Over the last few years, people have been walking into forests, to just ‘be’—because, according to the Japanese, shinrin-yoku or forest bathing (soaking up the natural environment) lowers stress and improves working memory. But we may not be able to do that much longer, as green cover is decreasing the world over; in India alone, over 25,000 hectares of forests are sacrificed annually for ‘non-forestry activities’ like mining and power plants. And need we talk about the more tangible effects of deforestation — like the severe drought we are facing or temperatures hitting record highs?
The government is taking steps, of course. Like the initiative last July, when nearly eight lakh volunteers got together in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, to plant 50.4 million saplings along roads, railways and on public land. It went down in the Guinness records and the world applauded. But mass plantation drives alone aren’t enough, because the eco-diversity created isn’t enough to bring about long-lasting impact.
What we need are efforts that will replicate our natural forests. Take what Dr Akira Miyawaki is doing in his country. After discovering that native tabunoki trees had protected the land during the 2011 tsunami (where the large tracts of pine forests, a non-indigenous species, had failed), the Japanese botanist and ecologist began the Green Tide Embankment — a project to create a forest with 40 million trees that will grow in 20 years.
India has its own success stories. Like Narain Singh Negi, who planted more than nine lakh trees in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli village, creating a man-made forest that is still growing in biodiversity. And Jadav Payeng, who created over 1,360 acres of forest on land that did not have a single tree. Today, he is a Padma Shri (2015) awardee, given the title ‘Forest Man of India’, but what he is most proud of is that his ‘Molai forest’ in Assam attracts herds of elephants, deer and greater one-horned rhinoceros, besides five Bengal tigers.
“The fact that we breathe is a good reason to plant trees. We are indebted to Nature for our oxygen. If we don’t plant and preserve our forests, I’d like to know which business will produce oxygen to help the entire world breathe?” asks Payeng, who has already started greening barren islands in the Brahmaputra River.
Ahead of International Day of Forests (March 21), we get forest makers to tell us how they are protecting our green cover.
Aviram Rozin, Sadhana Forest
A dream—to do ‘service’ and make a difference—led Rozin to relocate from Israel to Auroville in 2002. The following year, with his wife Yorit, he took up indigenous foresting. Speaking about how fulfilling it is, Rozin says, “Forestry is a beautiful way to make a difference. When Sadhana Forest is a full-grown tropical forest we will not be alive, but our legacy will help others.”
The journey has not been simple. The duo faced a lot of challenges in the early days, the least of which was the selection of trees. “We took a lot of help from the locals and a few Aurovillians who have significant botanical knowledge, for selection of species, identifying soil types, etc,” says the father of two, adding that learning the importance of water conservation was one of their biggest challenges. “Initially, we planted a lot of trees, but didn’t do any bunding (to stop the runoff of water). When our trees began to die, we started redeveloping the site and our expertise. Now we are training people in it all over the world,” he remarks.
Today, Sadhana Forest is over 70 acres. While Rozin and his team have planted over 34,000 trees, he says from “every tree we planted, three trees have come up through natural regeneration”. The green cover, coupled with their water conservation (which has resulted in eight big ponds, 30 km of bunding, and a rising water table) has also brought in over 50 species of birds. “There wasn’t a single bird here when we came,” the 51-year-old recalls. “There are also many mammals now, like civets, hares, rabbits, mongooses and porcupines, along with many species of snakes. What was once an empty space is now full of life and water.”
The next step: Sadhana Forest has expanded to Kenya and Haiti, too. And there, they are also diversifying into planting oxalogenic trees, like the Maya Nut — a species that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and fixes it in the soil as limestone. “As global warming increases, it is important to connect the science and the implementation. There is a huge gap between the people who plant trees and the people in universities who study them. We are trying to bridge that gap.”
Green warriors: Rozin is also working on environmental restoration through long-term food security. “We want to support locals with the knowledge (and seedlings) to plant indigenous, drought resistant, food-producing trees. Some will be oxalogenic, too. Food is an excellent motivation for people to protect the trees. The concept is to create privately-owned forests because it is easier to protect them than public land.”
Details: sadhanaforest.org
Anil and Pamela Malhotra, SAI Sanctuary
Many of us remember this couple from a short documentary — showcasing thick woods, grazing deer and gaur, and majestic elephants — that went viral a couple of years ago. This banker and pharmacologist moved to Coorg from the US over two decades ago.
“In 1996, we bought 55 acres, which had cardamom. Since it is a shade- loving cash crop, there were already some big trees,” recalls Pamela, adding that over the years they bought other parcels of land — some denuded, some natural meadow areas — which they then helped turn into forests and grasslands. Today the sanctuary has 300 acres. “We relied on village elders and the tribals to figure out what trees to plant. Of course, in the few areas where there were native tree covering, it was easy to see what needed doing,” says the 64-year-old, who admits that though they do plant trees occasionally now, Mother Nature has taken over and reforests on her own.
Named by Sanctuary Asia magazine as a “true seed bank—a place where you’ll find species lost in government forests”, the title proved true last year when the head of the forest research division came to the sanctuary. “He said they were missing out on the variety of bio-diverse species because they were concentrating on planting on 30-40 species of food producing trees only. He took seeds from here to plant test plots in state forests,” she shares.
When she is not busy with the operations at the sanctuary — where they host students, naturalists, conservationists and the like — Pamela gives talks and presentations on tree conservation, wildlife, poaching, and how native trees are critical. “Forests create rain (they ‘seed’ the air through transpiration) and help in water retention. Despite the horrific drought last year, our water didn’t dry up. We got 171 inches of rain last monsoon, whereas just some distance away, they had only 18 inches,” she says.
Into the wild: Forests and wildlife coexist, and Pamela says people are slowly beginning to understand this. “As we have a good prey base in the sanctuary, it has drawn the tiger, leopard and Indian wild dog here. And they take care of the excess wild boars, which has brought down animal raids on farms.” Poaching is also on the decrease because Pamela and Anil have been spreading awareness among the villages and also helping them with their needs — from rebuilding temples and roads, to paying for teachers
Expansion plans: Anil, 74, is actively helping concerned, like-minded people buy land near the sanctuary, creating a network of private forests.
Details: saisanctuary.com
Shubhendu Sharma, Afforestt
Shubhendu Sharma. TED Fellows Retreat 2015, August 26-30, 2015, Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California. Photo: Bret Hartman/TED
An automobile engineer with Toyota, Sharma became fascinated with trees when, in 2008, Dr Miyawaki visited his plant, to create a forest. The 31-year-old volunteered with him to learn his ‘amplified growth method’ and to replicate it. He then started his own business, Afforestt, in 2011, in Bengaluru.
“Forests, by definition, are places so dense with trees that you can’t walk into them. That's what we do—make areas that have 30 per cent more green surface, where biodiversity can thrive,” says Sharma, who is currently working with the MRS Hotel Group to make a forest in Rajasthan. “If we create a micro environment, a forest can grow really fast, almost 10 times faster. I learnt this when I volunteered with Akira,” he adds.
To date he has created 88 forests in 28 cities in six countries, including the US, Singapore and Iran. And by offering end-to-end afforestation solutions to individuals, small businesses, governments and corporations (Cisco Systems, Ashok Leyland), he is ensuring that he is spreading the word of afforestation where it needs to be heard.
The science: Since Shubhendu doesn’t know too much about native tree species, he has developed a computer program that registers a species’ parameters (how tall grows, when it blooms, etc). “If a species grows up to 50 feet, we will put another species that grows only up to 20 feet next to it because we don’t want a conflict in five years. We use car-assembly logic to pick an ideal combination to best utilise vertical space,” he says.
Afforestt charges ₹3,500 per square meter of planting. Details: afforestt.com
Kapil Sharma, Say Trees
Troubled by Bengaluru’s disappearing trees, Sharma began planting saplings in 2007, under his initiative, Say Trees. What started with just 100 saplings grew to 35,000 (across the country) in 2016.
But now the 33-year-old says he wants to move away from urban forests and try concentrating on rural areas. “There are always space limitations in cities. We want to go to villages and make forests there, too. Last year, we planted 5,000 saplings in Chintamani (a village 40 km from the city) and this year, we have signed an agreement to plant 50,000 in June,” he says, adding that trial and error has been his guide. “Interacting with the forest department was a learning curve. I figured out what to plant and what not to. I’ve also learnt to plant slightly older saplings as they have a better survival rate.” He’s also removing dependencies by starting their own nursery and getting their own water tanker and tying up with the sewage treatment authority to use their treated water for the trees.
Kapil laments that while in other countries cutting trees is the last option, in India it is the first because it is the easiest option. “That mindset has to change and for this we need to start with the children. We call them for planting drives which they really enjoy. We also want to devise a creative programme—with art, games, animation/cartoons, storytelling—to get them more engaged with afforestation and reforestation,” he says.
Social connect: Say Trees uses social media extensively and effectively to reach out to people. “If there is a nice cycling track nearby, we will reach out to cycling groups. We also look at trekking, bird watching and photography groups, since combining planting with a hobby usually get us more volunteers.”
Details: saytrees.org
Green thinkers
The others who are making a difference:
Molai forest, Assam: Jadav Payeng’s life changed in 1978, when he saw over a hundred snakes dead on a hot sandbank on the Brahmaputra because of lack of tree cover. The Mising tribesman decided he’d plant trees to offer shade. What began with bamboo saplings, now encompasses hundreds of native species across 1,360 acres. “I will not stop planting till my last breath and I am alive,” says Payeng, who planted 5,200 saplings just last year. Details: JadavPayeng.org
Kareem forest, Kasargod, Kerala: In 1977, troubled by the barren hillside in Kasargod district, Abdul Kareem bought five acres of land and started planting trees. He braved ridicule and a dry well on his property, watering his saplings with water he laboriously brought over on his two-wheeler. Soon, Mother Nature began to take over, and Kareem bought more land. Today, spread across 32 acres, the forest has helped raise the water table and improved the climate. Details: facebook.com/kareemsforest
Serene Eco Village, near Dhanep, Pune: In 2000, Dr Pravin Chordia left his 22-year medical practice to buy 110 acres of barren land in the Sahyadri range. He and his family began planting saplings (over 2.5 lakh) and today over 45 acres have been reforested. His daughter, Dipika, oversees much of the planting now, and they also work with local farmers, teaching them about organic practices, composting, rainwater harvesting and biogas. Details: facebook.com/sereneecovillage
