Countries are now seeing the importance of going green. Not only are they becoming aware of the significance of reducing, reusing, and recycling, they’re also beginning to realize just how important trees are to the forests.
Unfortunately, illegal logging is also a very real thing. Thousands of trees are being chopped on a daily basis to give way for growth and development. But at what cost? Trees prevent flooding and help keep the soil fertile. As sad as this may be, something good is actually now happening.
So, what exactly is the good news? In just a single day, concerned Indian nationals have actually managed to plant a whopping quarter-billion tree saplings. This extremely impressive feat was part of their quest for clean air in the country.
There are several mass tree planting operations happening all around the world, and the efforts aren’t always met with applause. These concerned individuals have received their fair share of skepticism because many of the detractors don’t believe in the actual impacts on climate stabilization. However, the last four major plantings that have taken place in the state of Uttar Pradesh have managed to prove these naysayers wrong because the sapling survival rate has climbed to an impressive 80 percent. This means that their dream of clean air is just within arm’s reach.
According to Peter Wohlleben, the renowned German forester and author of the book entitled The Secret Life of Trees, these woody residents of planet earth need about an average of 50 years of growing before any carbon can actually be considered “sequestered.” Simply put, the tree planters’ efforts need time before anybody can actually enjoy the benefits. First of all, the survival rate isn’t always so high, and so the fact that many of Uttar Pradesh’s new trees have now survived for four or five years means there’s a much better chance for these trees to live. They may now actually be able to survive pests, drought, or other dangers until they finally become contributing members of tree society.
With this good news in mind, millions of residents in the most dense Indian state have banded together. The men and women have come together along riverbanks and highways, and on farms, schools, and in forests to plant new saplings. This has actually now become a yearly tradition. It actually started a year ago when 20 million saplings were planted along the Ganges river.
State forest official Manoj Singh stated, “We are committed to increasing the forest cover of Uttar Pradesh to over 15% of the total land area in the next five years.”
According to reports stated in DW, the forest cover of the state has actually increased over the last few years. This means that their efforts have actually made a difference. A state government spokesperson was quoted as saying in The Indian Express newspaper, “There has been an increase of 127 square kilometers [79 square miles] in the forest cover in Uttar Pradesh as compared to 2017.” With continued efforts, the forest coverage could increase exponentially in the next few years, saving its nationals from having to breathe in polluted air.
The mass tree plantings have been launched because this was an easy and inexpensive method of drawing carbon that is present in the atmosphere. Right now, hundreds of millions of trees are being planted in countries around the world. Included in the list of countries are China, Pakistan, India, Madagascar, and the nations of the Sahel, especially Ethiopia and Senegal, as reported by GNN.
These trees have also been geo-tagged with QR codes. With this marker, forest officials are able to monitor plantation survival rates and maintain records of success and failure at the individual sites for these trees.
Such efforts will be extremely vital all over the world, especially in India because of the pollution that has actually affected many of the residents. The country also plans to to expand its tree coverage by 95 million hectares by 2030. With mass plantation and cooperation, the dream of clean air is very much achievable. We can only hope that everyone follows suit.
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