The harmony between human and nature is maintained through civilizations
by practicing reverence, recognition and appreciation. Nature has been worshipped and
the anthropogenic arrogance of excessive use of natural resources has been prohibited
or else mankind has faced the vagaries of nature. The communities have considered
biodiversity as one of the important aspects of sustainability of mankind and have
marked landscapes with mythological importance as sacred groves. The patches of
dense vegetation or natural areas which have ethnic and religious values are known as
sacred groves. These sacred groves are protected by communities through local
taboos and sanctions. In sacred groves a range of traditions and cultural values are
manifested. Traditionally, wild species were protected and conserved in the sacred
groves with often strict penalties for breaking customary laws on the use of resources
within the groves. In Himachal Pradesh, the sacred groves are called Dev Van or Devta
Ka Jungle and are dedicated to a particular deity. The paradigm shift in customary
practices and modernization has threatened the future of these sacred groves. There is
a need to exercise ethical concern towards these landscapes of rich biological diversity.
A holistic approach, cutting across multidisciplinary subjects has been adapted to
document sacred groves. A total of 514 sacred groves have been documented
considering biodiversity, culture, religion and history of the landscapes.
Keywords: Biodiversity, communities, endemic plants, GPS, Himachal Pradesh,
medicinal plants, sacred grove.
