Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

ROLE OF AN ISLAMIC SACRED GROVE FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Uday Kumar Sen and Ram Kumar Bhakat

Abstract

Sacred groves are forest patches conserved by the local people intertwined with their socio-cultural and religious practice. These groves harbour rich biodiversity and play a significant role in the conservation of biodiversity. With this background, this paper attempts to highlight the role played by a 8.16-acre sacred grove maintained by the Muslims of West Midnapore district in West Bengal towards conservation of plant diversity. The study records 272 species of angiosperms under 238 genera covering 104, 63, 68 and 37 species of herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers respectively. Moreover, the grove supports many useful plants.Therefore, this study calls for the protection of the grove and recommends some future conservation strategies.