Importance of Devdar forests

Why in News?

In 2025, nearly year-long climate disasters caused over 4,000 deaths in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, even as a road project went ahead, cutting down about 7,000 sacred Devdar trees and many other native species.

• Scientific name – Cedrus deodara (Deodar)
• Devdar – They are majestic, high-altitude evergreen coniferous ecosystems, known as the "wood of the gods”.
• Etymology – It is derived from the Sanskrit term devadaru (deva means god, daru means wood), signifying its sacred status in India.
• Habitat – They thrive in temperate climates, often found in dense, pure stands or mixed with oak and fir.
• Distribution – It is native to the Western Himalayas, spanning Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand), and Nepal.
• Key Locations in India – It is commonly found in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and the Kumaon region, especially located in the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone (4,000 sq. km, notified in 2012).

Key Characteristics

• Features – It is a large conifer with needle-like leaves and drooping branchlets. Unlike many conifers, its fat, stout, upright cones disintegrate upon maturity, leaving only an upright spike on the branch.
• Altitude – It grows at elevations of 1,500–3,200 m, featuring trees 40–60 m tall with conical crowns and aromatic wood.
• Significance
  • Spiritual – Ancient Hindu texts & Shaivite traditions refer to these as Darukavana (forest of deodars), often associated with places where sages performed penance.
  • Economic – The wood is highly valued for its durability and scent, and it is also used in traditional medicine.
  • Ecological – It stabilises slopes, prevents landslides, maintains the water quality of the Ganga (antimicrobial properties) and also regulates microclimates and sustains aquatic ecosystems.
• Threats – It faces existential threats from deforestation, flawed infrastructure, climate change, and governance failures.
• Recent proposals – Translocating ancient Devdar trees is ecologically unsound, as their unique, site-specific functions cannot be recreated elsewhere—making their preservation an environmental necessity rather than a matter of convenience.

Quick Fact

References

1. The Hindu | A dangerous march towards a Himalayan ecocide
2. Great Himalayan National Park | Devdar Forest
3. DU | Deodar Forest