“Trees are the best teachers that teach us selflessness and sacrifice” – Jandhyala Papayyasastry
India stands first in the traditional methodology of praying to any form of life and nature, through age-old rituals and sentiments. However, it is quite alarming to note that we are also standing atop on the list of the countries who have been facing the highest rate of tree-felling!! Further, we are listed at the lowest rate of per-capita plants in the country.If there can be a live example of service-oriented self-less help that anybody can ever view, it would be none other than a Tree. Every living thing on this planet is survived by the Oxygen that these trees provide us, along with various other by-products like fruits, leaves, medicines, wood and other livelihoods of us, humans. Hence, it is not exaggerating to say that the very existence of life is in jeopardy if only there is no tree on earth.
In such a phase, it is a blessing to have organizations like ‘Green-India Challenge’ which are trying to bring about the awareness on the need of the hour, while partnering with all the stakeholders of the society including the school children, politicians, bureaucrats, celebrities and common man alike.
Endangered Forests
The Indian sub-continent enjoys a diversified atmosphere, due to which the biodiversity across the length and breadth of the country, starting from Kashmir till Kanyakumari gifts us with varied flora and fauna. However, it is sad to see the declining figures when we compare the number of plants to the number of citizens in the country. While the world per-capita is around 422 plants per head on average, in India, it is just 28 per person. Most disheartening is the fact that in Mumbai, which is termed as the financial capital of the country, it is just 4 trees per person.
Canada is topping at the highest rank on the list of completely green and clean cities, with per-capita plantation of 8,953 plants per head. Next in line are Russia with 4,461, and Australia with 3,266. There might be varied reasons as to why the list differs in per-capita plantation, some of which might be the implications brought in by the government policies, greenery through ages, public awareness and active public participation. All these or most of these are not to be seen in India, which is a cause to worry, for the felling of plants and neglect to re-plant more is a daily concern. Thus, we are ending up with a high rate of forest degeneration in the country.
Deforestation and degeneration of forests is not just a major concern for our country but is happening across the world, at a high rate.
As per a survey conducted by an American Research Institute, Earth is supposed to be filled with greenery to the tune of around 1000 cr hectares of plantation. However, since the year 1990, around 12.9 crores of hectares have been alienated from the surface of the planet and are still receding at an alarming rate. Various reasons for this being, wood smuggling, forest poaching, wildfires, industrialization, clearing forest land for cultivation and agriculture and many other man-made mistakes. About 90 crores of people are dependent on forests for their livelihood.
In India, especially, we are losing forests at a high rate. According to the National Forest Policy of 1988, a third of India’s land should co-exist with forests. However, at present, the forest-occupied land of the country is only about 24.39 percent of the total occupation. In a survey report submitted by the Indian Forest Survey Organization in 2017, deforestation is rapidly increasing on a yearly basis. Forests are vanishing in front of our very own eyes at a fast speed. Both the Telugu States are no exception to this and in fact, are facing a higher decline of forestation than the rest of the country.
Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana, is known for its versatile ecosystem with green plantations, lakes and other water bodies. Unfortunately, even this city is today in the clutches of deforestation and has lost almost around 60% of its vegetation, thanks to the ever-expanding habitation of the city population. It is the same case even with the other Telugu state, which is in the decline mode of greenery in the state.
Deforestation is not only bringing about a lot of illnesses like asthma and other breathing problems but is becoming a major factor in changing the course of monsoons and other unfavorable climatic changes that affect cultivation and agriculture, apart from breeding seasons of the flora and fauna. The ecosystem is getting highly disturbed due to the negative effects of deforestation and lack of vegetation, pushing the wildlife out of their habitats, in search of food and water. The primary concern of such deforestation to mankind is majorly the availability of rain and rainwater for farming, end-result being a famine-ridden society, apart from the life savior Oxygen!!
It is said that per year, a fully-grown tree provides us with Oxygen worth about Rs.24 lakhs, with an intake of around 0.53 tonnes of Carbon-di-oxide and about 1.95 kgs of other pollutants. It also helps us in storing about 1,400 gallons of rainwater, deep in its earth cores. A healthy person’s intake of oxygen per day is about 3 cylinders. At this rate, if a person needs to inhale oxygen for a lifetime, he needs to plant and grow at least 3 trees during his life expectancy. Humans are known to be friendly and social beings, however, the big question now is how friendly and caring are we towards the trees which are the very source of our existence.
It’s a collective responsibility
Organizations like the ‘Green India Challenge’ have come forward with the sole aim of spreading awareness on the need for plantation and vegetation for human existence. The organization works with a goal of encouraging every person to plant and take care of at least 3 trees in their lifetime, thereby seeing to it that they have given back to nature, as to what has been received for their life, ie., Oxygen!! Thanks to the many initiatives of such organizations, environmental and plantation protection is now being recognized as a social responsibility.
It is estimated that so far, around 3.5 crores of trees have been planted with the collective support of students, teachers, professors, professionals, bureaucrats including but not limited to IAS, IPS, IRS etc., politicians and celebrities in sports, media, film and also the general public. All the stakeholders of the society including businesses, institutes etc., have come forward voluntarily and are taking part in this wonderful initiative. The organization has widely spread its good-willed operations across 38 countries and has been working without any help on the funding from any government. This itself stands a mirror to the good gesture of the organizational operations.
The Green India Challenge is trying its best to bring all the stakeholders – Government, NGOs and Public onto a single platform thereby a collective responsibility is established and quick results can be seen in the near future. This shall help in working toward a common goal of providing ourselves with clean air, water, and other natural resources, for the smooth existence of humankind.
The Telangana Government has already taken a step towards it, by initiating the program – ‘Harita Haaram’. The government of Andhra Pradesh is also close of the lead. It is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that such initiatives are made successful, for our own good. It is a call to the youth and all the volunteers to take these programs into the general public thereby creating awareness on the same.
‘Geo Tagging’ of the plants may help us in monitoring the growth and safety of the trees planted in various locations and will throw light on the sustainability of the initiative rather than just the numbers planted. The local authorities with support of the local institutes, colleges, schools etc., can adopt these plants and take a personal responsibility to work towards a collective goal.
In the cities, it is impertinent that funds are allocated especially to maintain and set up new parks and vegetation thereby fighting the evil of pollution that is rampant to all the cities and towns these days.
The areas where low vegetation is seen the need to be identified and as a special case, extra effort needs to be put in by the authorities in initiating a-forestation procedures in the specific locations.
The government should identify and come forward to recognize various organizations and people who have been selflessly working towards the major cause. This shall encourage many more firms, organizations to actively take part in the larger spectrum of things. Awareness programs may be conducted on such occasions, which shall spread out the major need of the hour.
Activities like exchanging house-hold plastic goods such as polythene bags, plastic bottles, jar etc., for free plants shall encourage the general public to take part in the program.
Environmental Crusaders
Jadav Moli Payeng, is an environmentalist hailing from the small town of Jorhat in Assam, who is now renowned as the Forest Man of India. He is known so, for his relentless activity of planting and maintaining trees all alone, in an area of around 1300 acres of barren land near his town. It is quite inspirational on how Payeng has been in this activity for the past 3 decades of his life. This act of his had helped his townsfolk fight the odds of famine, starvation and various illnesses. They are now leading a clean and green life.
Likewise, the Telugu environmental crusader, Vanajeevi Ramayya is an inspiration to both the Telugu states. Ramayya is known to have planted around 1000 saplings in and around Khammam district of Telangana State, with an aim of growing fruit-bearing and shade-providing trees. Till today, even at the age of 80’s, Ramayya makes sure he plants a tree at any given opportunity. Ramayya’s ‘Tapasya’ is such that his life story happens to be one of the lessons of the social textbook of class VI in the state government syllabus.
Let us make sure that we take up this challenge of planting a tree and also growing it, for re-establishing a green India, for us and our future generations, alike.
What best way to give back to Mother Nature who has been the main source of our living and well-being till date??
- M Karunakar Reddy
(Founder of GreenIndia Challenge)
