From the ENVIS Desk...

April - September 2010, Vol. IX, No. 1

Thematic Area: Conservation of Ecological Heritage and Sacred Sites of India

C.P.R. EnviRonmEntal EduCation CEntRE

ECO-HERITAGE.COMENVIS Newsletter

Supported by Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India

In this issue

/ From the ENVIS Desk ...................1

/ Ramghat of River Betwa : A Sacred Ghat for Fish Conservation............2

/ News Clippings...............................4

/ Abstracts of Recent Publications...6

Dr. Nanditha Krishna ENVIS Co-Ordinator

Homepage of CPREEC ENVIS Centre.Web : http://www.cpreecenvis.nic.in/

ISSN : 0975 - 9387

In India, several animals have been considered sacred and therefore never get destroyed. Sacred animals became the mounts of various Hindu gods and goddesses, symbolizing the character of the deity and integrated with the iconography. Since the elephant is closely associated with the religion and culture of our country through the ages, the declaration of the Elephant as the “National Heritage Animal” of India, will protect the population and recognise its traditional role. Kudos to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

ENVIS Centre on the Conservation of Ecological Heritage and Sacred Sites of India at C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre has expanded the existing database on various aspects of Indian ecological heritage by primary as well as secondary sources. The database includes information on:

• 6900 Sacred Groves & Gardens • 46 Sacred Water bodies • 300 Sacred Tanks • 90 Sacred Plants • 50 Sacred Animals• 45 Sacred Mountains & Hills

We are constantly adding material and updating primary and secondary data. The website is inter-active and dynamic. It is visited by environmentalists and environmental historians from all over the world and is quoted extensively.

The area of eco-heritage is vast and an akshaya patra of information. I would like to see more university departments encouraging students to take up research in local ecological traditions. That is the only way we can document traditions that are disappearing beneath the onslaught of development. I must laud the few committed journalists who document every ecological tradition they encounter – religious sites, festivals and traditions.

We are currently trying to document the ecological traditions of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. I invite scholars and interested persons to share their knowledge and information with us.

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ENVIS Newsletter CPREEC, Chennai

Ramghat of River Betwa: A Sacred Ghat for Fish Conservation

By Dr. Vipin Vyas*

The river Betwa or Vetrawati is of great antiquity and has immense mythological and religious value over thousands of years for the people of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. Betwa is ‘Vetravati’ in Sanskrit, meaning “containing reeds”. Vetravati was also known as Shuktimati. The earliest reference is found along with the Charmanwati (now known as Chambal) river in the Mahabharata. Betwa and Charmanwati are the tributaries of River Yamuna. The capital of the Chedi kingdom was on the banks of this river. This third largest river of the Malwa region is not only important from the geo-ecological point of view but also from the socio-economic aspect. Viewed from another angle, Betwa is an important tributary of the Yamuna which in turn is a tributary of the river Ganga. This makes Betwa an important river of sacred Gangetic river system. It rises from the main Vindhya range in the extreme south west of the Raisen district at Jhirri village. During the course of its flow, Betwa receives 14 tributaries, of which 11 are located in the Madhya Pradesh. The important tributaries of the Betwa include Kaliasot, Godal, Baha, Newon, Parasari, Sagar, Naren, Kaithan, Bina, Jamni and Ore. Among these, Baha, Newon, Kaithan and Bina flow in the Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh.

History of Vidisha

Vidisha is the district headquarters of Vidisha district. The earliest reference to Vidisha is found in the Valmiki Ramayana. It is stated that the place was ruled by Shatrughati, son of Shatrughna. Ancient Vidisha is identified with the city of Besnagar, situated three kilometers away from the present Vidisha. Besnagar and its other names are mentioned in Brahmanical, Buddhist and Jaina literature. The town was named after Queen Apsara Visva, wife of Raja Rukmangada.

During the 7th century A.D., after the destruction of Besnagar a new town sprang up on the eastern bank of the river. This new town was known as Bhailaswamin or Bhillaswamin; the name was later corrupted to ‘Bhilsa’ or Bhelsa, derived from the Bhillaswamin of a Suryamandir dedicated to the sun god. Samrat Ashok was the Viceroy

of Vidisha, and constructed the stupa for his wife at Chaitya Giri, which is none other than the Sanchi Stupa.

Even today, the antiquity and the modern historical progress of the plateau of Vidisha vividly reflect its grandeur in the form of Besnagar, Gyaraspur, Udaypur, Udaygiri and Badoh-Pathari.

Sacred Protected Areas

Protection of natural habitats (forest patches, stretches of river, ponds and lakes) in indigenous cultures is typically achieved by demarcating them as sacred, by the association of ancestral sprits or a local deity. Sacred groves and ponds characterise the tribal villages, but the institution is also considerably strong in local Hindu culture. Fishing is prohibited in the river Ganga between Gangotri and Hardwar, as this stretch is considered sacred. Similar stretches of other rivers such as Mahanadi, Narmada and Godavari are also deemed sacred, where no fishing is permitted. These stretches serve as important refuges for fish in these rivers.

Sacred groves have been well documented for their conservation values in terrestrial ecosystems. But very little is known about the sacred ghats (river banks).

Ramghat of river Betwa is one such sacred ghat situated in the Vidisha town of Madhya Pradesh. It is a religious ghat (river bank) and many temples are situated on both banks of the river. It is commonly believed that this ghat is a holy place where saints and rishis performed their tapasya in the ancient sacred places (temples). Fishing in the area will hurt the sentiments of the devotees as Hindu mythology does not believe in animal killing in general. Naming the ghat as Ram ghat is linked to its ancient history which dates backs to the Ramayana. As mentioned earlier, the city Vidisha was ruled by Shatrughati, son of Shatrughan, younger brother of Lord Ram. About 1 km length of this stretch is restricted for fishing, and fishermen avoid fishing in this stretch. Incidentally, this stretch harbours a deep pool with a depth of 14 meters. The pool is about

*Dr. Vipin Vyas, Lecturer, Department of Limnology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal - 462026.

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Table – 1List of Fishes Reported in River Betwa

S.No. Order Family Species

1. Clupeiformes Notopteridae Notopterus notopterus 2. Clupeidae Gonialosa manmina 3. Cyprinidae Labeo bata 4. Labeo gonius 5. Labeo fimbriatus 6. Labeo boga 7. Labeo rohita 8. Labeo calbasu 9. Cirrhinus mrigala 10. Catla catla 11. Chela laubuca 12. Cyprinus carpio 13. Puntius conchonius 14. Puntius saphore 15. Puntius dorsalis 16. Puntius titius 17. Garra gotyla 18. Oxygaster bacaila 19. Oxygaster gora 20. Oxygaster clupeoides 21. Osteobrama cotio 22. Rasbora daniconius 23. Tor tor 24. Bagridae Mystus cavasius 25. Mystus seenghala 26. Mystus aor 27. Rita rita 28. Siluridae Ompok bimaculatus 29. Wallago attu 30. Schilbeidae Clupisoma garua 31. Silonia silondia 32. Eutropiichthys vacha 33. Clariidae Clarias batrachus 34. Saccobranchidae Heteropneustes fossilis 35. Sisoridae Bagarius bagarius 36. Lepidocephalichthys 37. Ambassidae Chanda ranga 38. Chanda nama 39. Nandidae Nandus nandus 40. Cichlidae Tilapia mossambica 41. Mastacembeleformes Mastacembelidae Mastacembelus armatus 42. Mastacembelus pancalus 43. Ophiocephaliformes Ophiocephalidae Channa marulius 44. Channa gachua 45. Channa striatus 46. Channa punctatus 47. Beloniformes Belonidae Xenentodon cancila 48. Mugiliformes Mugilidae Rhinomugil corsula

0.75 km long and 60 m wide in dimension. The author conducted experimental netting in adjoining areas close to the deep pool in different seasons and recorded 48 species of fishes (Table 1).

If the religious beliefs and traditional wisdom contributing to biodiversity conservation could

be suitably integrated with modern scientific management practices, these sacred groves and pools could become a very useful model for biodiversity conservation. The need of the hour is to document and popularize such hotspots of biodiversity which could be a source of motivation for conservation of biodiversity.

Sacred Groves in TN under ThreatNone of the 704 Documented by Researchers are Notified Officially

(Times of India, June 16, 2010)

Chennai: India may soon lose its biodiversity heritage sites if its governments do not speed up conservation documentation, according to the National Biodiversity Authority.

Only one out, of an estimated one lakh sacred groves, and 13,000 groves documented by researchers and institutions, has been officially notified by a government. Karnataka has declared Nallur tamarind grove at Devanahalli near Bangalore, a Biodiversity Heritage Site.

Sacred groves are mini-biospheres with religious significance and excellent indicators of local biodiversity health, especially because local communities participate to protect them. Normally left undisturbed, they could be forest patches or fallow lands near villages, and host folk deities. Deadwood collection is banned too in some groves.

The National Biodiversity Authority, a bio-piracy watchdog that prods state governments into documenting such groves under its Biodiversity Heritage Sites component, has insisted on more such official declarations to influence green policy and better protection.

Rapid urbanization has posed a threat to even Nallur grove besides many such forest sites in Tamil Nadu, besides decadence through formal worship forms taking over nature friendly folk worship. This has eroded their original purpose, say experts.

Tamil Nadu has 704 groves documented by researchers, but not officially notified, say experts from CPREEC (C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre) that has restored 50 sacred groves in the state.

“Currently we use books by researchers and documents. But it is the responsibility of states to enlist sacred groves,” said National Biodiversity Authority chairman PL Gautam. In Tamil Nadu’s state records, a chunk of such patches is recorded as poromboke

land, despite local communities owning them in principle. India’s sacred groves are not blessed with legislative protection. Lack of documentation only hinders better steps in protecting them, say officials at NBA.

Conservators disagree. They feel better government approach for conserving them should matter more than official notifications.

“Forests were officially notified too, but got encroached! It does not make a difference,” noted director of CPR Environmental Education Centre Nanditha Krishna. “The pride of ownership should rest with local people. It is they who should protect them,” she said. M Amirthalingam of CPREEC, who surveyed 450 sacred groves in Tamil Nadu, noted that with formal forms of worship invading folk culture, temple construction had begun in such groves, eroding their biodiversity.

“The Puthupet grove in Villupuram district was a thicketed tropical dry evergreen forest of 25 acres. People feared entering it 15 years back. Recently we found people using motorcycles inside. People have become defiant to local beliefs. Now, temple authorities cleared trees near the sanctum sanctorum of the small open air shrine and built a temple with granite, cement and brick. Sacred groves should have local deities, with vermillion and turmeric on stone or trees,’’ said Amirthalingam.

CRYING FOR ATTENTION: A sacred grove in Villupuram district

Sabari Rail Project: Sacred Groves to make Way (Express News Service, June 01, 2010)

KOCHI: Even while the government is busy adopting measures to protect the sacred groves (kavu) in the State, the Railways is all set to do away with around 10 groves in the district for the Sabari Rail project. Recently, the district administration held a meeting with 10 landowners in the Angamaly-Perumbavoor region in connection with evicting people for the rail project.

The district administration has identified four sacred groves to be removed for the project and a nod for this has been received from the landowners.

“The four land owners have agreed to clear their ancestral groves at a cost of Rs 75,000 each. A ‘pooja’ will be performed to shift their respective groves,” a highly placed Revenue officer said. A meeting will be held with the landowners where other groves are situated.

Interestingly, the Railways is paying money only for shifting the groves and not as remuneration for the evictees, the official said.

The State Government had bought 28 ‘kavus’ belonging to Devaswoms and various Trusts, under a Centrally sponsored scheme ‘Intensification of Forest Management-Protection and Conservation of Sacred Groves’ on March 23 here. The scheme was launched as a part of protecting the ecosystem and environment.

Forest Minister Benoy Viswom promised to consider the setting up of more ‘Kavus’ across the State within two years. The Central Government has released Rs 13.2 lakh for the scheme.

Sacred Groves of Ahmednagar in Danger: Study (Times of India, October 11, 2010)

PUNE: Two of the seven sacred groves in Ahmednagar district are seriously endangered while the rest need immediate attention so that they do not deteriorate further, says a study conducted by researcher Mohan Waman at the University of Pune.

The sacred groves, which have a rich supply of medicinal plants and represent the natural status of vegetation, are routinely disturbed due to cutting of vegetation for fuel, domestic purposes and grazing, reveals the study, which was carried out over a period of three years. “Increasing population and growth of infrastructure has resulted in the decline of the sacred groves,” says Waman. “Also, habitat alternation and overexploitation has threatened the global biological resources. Modernisation and commercialisation of agriculture are also some of the factors responsible for the decline of these traditional reserves here.”

The seven groves range in size from one to five acres in six different villages in and around Ahmednagar district. The Kalsubai sacred grove is a spread over one acre near Bari village, while the Bhavaidevi sacred grove extends for half-an-acre near Udadawane. Both groves are largely unprotected.

“I prepared a questionnaire to get detailed information about the natural vegetation found in the groves,” says Waman. “A list of plant species was prepared, taking into consideration the local names for each species along with its habitat, status and medicinal importance,” Waman said. There is a strong need to initiate people’s participation in preserving the groves, he added. Training should be imparted to promote the indigenous traditional knowledge and conserve the biodiversity. Well-preserved sacred groves are storehouses of valuable medicinal and other plants having high economic value and serve as a refuge to threatened species.

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ENVIS Newsletter CPREEC, Chennai

Abstracts of Recent Publications Kulkarni, D.K., and D.S. Nipunage, “Deo-rahati: An Ancient Concept of Biodiversity Conservation”, Asian Agri-History, Vol. 14, Issue 2, Pp.185 -186, 2010.

Conservation of Deo-rahati (sacred groves) in India has ancient roots from the Vedic period. Even modern ethnic groups conserve forest patches through customs, taboos and local festivals associated with the deities. These forest pockets serve the vital function of conserving biological diversity and natural water streams. There is an urgent need of awareness and plantation around sacred groves to fulfill the need of local people and provide protection to sacred groves.

Rajasri Ray and T. V. Ramachandra, “Small Sacred Groves in Local Landscape: Are They Really Worthy for Conservation?”, Current Science, Vol.98, No.9, Pp.1178-1180, May 2010.

Sacred groves are communally-protected forest fragments with religious connotations.

These community lands attain significance by conserving biodiversity and providing ecological services in local landscapes. However, it has often been found that interests relating to sacred groves are often concentrated towards the groves with a conspicuous presence, i.e. in terms of expanse, economic importance, presence of charismatic species, etc. This undermines the role played by the small groves (mostly < 1 ha) and also lead to degradation over time. This commentary analyses the role and need for the conservation of small groves in local landscapes.

Singh, Ranjay K, Srivastava, R.C., Community, Adi and T.K. Mukherjee, “Toko-Patta (Livistona jenkinsiana Griff): Adi Community and Conservation of Culturally Important Endangered Tree Species in Eastern Himalaya”, Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol.9 (2), Pp.231 – 241, April 2010.

Arunachal Pradesh, being the largest state of North-east India, harbours the great

Conserving the Blue Peafowl (The Hindu, August 1, 2010)

Managing wild life resources and increasing their existing population is as important as their conservation, said wildlife biologist M.C. Satyanarayana, in an interactive session with school students here recently. He was delivering a special lecture on ‘Conservation and Management of our National bird’ organised by the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre.

Talking about various threats faced by the blue peafowl, Dr. Satyanarayana said peacocks were mainly killed, not for their feathers as was popularly believed, but due to poisoning by farmers to safeguard paddy fields from the damage the birds bring to the crops. He suggested the use of advanced and affordable technology such as a ‘Reflective Ribbon Mechanical Device’ – a tape with glittering lights in fields to scare away the peacocks.

Dr Satyanarayana said the increasing vehicular traffic on highways and constructions in the outskirts of the cities have greatly disrupted the habitat of these birds. “Though many religions and the law itself protect the peafowl, myths about the magical quality of its eggs and meat prompt a lot of people to hunt it down,” he said.

Urging the teachers to be ‘learners’ apart from being educators, Dr. Satyanarayana said that a ‘traditional’ classroom attitude will not help students develop a scientific bent of mind. “Children should observe the behavioural patterns of animals and birds to make their own discoveries,” he said.

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number of plant species which are endemic to the region. The diversity and endemism of the state has kept it in the category of a biodiversity hot-spot. In the recent past, the numbers of plant species are listed as rare, endangered and threatened because of increasing threats from anthropogenic and other natural factors. In the list of threatened species, Livistona jenkinsiana Griff - locally called, Toko by the Adi tribe - has also been mentioned. Based on the village and forest survey, initially it was observed that Toko is good in numbers and conserved by the tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh. This dichotomy of Toko being reported as threatened and actual large populations maintained by tribes necessitated conducting a study in the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The study was conducted during 2005-2008. East Sing and Adi tribe were selected deliberately. A sample of 303 male (138) and female (165) Adi members were chosen as the respondents of the study. The ecological attributes of the species, biocultural dimensions, gender role, institutional relation and conservation of species in varying habitats were studied. Using personal interview and PRA methods data were collected. The results indicate that Toko is conserved in jhum lands, Morang forest and home gardens at a larger scale. The women play a significant role in the conservation of this species. A number of bioculturally important products are made out of the leaves and fruits of Toko. Indigenous institutions have a still great role to control over-exploitation of this species and solve the dispute on Toko. This species is conserved on a large scale by individual ownership; however, the collective conservation of Toko in the Morang forest by the Adi tribe is an appreciable effort. From six villages, a total number of 33,026 trees were recorded in 2008 at an altitude of 110-180 m.

Sukumaran, S, and A.D.S. Raj, “Medicinal Plants of Sacred Groves in Kanyakumari District, Southern Western Ghats”, Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol. 9 (2), Pp. 294-299, April, 2010. An attempt has been made to identify medicinally important plants frequently used by rural communities from the sacred groves in the environs of Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. A total of 34 medicinal plants from 33 genera under 29 families were enumerated. Most of the plants are used for curing earache, skin diseases, fever, cold, headache, cough,

urinary disorder, ulcer, etc. Of 29 families, 26 families were non-specific. Plants of Rutaceae was largely represented (4 species), followed by Euphorbiaceae and Sapindaceae.

Tripathi, O.P., K. Upadhaya, R.S. Tripathi and H.N. Pandey, “Diversity, Dominance and Population Structure of Tree Species along Fragment-Size Gradient of a Subtropical Humid Forest of North-east India”, Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 2(2): 97-105, 2010.

The present study was carried out in forest fragments of 1, 2, 5 and >5-ha of a subtropical humid forest in Meghalaya, North-east India to analyze the impact of fragment size on tree diversity and population structure and regeneration status of important trees. The intensity of disturbance steadily decreases with increase in the size of the fragment. The study revealed that tree species richness increased from 49 species in 1-ha fragment to 64 species in >5-ha fragment. Tree species richness was positively related to fragment size, but was inversely related to the degree of disturbance. Impact of fragment size on density and basal cover did not differ much between the fragments. Diversity and dominance indices did not vary much along the fragment size gradient. Out of ten most dominant species, dominance of four species decreased along increasing size gradient while dominance of remaining species consistently decreased from 1-ha to >5-ha fragments. Overall tree population structure was pyramid shaped in all the fragments. About 16-25% species showed good regeneration in all the fragments. Percentage of species showing fair, poor and no regeneration progressively increases with increase in size of the fragments. Large percentages (44%) of new species were found regenerating in small fragments compared to large fragments where only 3 new species were regenerating. This revealed that fragments of smaller area might have given a favourable micro-environmental condition for seedling survival.

A.K. Konar, “Tribal Communities and their Age-old Sacred Groves: A Fair Fieldwork in the Purulia District of West Bengal, India”, Stud. Tribes Tribals, 8 (1), Pp. 1 – 12, July 2010.

This paper has been designed to explore the trinity indicated by the 3Cs such as “causes, consequences and cures” for

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ENVIS Newsletter CPREEC, Chennai

ENVIS Team :

ENVIS CentreC.P.R. Environmental Education Centre1, Eldams Road, Alwarpet, Chennai - 600 018, Tamil Nadu, India.Phone: 044 - 24346526 / 24337023 Fax: 91 - 044 - 24320756E-mail: cpreec@vsnl.com / cpreec@cpreec.org Website: www.cpreec.org

Contact Address :

Readers are welcome to contribute articles, photographs with details, news clippings, etc., pertaining to the Ecological heritage for publishing in our subsequent newsletters. Please send your views and opinions.

Lalitha Ramadurai Shashikala Iyer M. Vaithiyanathan S. Shanthi Sr. Programme Officer Programme Officer Programme Officer Data Entry Operator

Events

the degradation of sacred groves in the hundred sample tribal communities, most of which are located on and around the Ajodhya Hills covered with forest layer, of Purulia district in West Bengal. This paper also attempts to explore the causes of unprecedented unsustainability of tribal communities. Here the problem of sustainability encompasses both the tribal people and the sacred groves preserved by them. The third objective of the paper is to expose how the social and ecological status of the minority groups of tribal people is correlated with that of their age-

old “forests of the goddess” in the emerging threat of the unsustainability syndrome, and what policy package can be prescribed to reduce or rule out tribal unsustainability in which the unsustainability of sacred groves is embedded. The study also seeks to awaken the appropriate authorities from the culture of connivance or silence for creating mass-awareness among the citizens of the non-tribal mainstream society so as to restore the sustainability of the diverse tribal communities. “Tribal culture” coupled with “cultural tribalism” may create tribal unsustainability.

Dr. Nanditha Krishna Hon. Director

Lectures delivered / workshops attended by ENVIS staffs

v May 22, 2010 : The Hon.Director participated in the Panel Discussion on Community Conservation Ethos organized as part of International Biological Diversity Day by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation at Chennai.

v June 2 to 5, 2010 : ENVIS Programme Officer attended the GLOBE Train the Trainer Workshop, at New Delhi, organized by the Indian Environmental Society, New Delhi and Office of Public Affairs, US Consulate, New Delhi.

Other Events...

v October 30-31, 2010 : Basudha Festival VIII held at Basudha, West Bengal. Over 120 guests - scientists, educators, artists, farmers and writers from 6 districts of West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Chattisgarh as well as from France, Italy and UK participated in the Fest.

v September 25, 2010 : National Seminar on Biodiversity Conservation Scenario in India, at Bankura Christian College, Durgapur, West Bengal.