Nature worship in India is still followed by considering all forms of life sacred, from sedges to fig trees and crabs to tigers. Amongst these religious practices, sacred groves are one of the most significant traditional conservation practices, relating to the preservation of vast patches of forests.
It has been observed that keeping sacred groves in relatively undisturbed state will also maintain a healthy and a sustainable relationship between human beings and nature. Outcomes of this practice were rewarding in terms of biodiversity richness and its preservation. Sacred groves are also found to shelter various life supporting systems such as places of origin for rivers, refugia of rare medicinal plants and wild edible species.
While ecosystem services framework attributes ‘material’ value to nature, sacred natural sites are areas of ‘non-material’ spiritual significance to people. Sacred Groves provide many ecosystem services that are overlooked and need to be studied in detail & highlighted.