KOTAGIRI, India (AP) — Sacred forests and groves are primeval woodlands that different faith communities around the world have safeguarded for centuries as abodes of the spiritual or the divine.

PORTO-NOVO, Benin (AP) — For many people in Benin, the forests empowered them before they were born, or in the first months of their lives. Barren women performed Voodoo rituals by sacred trees to get ...

Tambor Lyngdoh made his way through the fern-covered woodland — naming plants, trees, flowers, even stones — as if he were paying older family members a visit. The community leader and entrepreneur ...

The sacred forest of Nakpadjoak, Togo, viewed from a trail to its south. Credit: Nico Arcilla Historically protected by cultural traditions, sacred forests are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic ...

Meghalaya hosts over 125 sacred forests, vital for environmental conservation, rooted in Indigenous religious beliefs and culture. These ancient groves have been protected for centuries, serving as ...

Ecological science is essential for understanding forests at a functional level, and The Forest Advocate supports ecological research in every way it can. In addition to advocating for conservation ...

A Jaintia tribal man stands by a sprawling sacred forest in Jaintia Hills, a sparsely populated mountainous region of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Meghalaya is ...

BCHARRE, Lebanon — Majestic cedar trees towered over dozens of Lebanese Christians gathered outside a small mid-19th century chapel hidden in a mountain forest to celebrate the Feast of the ...

Logging for firewood, charcoal and timber for construction almost wiped out the sacred forest of Titiyo in northern Togo. The degradation of the forest had a major impact on wildlife and the ...

PORTO-NOVO, Benin (AP) — For many people in Benin, the forests empowered them before they were born, or in the first months of their lives. Barren women performed Voodoo rituals by sacred trees to get ...