Faith and conservation for sustainable landscapes and water–Mysore, Karnataka, India

Photographer’s comment: “The photo shows how through the religious sentiments of the people help in sustaining the landscapes and help in providing the ecosystem services like water. In this picture we can see the water body full of water which is used for various purpose like irrigation, drinking water, washing clothes, livestock, etc. The water source is the forest on top of the water body which has been conserved by the community through faith. In order to do so they have constructed a Shiva temple which is a symbol of water. The water runoff from the forest as well as the percolated water is released from the forest and is collected in the pond shown in the photo.”