Knik Nongrum, president of the committee that cares for the Swer sacred forest in the East Khasi Hills region of Meghalaya near Cherrapunji, India, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. His clan follows the pantheistic Seng Khasi religion, which holds that God exists in everyone and everything. “When there is a healthy forest, there is prosperity in the village,” he says, vowing that this forest will continue to thrive because his clan is determined to carry on the traditions established by their ancestors. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)