But some of the world’s greatest tree champions are those guided by the spiritual benefits of trees.
For example, in India, local people protect so-called sacred groves, translated from “Devrai” — “Dev” meaning god and “rai” meaning forest. Over 1,000 different deities are associated with these forests. To honor them, both hunting and chopping wood are forbidden.
Instead, these forests are managed for extracting sustainable amounts of traditional medicines, fruits and honey. Their ponds and streams meet local water needs and recharge the aquifers of surrounding areas.
Recently, conservationists have recognized these forests as treasure troves of biodiversity. Their limitations on human interference have made them refuges for trees and animals that have long disappeared in the surrounding landscapes.
Thirty-two other countries use what is now called “spiritual and social fencing” for conservation, including Ethiopia, Australia, Japan and the Yosemite landscape of California. But this kind of protection is limited because it requires the continued attention of local communities, scientists and policy makers in the face of urbanization.
Whether forests are in national parks in Utah or in sacred groves in India, they are sanctuaries for those who enter them. And the capacity to protect them can come from both science and spirituality.
