On a global scale, the existing Sacred Groves (SGs) follow ancestral worship on conservation in forest patches. SGs are distributed over a wide ecosystem and help in conservation of rare and endemic species. Well preserved SGs are store houses of biological, ecological, medicinal, ethno-cultural and religious values.
With a recent spurt of illegal and unscientific coal mining activities in Garo Hills in Meghalaya is jeopardizing ecological balance and in this regard the Indigenous People for Tourism and Conservation (IPTAC) has taken upon its shoulders the responsibility to spread awareness to the masses of Garo Hills about unscientific coal mining and its detrimental effect on the immediate environment.
TURA: The vast resources of raw bamboos found abundantly in the Garo Hills region is expected to transform the economy of the region, particularly the farmers, once it is converted into finished products.
The North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORP) in collaboration with the North Eastern Council (NEC) has expressed keenness to tap this resource for better use.
The large- scale movement of migrant labour into Garo Hills for employment in the coal and limestone mines and frequent travellers to and from Guwahati-Shillong-Tura have rung the alarm bells for medical experts who believe Garo Hills could also face an outbreak of swine flu.
TURA: At a time when the forest cover in Garo Hills is disappearing at a phenomenal pace resulting in drastic climatic changes, tree felling has been going on.
SHILLONG: Meghalaya has recorded 12,726 malaria cases, most of them from Garo Hills, in the first half of 2009, a two-fold increase compared with last year. Though 20 people have died of the disease this year, there is concern that the malaria situation may worsen in the next six months.
