Around the world religious communities and their institutions have traditionally been guardians of forest areas. In a time when biodiversity is increasingly under pressure from pollution, exploitation, markets and human expansion, these religious forest sites will assume an ever more important role, when it comes to conserving what’s left of nature. Researchers at Oxford University and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation have compiled a global map of religious forest sites. They say that,

Religious groups own 5-10% of global forests and influence much more, in addition to their investment in commercial forestry and consumption of wood and forest products.

Here’s their map. Zoom in and click on the markers to find out more about each forest site:

Ganesha Chaturthi is a major Hindu festival in India. The highlight is the immersion of thousands of idols of the elephant-headed god Ganesha in lakes and rivers. Environmentalists however say the brightly-colored statues contain toxic chemicals which cause serious pollution to water bodies. 

Now, authorities in the state of Andhra Pradesh have launched a campaign ahead of this year’s festival in September for eco-friendly Ganeshas.  They’re pushing for the use of statues made of clay instead of the usual plaster of Paris. Clay, they say, dissolves quickly and does not harm aquatic life. Idol-makers are being trained to use natural colors instead of chemicals for painting the statues. The campaign also urges people to remove plastics and other decorations put on the idols before they are immersed in the water.