Peepal (Ficus religiosa): an interface between religion and conservation

The role of religion in the conservation of environment has not been the main focus of environmentalist as well as policy planners until a few years ago. Recently interest in the traditional systems has increased and the importance of these in the environment and biodiversity conservation has been felt. The rituals around Peepal tree in Hinduism were selected as a model to prove if there is any conservation due to the rituals practices of lay person(non indigenous) and how these rituals are affected by modernization and urbanization. Hinduism and Peepal tree were selected since they are well known for their ritualistic importance. The study was conducted at two locations namely urban and rural in an Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This was facilitated by the research metrial & methods like Interview, participant and non participant observation. It was found that there is a significant amount of protection of this particular tree due to its religious and ritualistic importance. A considerable increase in the ritual activities particularly in urban areas due to influence of astrologers and media was also observed. This may have both positive and negative effects both on the tree as well as rituals. This leads us to conclude that religious and ritualistic activities followed by lay person can be an effective tool in solving the problem of biodiversity and tree cover loss at local level, creating a link between tradition and modernity.