Biodiversity conservation through a traditional beliefs system in Indian Himalaya: a case study from Nakuleshwar sacred grove

Abstract

Sacred groves are well recognized in the world in terms of biodiversity conservation. The present study was conducted in the Nakuleshwar sacred grove, in the valley of Thal kedar hill in the Kumaon region of Pithoragarh district in Indian Himalaya, in appreciation of its role in biodiversity conservation. The study aimed at the documentation and inventory of the sacred grove, its phytodiversity, threats and conservation in the Himalayan region, and to achieve this, systematic field surveys were conducted during 2007-2010 covering all four seasons. A total of 83 species from 71 genera and 50 families were identified, of which 43 species are flowering plants, including 7 trees, 7 shrubs, 4 climbers and 25 herbs, and 40 species are non-flowering plants of which lichens are represented by 12 species from 8 genera, bryophytes 6 species from 5 genera, and pteridophytes 7 species from 9 genera, while gymnosperms are represented by a single species. Acer oblongum, Cinnamomum tamala, Cedrus deodara, Coriaria nepalensis act as keystone species in the grove. Ophiopogon inermis is a common herb during the rainy season while Goodyera hemsleyana (Orchid) is a new distribution record for the western Himalaya. A total of 43 species from 38 genera are used ethnobotanically by local people for various ailments. Mahonia nepaulensis, Asparagus adscendens, Thalictrum foliolosum, Cinnamomum tamala and Berberis asiatica are highly exploited species and need to be conserved. Climatic conditions of the grove are moderate and the floristic patch of the grove is completely different from the plant diversity of the surrounding area and matches with the diversified floral wealth of comparatively higher altitudes. Due to anthropogenic pressure, this grove is facing new threats of degradation, hence needing special attention.

Aprovechamiento sostenible y conservación de las plantas medicinales en Cantarranas, Huehuetla, Hidalgo, México, como un medio para mejorar la calidad de vida en la comunidad

“…Conocer datos sobre el uso, importancia cultural, manejo tradicional, comercio, distribución geográfi ca e importancia ecológica de las plantas medicinales son herramientas para llevar a cabo su aprovechamiento sostenible y conservación (OMS et al, 1993;Hersch-Martínez, 1995CBD, 2002;Hamilton, 2004;Singh et al, 2012;Bhat et al, 2013;Blancas et al 2013). Trabajos realizados en diferentes países del mundo (Adams et al, 2004;Hamilton, 2004Hamilton, , 2008Lange, 2004;Wiersum et al, 2006;van de Kop et al, 2006;Shengji et al, 2010;Raina et al, 2011;Rajeswara et al, 2012) han destacado que el aprovechamiento sostenible de plantas medicinales debe ser considerado una estrategia para conservar la biodiversidad, mejorar la calidad de vida y mitigar la pobreza en comunidades que dependan de éstas; teniendo como respaldo el signifi cado que las plantas medicinales representan para la población en materia de salud, ambiente, economía e identidad cultural.…”

“…Tal como se ha considerado en algunos trabajos, una de las funciones más importantes de las plantas medicinales en la biología de la conservación es su uso y manejo tradicional, derivado de la importancia cultural que representan para las personas (Hamilton, 2004;Singh et al, 2012;Bhat et al, 2013;Blancas, et al, 2013). Por tanto, existe la necesidad de integrar programas de manejo sostenible y conservación de las plantas medicinales, basados en métodos que cuantifi quen su importancia cultural y económica, importancia ecológica, situación actual de sus poblaciones, distribución geográfi ca, estrategias de recolecta sostenible, propagación y cultivo (CMMAD, 1987; Ley General de Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente,1988;OMS et al, 1993;Caballero y Cortés, 2001;Schäfer, 2001;CBD, 2002;OMS, 2003;Bermúdez et al, 2005;Shengji et al, 2010;Raina et al, 2011;Gómez, 2012;Bhat et al, 2013).…”

Role of sacred groves in ameliorating microclimate: A case study of Nagdev temple forest of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

“…There are some well known sacred groves which truly represent the wealth of a religion based conservation traditions as reported by Bisht et al (2007), Adhikari and Adhikari (2007), Angihotri et al (2010 and2012), Anthwal et al (2010), , Gokhale et al (2011), Pala et al (2012 and Singh et al ( , 2012Singh et al ( , 2013. Even though the biological diversity of Himalaya is very rich, there is little information available on the sacred groves and the conservation of biodiversity in Garhwal Himalaya (Sinha and Maikhuri, 1998).…”

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“…Sacred sites/shrines have large harbor of medicinally important plant species 10,11 . The herbal medicine provided the therapeutic requirement for>80% people of the world, which mostly cover the remote areas of developing countries 12 .…”