In recent years, sacred forests have been facing several social, cultural and economic challenges that directly or indirectly undermine their relevant traditional functions of resource management. These challenges include agricultural expansion and associated encroachment, religious, cultural and demographic transitions, and ambiguity in the current property rights system (Khumbongmayum et al., 2004; Bhagwat and Rutte, 2006).

In Karnataka, where earnings from coffee exportation account for about 70% of the value of total exports, illegal conversion of the sacred forests to coffee cultivation land has been taking place. An increase in the market price can be a factor accelerating such encroachment. Sacred forests have also been encroached on for the cultivation of other plantation crops like ginger and banana, as well as for illegal logging (Chandrakanth et al., 2004).

Cultural change over time associated with the advent of modernization and urbanization has led to a devaluation of the traditions, customs, and religious beliefs that serve as the foundations for the conservation of the sacred forests. Now, many consider the traditional belief system as superstitious and only a few older people know the rituals. The younger generations are losing interest. As such, the violation of cultural norms and taboos no longer carries heavy consequences, which is leading to degradation of the sacred groves (Swamy et al.,2003; Ormsby and Bhagwat, 2010).

In addition, increasing immigration over the years for the purpose of agricultural labor and timber harvesting has generated new demand for land cultivation, settlement and such. Forestlands, including some sacred groves, have been targeted by the immigrants who may not share or value the traditions and beliefs associated with the forests (Chandrakanth et al., 2004; Ormsby and Bhagwat, 2010).

One of the other issues concerns the legal status of the sacred forests. In Karnataka, for example, while many sacred forests are managed by the village communities, the legal ownership belongs to the state forest government, and because these two entities vary in their policies on and underlying motives for using the sacred forest, discrepancies occur. In some instances, the State Revenue Department mistakenly records some state-owned sacred forests under the name of private planters, which makes it difficult for the village committees to enforce their informal rules on the sacred forests. In other instances, the state government itself can encroach on the sacred groves designated as reserve forests, for example, by constructing homes for the homeless, making them no longer the intact forests protected only for religious purposes (Chandrakanth et al., 2004).

Owing to such issues, the traditional methods for the conservation and management of the sacred forests have been impaired, causing the loss, reduction, and fragmentation of these forests and in turn, the loss of biological and cultural diversity as well as of the benefits provided by them. In Kodagu district in Karnataka, about 50% of the area of sacred forests is said to be have been lost during the 1900s (Chandrakanth et al., 2004).

The importance of conserving sacred groves is recognized by the central government of India as some efforts are being made. In its Intensification of Forest Management Scheme which was operated during the national land policy of the 11th Five- Year Plan (2007-2012), the government set out the protection and conservation of sacred forests as one of the seven main components. Under this scheme, which requires the state forest governments to implement the majority of the work, the Kerala Forest Department has developed its own conservation program targeted at the selected sacred forests in the state .The program aims to bring accountability and the involvement of the general public to sacred forest conservation. The owner of the concerned forests shall develop and submit a management plan to the forest department, by which regular monitoring and maintenance of the forests at the community level are ensured and for which incentives are being provided (Karma Kerala, 2010). The central government of India has also paid attention to sacred forests from the viewpoint of biodiversity conservation. The National Biodiversity Action Plan (2008) sets out measures for the strengthened conservation management of sacred forests and the preparation of support policies for these forests, as well as for grasslands and pasture, as a priority issue toward the achievement of the 2010 Biodiversity Target of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Scientists have pointed out the following required measures for the conservation of sacred forests (Chandrakanth et al., 2004; Bhagwat et al., 2005; Bhagwat and Rutte, 2006; Khan et al., 2008):

• Legal and institutional reforms including clarification of the customary and land use rights of the local people, legal protection of the sacred forests for their religious and cultural value in addition to biological value and the empowerment of village-level management committees through their legalization and perhaps through their incorporation in the ongoing process of the decentralization of forest management in India, such as under the JFM program;
• Granting incentives for the sustainable conservation management and alternative livelihood development for the local people;
• Incorporation of sacred forests into biodiversity action plans at the local level and the preparation and implementation of a comprehensive conservation strategy;
• Raising awareness among local people concerning the benefits from sacred forests (the provision of ecosystem services indispensable for the maintenance and improvements of their lives), as well as the need for sustainable conservation management;
• Intervention and support by third parties for their management and conservation;
• Conducting research to foster a better understanding of the socio-cultural systems and community institutions for the management of sacred forests, and their usefulness for the conservation of biodiversity.