Sacred groves are the patches of forest or natural vegetation from a few trees to forest to several acres that are usually dedicated to local folk deities. The chief elements of protection are religious beliefs and traditional rituals. As sentiments are attached with it local community inherently are inclined toward their protection. Sometimes there is belief that anthropogenic changes to forest can be disastrous or in fact any changes. This is considered to be one of the best way of protection as this does not require any external agents to enforce protection.
Example of sacred groves are Traditional sacred groves, Temple groves and Groves around the burial or cremation ground. This kind of protection offers conservation of biodiversity, Recharge aof aquifers, Soil conservation etc. Example Bishnoi community, garo, Khasi, Gond. Most of the sacred grove are found along western and eastern Ghats.