<b>Rapid assessment of sacred groves: a biodiversity assessment tool for ground level practitioners</b>

Abstract

Sacred groves in the Western Ghats are culturally preserved patches of forests that are rich in diversity owing to protection by several generations of local people, providing excellent examples of community based conservation. Sacred groves harbour local populations, preserve genetic resources and serve as reference sites and corridors between protected areas. They are considered to be cornerstones of biodiversity conservation, but are insufficient in scale and number to significantly address many aspects of the management of landscapes and biodiversity. We studied 13 sacred groves in Pune District that are at present outside the protected areas of the northern Western Ghats, where we employed a simple and rapid biodiversity assessment technique that can be replicated by frontline foresters, local residents and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs). Integrating these sacred sites into the conservation network through local support can improve the efficiency for the existing protected area network in this ecologically fragile region.

Identification, Prioritization and Management of Biodiversity Hotspecks: A Case Study of Western Ghats of Maharashtra

“…Identifying and conserving the biodiversity-rich 'hotspecks' in a mosaic of cultural landscape elements has become a priority for developing jump sites. These jump sites will support the effective movement of wild fauna between the protected areas, as creating continuous corridors between protected areas is not a feasible option (Trivedi et al 2018). The increasing pressures on land use thus need an innovative strategy aimed at conserving these multiple jump sites that can act as areas that fauna can use to cross from one forest patch to another.…”

“…A prioritization matrix was developed consisting of 16 categories for prioritizing the surveyed hotspecks. These hotspecks were then categorized in the matrix based on the biodiversity asset and ecological threat values obtained from the eld survey (Trivedi et al 2018).…”

“…The Rapid Biodiversity Assessment Tool was developed consisting of important parameters categorized into biodiversity assets and ecological threats that were further divided into several relevant subcategories. These parameters included shape and size, structure of the forest and its condition, presence of faunal diversity, special features, surrounding matrix (Hopkins & Skellam 1954 Trivedi et al 2018). The assessment parameters were quanti ed using a score from 0 to 10 (0 -absent, 2.5 -poor/ low, 5 -fair/ moderate, 7.5 -good/ signi cant and 10 -very good/ high) (Trivedi et al 2018).…”

“…These parameters included shape and size, structure of the forest and its condition, presence of faunal diversity, special features, surrounding matrix (Hopkins & Skellam 1954 Trivedi et al 2018). The assessment parameters were quanti ed using a score from 0 to 10 (0 -absent, 2.5 -poor/ low, 5 -fair/ moderate, 7.5 -good/ signi cant and 10 -very good/ high) (Trivedi et al 2018). This scoring system was developed based on the assessment technique used for assessing the management effectiveness evaluation (MEE) of Tiger Reserves in India (Mathur et al 2011).…”

Sacred groves in conservation of biodiversity in Odisha

“…The importance of sacred groves is now well realized and even in IUCN's (International Union for Conservation of Nature) six protected categories, cultural and spiritual values are better reflected [12]. There are several studies carried out in different parts of the country [13][14][15] to assess the role of sacred groves in conservation of flora of the concerned region.…”