancestral homes is responsible for the destruction of the groves attached to ancestral homes.

Of the 10,000 sacred groves in the princely State of Travancore before the formation of Kerala in 1956, hardly 1,200 exist now and among these, many are on the verge of extinction, says the committee chaired by Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.