• P. E. Jagdale

Sacred groves are patches of forest land that have been preserved by the ethnic communities based on their religious beliefs. The sacred groves are an integral part of the culture and tradition. These forests are sacred as they are dedicated to some specific god or goddesses. The ethnic people belives that it is the divine power who protects them from all odds and calamities and thus in order to please the divine power. They preserve a part of forest land for their respective gods. These patches are being controlled by the ethnic group of people and in most cases have some stringent law which prohibits any form of harm to the region. Thus cutting of trees or plucking of flowers and fruits are strictly prohibited in these regions. This is of great ecological significance as the religious tradition as traditional thought process of the ethnic group gets directly reflected on protection and conservation of flora and fauna in the sacred groves. These sacred patches of forest thus houses several indeginous and endemic plants having nutritional and medicinal importance. It is also home of a number of animals which finds safe shelter in the woods of the forest. This paper is an overview of the sacred groves of India and its current status.

Sacred Groves, Flora, Endangered, Endemic, God.

"Role of Sacred Groves in Conservation of Biodiversity", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 9, page no.c721-c728, September-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2109296.pdf

"Role of Sacred Groves in Conservation of Biodiversity", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 9, page no. ppc721-c728, September-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2109296.pdf