Kaavu in Kerala (Sacred Groves in Kerala)

Introduction

Sacred groves are “small forests or stands of trees whose produce is set aside for the exclusive use of a deity” which has conservational and religious values attached to such “pockets of abundant and diverse flora and fauna” [4]. Dietrich Brandis, the first General Inspector of Forest in India, identified the religious conservation of kaavu and termed it sacred grove [1]. Sacred groves have been studied from various perspectives – ethnographic, ecological, theological, sociological, and mythical.

The Ecology of Sacred Groves

Ecologists look at sacred groves as a rich conservatory of “rare and endemic species of plants” [3]. Approximately 13,720 sacred groves are identified in the 19 states of India with maximum number of them in Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and Tamil Nadu [3]. Sacred groves have withstood the massive deforestation initiated by the British administration in India. But due to various reasons such as population growth, deforestation,...