Management practices and stakeholder interactions along with sacred groves in Kerala

Abstract

Various developmental practices and changes in the social fabric threaten the existence of the local forest ecosystems such as sacred groves. A sacred grove, a forest common, traditionally has religious importance and unique management systems in place due to its cultural value. Sacred groves were in the ownership of a family or a community and had multiple stakeholders such as deity, devotees, communities, trusts. However rapid urbanization, increasing demographic demands negatively impact the sacred groves. With increasing stress on commercialization, the role of various stakeholders is changing esp the role of women in the management of Sacred groves has dwindled. The breakdown of 'ancient joint family systems' like 'tharavadu' has adversely affected the number of sacred groves in the state. The existence of 15, 000 sacred groves in the erstwhile state of Travancore was recorded in 1927 whereas current estimates account for not beyond 2000 sacred groves. As the number of stakeholders reduced, the community involvement in the management of sacred groves has also diminished over time. This paper studies the differential management dynamics in the sacred groves of Kerala, India using case studies of two sacred groves. It analyses how different stakeholders interact with each other using ethnographic methods. The paper argues that management practices of sacred groves should be more inclusive and should promote inter-generational dialogue.