From the ENVIS Desk...

October 2009 — March 2010, Vol. VIII, No.2

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

/ Revering animals isn’t enough, protect them too.............................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

ENVIS Centre on the Conservation of Ecological 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 existing database includes information on:

6875 Sacred Groves & Gardens 45 Sacred Waterbodies 295 Sacred Tanks 87 Sacred Plants 45 Sacred Animals 35 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 land 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

Revering animals isn’t enough, protect them too

By Dr. Nanditha Krishna

As a nation India is replete with religious traditions aimed at protecting all animals. Followers of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism have built their lives around animals, ensuring that every creature is treated with respect and afforded a space to live and multiply.

Animals were given a divine connotation by our forefathers with the aim of protecting them from the greed of humanity and maintaining a balance of resources on Earth. For instance, drawing a rice flour kolam in South Indian households was one way of feeding tiny creatures like ants. Similarly eating on a banana leaf ensured that cattle get to feed on the leftovers thereby not letting anything go to waste. When Indians sanctified animals, it was done on the basis of their primary characteristics. Take for instance, the boar or the Varaha, an avatar of Vishnu. Boars turn over the earth, allowing new shoots and berries to spring to life. They imparted the know-ledge of farming to our ancestors who were basically living nomadic lives of hunting and gathering. Farming aimed at helping humans evolve into wiser animals through the virtue of vegetarianism.

Even Lord Krishna propagates this saying he would happily accept any kind of offering from his devotees – patram, pushpam, falam (i.e. a leaf, f lower and fruit respectively). Similarly, the elephant was called Vigneshwara or the remover of obstacles, because that’s exactly what an elephant does in the jungle – it clears the path leading to water resources, which becomes accessible to all other animals. The bull Nandi is worshiped for its ability to serve

as a vahana or a means of transport. And the cow is symbolic of economic strength.

It would be unfair on our part to assume animals are bereft of values like spirituality. According to evolutionary theory, life originated in the sea. Aquatic creatures like fish were the first settlers on Earth. Do you think that fish had no concept of God? In the Bible, it says, God creates man in his own image. But I think man’s impression of God is what he sees in himself.

By that logic, each age reveres its own kind. So the fish could have created a deity in their own image. In fact, nowhere in the scriptures has it been mentioned that man is the most superior of all beings and other creatures are subordinate to him. Which means a human being can be born either as a tiger or an ant or a human being in his subsequent birth depending on the nature of his karma, an idea that is supported even by the Bhagavad Gita. Just because we were born human doesn’t mean we cannot slip back in the cycle of karma.

C o u r t e s y : D e c c a n C h r o n i c l e , M o n d a y,

March 15, 2010

October 2009 - March 2010 Vol.VIII, No.2

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Release of book on Sacred Animals of IndiaFebruary 24, 2010

C. P. R. Environmental Education Centre, Chennai

The book on “Sacred Animals of India”

Republished by Penquin Books India

and authored by Dr. Nanditha Krishna,

Hon. Director, CPREEC, was released on

24 February 2010 at C.P. Environmental

Educat ion Centre , 1 , E ldams Road,

Alwarpet.

Smt. Maneka Gandhi, Member of Parliament,

released the book. The first copy of the book

was received by Shri Shekhar Dattatri, Wildlife

Filmmaker & Conservationist.

Plan to conserve sacred grovesKOCHI: Five sacred groves in Ernakulam district have been short-listed for conservation support. The Social Forestry wing of the State Forest Department had drawn up a plan for supporting sacred groves of biodiversity significance in the State. Under the project, two groves each from a district would get support.

Iringole kavu, near Perumbavoor, owned by the Travancore Devaswom Board, is there in the list. The kavu (sacred grove), which is spread over 50 acre, is considered the biggest in the district. The kavus owned by Aruvikkal Durga Devi Temple, Maradi (2.5 acre), Pennakudam Bhagavathy Temple, Thrikkakara (1.5 acre), Chittethukavu and the Sarppakavu owned by Thottam Illam, Nellikuzhi, are also there in the district list. The sacred groves were selected based on its extent and biodiversity value.

Status report

The final selection will be done by a State-level expert committee, officials of the Social Forestry wing said.

Sacred groves do not come under the control of the Forest Department. They are mostly owned by individuals and temple trusts. Hence, a status report on the sacred groves of Kerala is not available with the authorities. The private ownership of the groves has also prevented the department from assessing the biodiversity significance of these groves.

Rich biodiversity

According to experts, the groves house rich biodiversity and need to be conserved. Most of the sacred groves are also attached to temples.

The present attempt is to help owners of the groves to conserve them while retaining their ownership. (Courtesy : The Hindu – September 11, 2009)

Tulsi: symbol of chaste devotionThe tulsi plant has been a hallmark of Hindu households from time immemorial. But if you have ever wondered what the events were that contributed to its role in Hindu culture and the rituals associated with it, there is an interesting story which makes the tulsi plant a subject of moral and spiritual introspection.

According to the Hindu tradition of Tulsi Vivah, on the 11th day of the waxing moon in the month of Kartik (following Deepavali), Hindus commemorate the marriage of Tulsi to Maha Vishnu. The day is called Devothani Ekadasi or the awakening of the Devas.

The story says that Tulsi was married to a demon king named Shankachuda, who terrorised the world with his atrocities. But Tulsi also was a great bhakta of Vishnu and her chastity, rendered Shankachuda invincible. In order to vanquish the demon, Vishnu assumed the guise of Shankachuda and embraced Tulsi. Having lost her chastity, Tulsi cursed Vishnu to turn into a Shaligrama (a black stone). Later after the curse was lifted from Vishnu, he atoned for his act by promising to marry Tulsi every year on this day of Kartik. And the day marks the auspicious beginning of the marriage season for Hindus.

There are lessons to be learned from the story — one being the supreme prevalence of dharma. Tulsi protected Shankachuda despite his evil-doing, only because he was her husband. But according to dharma, no individual is exempt from the law of nature. Evil-doers must be stopped, no matter who the perpetrator of the act might be – friends, relatives and anyone in between. The high ground of morality must not be abandoned for selfish motives.

Another lesson of this story is that evil is not a separate entity in itself. Shankachuda, who was the husband of the pious Tulsi, is a manifestation of the dark side prevalent in all of us. When money and power join forces, they assume an air of arrogance and the bearer falls under the illusion of invincibility. It’s something human beings have to learn to deal with — to eliminate their sense of selfishness and work towards collective good.

Many think that spirituality is outside their own existence, whereas it’s not. Every act as spoken about in our scriptures, is an act of obeisance to the environment. When you breathe in, you are inhaling air, one of the five basic and founding elements responsible for sustaining life. In fact, you are inhaling God while breathing — an act that keeps you alive. No other culture in the world can pride themselves on honouring the elements and respecting their sanctity as much as our own. It’s something that needs to be passed on as a legacy from one generation to the next.

The writer is the director of research at Tattvaloka, a monthly spirituality journal

(Courtesy : Deccan Chronicle - November 8, 2009)

Committed to a green causePATHANAMTHITTA: ‘Poonkavana Vandanam,’ a nature conservation and reforestation scheme jointly launched by the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department and the Mata Amritanandamayi Math Green Friends, at Pampa on the foothills of Sabarimala has become popular as a ‘Care Mother Nature’ project.

Under the project, saplings of trees, both timber and non-timber species, including sandalwood, rosewood, teak wood and fruit trees are distributed free to pilgrims returning from Sabarimala. The scheme is aimed at spreading awareness of nature conservation and protecting trees, says Swami Jnanamruthananda, Green Friends co-ordinator.

Mata Amritanandamayi was instrumental in launching the project in association with the Forest Department a few years ago with a message that “a tree is equivalent to 10 sons.” Her mission is to protect the sanctity of the sacred grove of Lord Ayyappa by spreading awareness of the importance of keeping the grove clean.

Forest Minister Benoy Viswom inaugurated the Poonkavana Vandanam stall near the Pampa Ganapati Temple recently. Jaggu, Head of Human Resources Department at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), N. Prathapan Nair, AIMS Principal, and K.K. Haridas, Head of Cardiology, AIMS, were present.

Report shows Yamuna’s dirty faceNEW DELHI: We all know Yamuna water is not fit for bathing, let alone drinking. But the latest report from the Central Pollution Control Board, sure to raise a stink before the Commonwealth Games in the capital, says the river is so full of excreta that its water resembles that of a drain.

According to stipulated standards, water can be made potable with treatment if fecal coliform is less than 500 per 100ml and it’s fit for bathing if the number is less than 5,000 per 100ml. According to CPCB’s 10-month-long monitoring of the Yamuna at Nizamuddin, the lowest level of fecal coliform in the water was 4.4 lakh per 100ml, measured on May 4, 2009. That’s almost 100 times above the level considered safe for bathing.

Fecal coliform are bacteria that originate in excreta. Coliform levels reached as high as 1.79 crore per 100ml on February 3. Drinking water without conventional treatment but after use of disinfectant should not have a coliform count in excess of 50 per 100ml and must have a minimum DO of 6mg per litre.

Worse, the dissolved oxygen (DO) content of Yamuna water was ‘‘nil’’ on all the testing dates, though the water at Palla on all these days had a DO level of over 4 milligrams per litre, which is the standard. Palla is where the river enters Delhi, embarking on its most polluted 22-km stretch.

The monitoring took place between January 6 and October 6 last year, according to the latest report submitted to the Supreme Court by CPCB through counsel Vijay Panjwani. Even at Palla the water quality could not be termed potable because of the high level of fecal coliform. Except for the test results on September 2, 2009, when the fecal coliform was 2,900 per 100ml, in all other months it was above the stipulated 5,000 level. The highest coliform count recorded at Palla was 43,000, on July 7.

The alarming rise in the fecal coliform content in the Yamuna by the time it reaches Nizamuddin was mainly because of the number of drains that join it, throwing in untreated sewage and industrial effluent.

‘‘The total pollution load discharged through 25 drains in river Yamuna during the ten rounds of monitoring from January to October was between 174 tonnes per day to 330 tonnes per day,’’ CPCB said.

‘‘Although the drains are meant to carry storm water and tail-end discharge as part of the river basin system, at present the drains are being used to carry treated and untreated sewage and industrial effluent apart from storm water,’’ said the politely worded CPCB report.

CPCB is monitoring the water quality of the river at five locations — Palla, Madanpur Khadar, Okhla, the meeting point of Shahadra drain and Nizamuddin — along with 25 drains, in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court and has submitted results of 140 rounds of monitoring since 1999.

(Courtesy : The Times of India – February 2, 2010)

K. Mohanachandran Nair, chief liaison officer, said over 250 saplings of fruit trees, sandalwood, rosewood, teakwood, etc., are distributed through the stall every day. The Math also distributes pamphlets on nature conservation.

Swami Jnanamruthananda said the Math specifically focusses on planting trees on temple grounds, hospitals compounds, near educational institutions, roadsides and select public places. Each Green Friends member also takes a vow to plant and maintain 18 saplings a year, said Swami Jnanamruthananda. The distribution of saplings at Pampa will continue on all days of the Mandaklam-Makaravilakku pilgrim season

(Courtesy : The Hindu - December 12, 2009)Sabarimala pilgrims being given free tree saplings under reforestation project

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ENVIS Newsletter CPREEC, Chennai

Abstracts of Recent Publications

Sitaramam V., S. R. Jog and P. Tetali, “Ecology

of Ficus religiosa accounts for its association with

religion”, Current Science, Vol. 97, No. 5, Pp. 637-

640, 2009

While many plants and trees in specific areas

acquire cult significance, very few such as Ficus

religiosa L. have acquired a universal status. This

hemiepiphyte, Ficus religiosa L., is of dual interest

since it venerated by a quarter of the present

mankind (Hindus and Buddhists, largely Asian)

on one hand and also since these plants are

blamed for destruction of buildings due to their

ability to grow on buildings. Divergence in views

exists whether epiphytic plants exert a destructive

influence on buildings. A focused survey of the

coastal forts on land and sea has shown uniformly

that the naturally growing plants of certain

Ficus sp., notably Ficus religiosa L., grow

exclusively on the vertical sheer side of rock

faces and not either on the ground or on the top

surface of these 8–10 centuries old rock structures;

also seen on the side of rock piles as recent as

4–5 years as well as in sacred groves of several

centuries to millennia old. We could trace the

roots through these structures from beginning

to the end in many parts of these forts, especially

when there are overhanging structures at

entrances. The root tips, the point of growth,

would be far too insignificant to account for

destruction in any of these large rock-and-lime

masonry structures while vibration per se was

insignificant as the tree was seen in all forts on

land or sea. The association with religion

of the dis t inct ive Ficus re l ig iosa i t se l f

a p p e a r s t o b e s e l f - e v i d e n t f r o m i t s

socio-anthropological association with rock

piles, hitherto not visualized for any flora and

logically appears to pre-date both Hinduism

and Buddhism.

Vikrant Jaryan, Sanjay Kr. Uniyal Gopichand,

R. D. Singh, Brij Lal, Amit Kumar and Varun

Sharma, “Role of traditional conservation

practice: highlighting the importance of Shivbari

sacred grove in biodiversity conservation”, The

Environmentalist, Springer Netherlands (Online),

December 2009.

Recognizing the importance of sacred groves in

biodiversity conservation and management, and

the recent threats to them, the present study

was conducted in Shivbari sacred grove of

Himachal Pradesh. The study aimed at

documenting the floral wealth of Shivbari and

promoting plantation of indigenous species

in participation with local people. For this,

systematic field surveys in different seasons

were conducted in Shivbari from April 2005 to

November 2009, and liaison was maintained

w ith the local community and temple

management authority for gaining insight

into the history and problems of Shivbari

and initiating plantation activities. A total

of 69 flowering plant species were identified

inside the grove, which include 14 trees,

9 shrubs, 3 lianas and 43 herbs. This represents

almost 2% of the total flowering plant species

occurring in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Mallotus philippensis followed by Putranjiva

roxburghii was the most dominant tree species.

Adhatoda zeylanica was the most common shrub

October 2009 - March 2010 Vol.VIII, No.2

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species, while Achyranthes aspera was the most

common herb species. The grove harbours 23

plants species that are in high demand in the

market, and at the same time also influences

the microclimate of the area. The temperature

inside the grove was significantly lower than

the temperature outside the grove. The recent

changes in socio-economic status of the local

people and a shift towards market-oriented

economy have threatened the survival of

Shivbari. However, the deeply held beliefs of

the pilgrims, local people and priest offer a ray

of hope. During the course of the study, 3,000

plants were planted inside the grove out of

which 60% have survived.

Mohanta, R.K., A.K.Bhardwaj, B.S.Adhikari and

P.K.Mathur, “Distribution and Conservation

Status of Sacred Groves (Sgs) in Garo Hills,

Meghalaya”, Indian Forester, Vol. 135, Issue:12

Pp. 1627 -1649, 2009.

On a global scale, the existing Sacred Groves

(SGs) follow ancestral worship on conservation

in forest patches. SGs are distributed over a

wide ecosystem and help in conservation of rare

and endemic species. Well preserved SGs are

store houses of biological, ecological, medicinal,

ethno-cultural and religious values.

Harsh Singh, Priyanka Agnihotri and Tariq

Husain, “Haat Kali sacred grove, Central

Himalaya, Uttarakhand”, Current Science, Vol. 98,

Issue: 3, p.290, 2010.

Sacred groves are (small or large) patches of

vegetation of varying sizes, conserved on the

basis of the religious beliefs of the community. In

India 13,720 sacred groves have been identified

from 19 states and named differently in various

parts of India as Law lyngdhoh in Meghalaya,

Kovil Kadu in Kanyakumari, Dev Bhumi in

Uttarakhand, etc.

Chandrakanth, MG, MS Accavva, MG Nagaraja,

Mahadev G Bhat and Guido Van Huylenbroeck,

“Protecting Kodagu Devara Kadu, the sacred

groves”, Seronica Vol. 1 No. 1, January 2010.

Sacred groves, which comprise of trees having

religious importance to cultures, are found all

over the world in general and specifically

in Europe, North America, Asia, Eastern Africa,

and China. The park cemeteries of North America,

the fetish groves of Nigeria, church forests of

Ethiopia, Guthi forests of Nepal, Monastic forests

of China, Thailand, The Oostakker sacred grove

in Ghent, Belgium, are a few examples. In India

Sacred groves in Kodagu, Western Ghats are

known as Devara bana, Naga bana, Pavitra

vana, Devara kadu. Kavu, Kovil kadu, Deorais,

Sarnas, Kodagu (Coorg) district in the western

ghats of Karnataka, famous for the tropical

evergreen forest, is the home for the sacred

worship of trees in the Devara kadu. Devara Kadu

– sacred groves are a unique concept in nature

conservation with community participation

and management. In Kodagu, every village has

at least one Devara kadu. Devara kadu has the

sanctum housing the deity, the forest (deva

kadu) surrounding the deity (deva) and a small

water source (Devakere) to support the sanctum

worship.

Anthwal, A., Nutan Gupta, Archana Sharma,

Smriti Anthwal and KI-Hyun Kim, “Conserving

biodiversity through traditional beliefs in sacred

groves in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India”, Resources,

Conservation and Recycling, March 2010.

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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 Website: www.cpreec.org

Events

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.

vDel ivered a lecture on “Ecolog ica l T r a d i t i o n s o f t h e A n c i e n t T a m i l History and Culture” for the Lecturers o f v a r i o u s d i s c i p l i n e s i n t h e Academic Staff College, Organised by the UGC Academic S ta f f Co l l ege , Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, on 19th and 20th October, 2009.

v Delivered a talk on “Sacred Trees and its role in Environmental Protection” in All India Radio on 18th November 2009 and broadcasted on 02nd December 2009.

v Presented a paper on “Temple Tanks of Chennai and its role in the conservation of water” in the Seminar on World Water Day 2010, on 22nd March 2010 at University of Madras, Organised by Dept. of Geography and Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Madras.

v Delivered a lecture on “The History of Trees in Early Indian Culture and Art” in the Prof. R. Sathianathaier Endowment Lecture 2009 – 2010, on 30th March 2010 at University of Madras, Organised by Dept. of Indian History, University of Madras.

Dr. Nanditha Krishna Hon. Director Mr. P. Sudhakar M. Amirthalingam Lalitha Ramadurai Joint Director Research officer Sr. Programme OfficerM. Vaithiyanathan R. Sathya Narayanan S. ShanthiProgramme Officer Programme Assistant Data Entry Operator

India’s biodiversity encompasses a wide spectrum

of habitats that include tropical rainforests,

alpine vegetation, temperate forests, and

coastal wetlands. Traditional societies have

paid a great deal of attention to the study

of nature conservation. Although Himalaya

accounts for 18% of the total area in India,

it covers more than 31.05% of India’s forest

cover and 40% of the species endemic to

the Indian Sub-continent. Many mountain

societies hence maintained a holistic view of

the socio-ecological system. An expression

of this relationship is represented in the

form of sacred landscape which is a concept

identified by many traditional societies and

often protected by cultural and religious

values. Many protected areas contain sites

of importance to one or more faiths. These

include both sacred natural sites and built

monuments (such as monasteries, temples,

shrines, and pilgrimage trails). Enforcement in

these protected areas has created a lot of conflicts

between the local people and protected area

managers, due to the restrictions enforced by

these managers against the traditional usufruct

rights of the local people. These conflicts tend

to act as major hurdles to achieving biodiversity

conservation. Conservation of biological resources

through religion and belief has a long history in

Garhwal Himalaya. This article aims to document

the different ethics enshrined within the Hindu

community that have an inherent role in the

conservation of biodiversity in Uttarakhand

Himalaya.