Last month, about 100 women, employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), were seen digging pits, planting trees and watering them in Nangal Khurd village, in Mansa district in Punjab, just in time for World Environment Day that is observed every year on June 5. Working alongside them were over 50 young people from a local club. The district administration was involved too. It was an example of community effort.
Let us move to this month. It is also time for Van Mahotsav, which literally means “celebrate the forest”. The history of Van Mahotsav Day goes back to July 1947, when it was first organised by the Punjabi botanist, M.S. Randhawa. Subsequently, in 1950, Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, an environmentalist and Union Minister of Agriculture and Food, expanded its reach and national scope. In today’s world, forests need to be celebrated more than ever before. Simultaneously, more forests need to be created and restored. However, there is much debate about the efforts around tree planting. Is there a right way to do it? Are there dos and don’ts when it comes to mass tree-planting? Let us step back for the bigger picture.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), deforestation and forest degradation contribute around 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The total area occupied by primary forests in India has decreased by 3.6%.
