Behind the Sacred Tree: Local People and Their Natural Resources Sustainability (original) (raw)
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Management of Sacred Groves and Customary Practices in Pursuit of Sustainable Forest Management
Journal of Environment and Ecology
The goal of this investigation was to identify the customary practices on sacred groves and how they can help in achieving sustainable forest management in Ghana. The study examines forest management, deforestation, and sustainable forest management concepts. A case study of Boabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary and Malshegu Sacred Groves was explored. Interviews with community members were executed. Also, some secondary data on these two sacred groves were equally examined. The study found that taboos and other cultural beliefs were used to protect the sacred grooves with little government support. The study recommends that the state should make laws through the environmental protection agency and the forestry commission to support the cultural practices to achieve sustainable forest management.
Socio-cultural and ethnobotanical value of a sacred forest, Thal Ke Dhar, central Himalaya
2005
The sacred groves/forests have in the recent years drawn the attention of the environmentalists due to their undisturbed conditions, which enable them to be repository of gene pools. Apart from environmental significance the sacred groves are also indicative of the phenomenon of ethnoenvironmental management. It is a social institution which permits management of biotic resources through people's participation. Unfortunately the social significance of the sacred groves has not been studied in depth and the environmental aspects are inevitably over emphasized. The present study deals with the traditional beliefs and social institutions surrounding the sacred forest-Thai Ke Dhar and makes an attempt to bring out the inherent environmental principles behind the conservation practices. In addition, the forest was assessed for its ethnobotanical value to the local herbalists and traditional folk medicine practitioners. Pragmatic approaches combining conservation and sustainable uses are considered as are traditional values that have preserved the sacred groves in the past. Integration of traditional values and protection mechanisms into the newly emerging cultural and religious contexts has been emphasized.
Environmental Systems Research, 2014
Background: Traditional and indigenous communities in India are of the religious belief that medicinal groves and plants are sacred in nature. Sacred groves (SGs) are patches of trees on forest land that are protected communally with religious zeal and connotations. These forest areas have been protected since ages by traditional societies and indigenous communities with their socio-cultural and religious practices. Sacred groves as a rule are treated piously. Sacred trees are prohibited from cutting and not axed except when wood is needed for the religious purposes like construction and repair of temple buildings or in cases like worshiping, death ceremonies and temple rituals. Thus, SGs carry direct and everlasting pious status and assist in maintaining social fabric of the society. Results: From the present study it is concluded that, religious identification of medicinal plants and practices have influenced the folklore towards a sense of selfless services in the name the Gods. However, during the course of modernization, mechanization and globalization in the recent past has transformed and weakened both cultural and biological integrity. Changes in social belief, modernization and erosion of cultural practices are some of the major factors contributing towards degradation of the ancient institutional heritage which need to be looked into. Conclusion: The present study is, therefore intended to propose management and conservation as an alternative strategy towards the sustainability of forests around human settlements and also an attempt to explore the role of SGs in conservation and management of different ecosystem services.
Sacred" has different meanings to different communities. At the basic level it denotes deep respect and "set aside" for purposes of the spiritual or religious. The key challenges for the future will be deciding how to protect these natural places which are often influenced by strong belief system, linked closely to rituals, stories and legends of local communities. Survey was conducted to achieve authentic information, an extensive dialogue with the inhabitants of Villages around six sacred forests. Observations shows that the in-built mechanism in SF of Pithoragarh, their social and cultural tradition have made them thrifty on over exploitation and contributed towards protection of the forests. Rules related to sacred forests were also made by ancestors; these rules are still believed and followed by local inhabitants of villages near sacred forests in Pithoragarh. The challenges for the future will be deciding how to protect these natural places which are often influenced by strong belief system.
The Tobelo Dalam (Togutil) tribal community has inherited local wisdom in managing the forest resources from their ancestors. The loss of these local wisdom values have led to the ecological crisis which creates an imbalance situation in the ecosystem. The community is expected to realize that the ecological crisis can be saved back through local wisdom. To save the ecological crisis, the society ethics of the native tribes needs to be gained back. A participant observation and open interviews were done to investigate this issue. In the participant observation, the researchers were involved in the informants' daily activities. Open interviews were also conducted at this stage. There were 21 informants; 12 persons come from the area of river Tayawi and 9 persons come from river Suwang. The results of the research revealed the fact that the local wisdom possessed by the Tobelo Dalam (Togutil) tribal community has been manifested in their concept of philosophy of life, the knowledge of the physical environment, and the conservation of the forests. Local wisdom in the management of the forest resources can still survive despite the influence from outside. The local wisdom is eternal since the people maintain their philosophy of life, Hidup Basudara (live in harmony) which contains a belief that people and nature need to live side by side. The practice of local wisdom-based conservation that takes the form of the sacred forest of Gosimo, Matakau, Pohon Kelahiran (Tree of Birth) and Pohon Kematian (Tree of Death) is a part of local knowledge that continues to be taught to the next generation. It becomes an invaluable ancestral heritage in forest conservation.
Heliyon
The long-lasting association of humans with the forest is directly linked to the livelihood of natives without cultures, traditions, and beliefs. A survey conducted for the phytodiversity of the sacred Thal Kedar forest, Uttarakhand, India, reveals it as a center of spiritual approach and controlled by moral values rather than regulatory norms for conservation and sustainable benefits. Detailed investigation via group discussions, key informant interviews, observation of participants, and secondary data collection deciphers that the sacred forest plays a potential role in the food and health of the people, both at the local and regional levels. In the present survey, we found that local people are effectively controlled and guided to use all resources through moral duty, beliefs, and worship rituals, an inherited practice for ecological protection, and honesty to the Deity. Forest tourism based on holy baths, a current social demand, has been emerging as a sustainable job for local youths but requires stringent parallel administrative supervision along the established social norms to avoid any materialistic mind deeds to the sacred forest. The impact of climate change and the shift of various species to higher elevations is a matter of advanced strategy to the policymakers to preserve the floristic diversity of the sacred Thal Kedar forest.
Forest Conservation Base on Religious Values
2020
This study examines the religious reality of indigenous peoples in interacting with the natural environment (forest). The aim of this study is to form an alternative model of religious- based forest conservation in accordance with the character and reality of the life of indigenous/ rural communities. The approach used is a qualitative approach that is phenomenological, interpretative and ecological. The technique of data collection is done through participant observation and in-depth interviews and it is supported by a review of documents and literature, through the process of interpretation, critical evaluation, internal coherence, comparison, and heuristics, in the hope of providing an original concept of religious-based forest conservation models. The findings obtained from this study are: First, the diversity of the Indigenous People of Kampung Dukuh tends to be accommodative. Second, between religious values (Islam) and local traditional values interdependence (influence each ...
Implication of Traditional Ecological Knowledge on Forest Resource Management
Himalayan Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 2011
The primary approaches within contemporary ecological anthropology are cultural ecology, historical ecology, political ecology and spiritual ecology. The cumulative approach developed on by fusing these approaches is applied dimension of ecological anthropology known as environmental anthropology. Human populations have ongoing contact and impact upon the land, climate, plant and animal species in their vicinities and these elements of their environment have reciprocal impacts on humans. The theme of traditional ecological knowledge is important for the consideration of a broad range of question related to nature-environment relations. Different groups of people in various parts of the world perceive and interact with nature differently, and have different traditions of environmental knowledge. Their perceptions and knowledge are partly shaped by their values, worldview and environmental ethics. In the exploration of environmental ethics and religion toward an ecologically sustainable society, indigenous peoples and traditional ecological knowledge have attracted considerable attention from both scholars and popular movements. The lesson from this ield study, under the theoretical outline of cultural and human ecology includes the importance of cultural conservation of forest resources, adaptive management, uses of traditional ecological knowledge and development of religious/spiritual conservation ethic. This may contribute to the development of an interdisciplinary conservation science with a more sophisticated understanding of social-ecological interactions. The indings thus could be used for formulating better policies for sustainable management of forest/natural resources.