Trees

One hopes that Natesh's labour of love will inspire numerous state-sponsored and citizen-led initiatives grounded in science to document and conserve India's green living heritage

In an ecological disaster, an estimated 50,000 trees spread over about 500 acres in the forests of Mulugu district in Telangana were uprooted following a huge gale and a sudden cloud burst. This happened on the night of August 31 because of local climatic conditions that suddenly developed there due to cloud formation, a senior forest official said on Wednesday. "We never saw such an incident in our lives," the official told PTI. With the massive wind and water gushing (in a particular width and length), it has destroyed the forest and big trees have been uprooted, he said. The other reason why the trees got uprooted was that the plants do not develop a very deep root system as moisture and nutrition are easily available for them in the area, he said. In some places, the root system is developed within one foot, he added. Had it been a very deep root system, the damage would have been less, the official said. In some places, the top part was broken as one tree fell on another tre

Acting on an NGT order, the Delhi Forest Department has asked the Transport Department to hand over 50,895 square metres of land to it and also pay more than Rs 40 lakh to carry out compensatory plantation for trees felled at a cluster bus depot in Burari, according to official documents. The action is part of a broader enforcement effort to ensure environmental regulations are met following the felling and transplantation of trees, officials said. The Forest Department's communication, dated August 23, to the Transport Department follows a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order which directed the Deputy Conservator of Forests (Central) to forfeit the Transport Department's security deposit for non-compliance with the compensatory afforestation requirements. According to the official documents, the Transport Department had been instructed to plant 10 times the number of trees felled or transplanted and to maintain these plantations for seven years. The initial deadline for completion

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched development projects costing Rs 1,003 crore in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city and appealed to the people to join the nation-wide tree plantation campaign to protect the environment. Highlighting the importance of trees to protect the environment and the ozone layer, Shah said the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has taken the pledge to plant 30 lakh trees in 100 days for the coming generation, and he is closely associated with the campaign. "This is a beautiful campaign, and it is a big thing that a municipal corporation will plant 30 lakh trees. But I would like to ask the citizens of Ahmedabad as to what will be your contribution?" he said. Shah said the people of Ahmedabad should plant at least those many trees as the number of their family members in their residential societies, nearby waste lands, and their children's schools. "Every citizen should make it the aim of their life to take steps to increase oxygen in the environment

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday questioned the BJP's silence over the "illegal" felling of trees in the ridge area, and said the party's stand on Delhi's pollution is just "politics". Addressing a press conference, AAP senior leader Jasmine Shah said that since the issue has surfaced, the BJP and Lt Governor VK Saxena have maintained "silence" over it. "BJP is the first to do politics over the issue of pollution and shed crocodile tears over it. They have stalled many works of the Delhi government over the pollution issue. Why are they silent?" he said. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is alleged to have cut 1,100 trees without due permission. The Supreme Court, hearing a case related to the matter, has directed the Delhi government and the civic agencies to discuss comprehensive measures to enhance the city's green cover. Shah also asked if officers of the DDA and the forest department were under pressure from their higher-ups over the matter. He claimed that the officials w

The NCRTC will be planting more than 2.5 lakh trees along the RRTS corridor from Sahibabad to Shatabdi Nagar in Meerut, a statement said on Wednesday. This initiative aims to contribute to the green cover and sustainable environment, aligning with global environmental protection goals, it said. Half of these saplings are being planted in the median under the viaduct along the 48-km RRTS corridor from Sahibabad to Shatabdi Nagar in Meerut where more than 95 per cent of the tree plantation works have been completed, it said. The remaining half of the saplings have been planted in the RRTS Depot in Duhai, the statement said. Plants planted in the median below the viaduct from Duhai to Shatabdi Nagar include Bougainvillea, Tecoma, Plumeria Alba, Allamanda, Mansoa, Jasmine, and Madhumalati. Known for their beautiful flowers, these plants will make the area along the RRTS corridor green and visually appealing, it stated. At the RRTS Depot in Duhai, about 70-75 types of plants have been

Goa Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane on Friday said his department will register first information reports (FIRs) against persons violating the Preservation of Trees Act. People take permission from the deputy conservators of forest from the North and South Goa divisions to fell trees citing some requirements, but end up violating the Preservation of Trees Act, the minister told PTI. "Once they get permission, people go completely against the rules," he said. Rane said directions have been issued to the principal chief conservator of Forest to register FIRs against violators, and the department will come down heavily on them. Rane, who heads the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department, said action will be taken against people involved in illegal landfilling. Several cases of illegal landfilling have been brought to the government's notice, and the department is probing them, he said. The minister said that Bicholim MLA Chandrakant Shetye had recently filed a complaint against th

Globally, 2023 stands out as the year with the highest tree cover lost due to fires

Transit permits are issued for tree species that are regulated, while the users can self-generate No Objection Certificates for exempted species

Seeking to set a new world record by planting one crore saplings on Sunday in the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Assam government will target planting 8 crore seedlings next year and another 10 crore saplings in 2025. He said the 'Amrit Brikshya Andolan' will increase green cover as well as boost the local economy as commercial trees will mostly be planted during the exercises. "Today, we will be planting one crore saplings in the state and we are looking forward to setting a new world record in this regard," Sarma said, kicking off the drive at the state secretariat in the morning. He said next year the state government will attempt to plant three crore saplings in non-forest areas and another five crore in forest areas, while in 2025, the attempt will be for 5 crore seedlings each in non-forest and forest areas. On apprehension of survival of the saplings, Sarma said that he was hopeful of a good rate as this year's plantation is mostly done by private househo

The Arunachal Pradesh government has carried out afforestation programme in 16,560.46 hectare of land in the state during 2022-23 under Compensatory Afforestation Fund and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme, the state assembly was informed on Tuesday. Responding to a question raised on the second day of the monsoon session of the assembly by Congress MLA Wangling Lowangdong, Environment and Forest Minister Mama Natung informed that, an amount of Rs 196.93 crore was sanctioned by the national authority (CAMPA) under the environment, forest and climate change ministry to the state for the year 2022-23. The minister informed that under the compensatory afforestation component, preparatory works were undertaken in 2,986.23 hectare, creation of plantations in 4,459.16 hectare and maintenance of plantations in 24,177.35 hectare of land in the state during 2022-23. Under the catchment area treatment plan component, the creation of plantations w

The Jharkhand government has decided to provide at least two fruit bearing trees to PDS card holders and beneficiaries of different schemes in the state in a bid to augment villagers' income and push its environment protection initiative, officials said on Friday. Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who reviewed the progress of various government schemes on Friday at a meeting, asked the deputy commissioners of all districts to ensure that all the card holders and beneficiaries of different schemes are provided with at least two fruit bearing trees. This will not only increase the income of the villagers, but will also be a step towards environmental protection, he said. Soren said that the government's Birsa Harit Gram Yojana too will be effective in making the villages green. The scheme, which is aimed at the financial uplift of the senior citizens and widows, is being implemented in 9,538 villages of the state, an official statement said. Expressing concern over the migration of worke

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu asked officials to formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) to ensure effective marking, extraction and disposal of dry trees, a statement issued here on Tuesday said. Sukhu's directions came during a review meeting of the Forest Department and Himachal Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation (HPSFDC) on Wednesday. Presiding over the meeting, Sukhu said to generate revenue, the timely extraction of dried-out trees from the forest before their natural decomposition was the need of the hour. Currently, the state has around 87,000 salvage trees on the forest land, which can produce around 64,000 cubic meters of timber, the CM said. He emphasised the monthly marking of such trees to facilitate their timely extraction and disposal. Sukhu directed the forest department and HPSFDC to collaborate with each other for the timely extraction of dry trees. For early disposal on a pilot basis, he suggested granting the forest ..

Around 3.12 crore saplings, over 5 per cent more than the target, were planted in Delhi-NCR in 2022-23, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Tuesday. It said around 3.57 crore saplings will be planted this year (2023-24) in Delhi and NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. Of this, around 95 lakh saplings will be planted in Delhi. Around 88 lakh saplings will be planted in Haryana, 23 lakh saplings in Rajasthan and 1.52 crore saplings will be planted in Uttar Pradesh. The Centre's air quality panel said Delhi planted over 39 lakh saplings in 2022-23, which was around 24 per cent more than the target. Authorities in Haryana planted around 88 lakh saplings against the target of 85 lakh, Rajasthan planted 10.58 lakh and Uttar Pradesh 1.73 crore.

Diversified business conglomerate Refex Group, which is engaged in refrigerant gases, ash, and coal handling, has pledged to plant one lakh trees across Tamil Nadu over the next few years under its 'Trees for Life' initiative, the company said on Monday. Commemorating 'World Environment Day' being observed on June 5 every year, the group has committed towards planting 10,000 trees this year, in partnership with the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Greater Chennai Corporation. Nearly 2,000 tree saplings were planted as part of launching the initiative in the city today, a company statement said. "By using resources in a responsible and efficient manner, we can help conserve them for our future generations. In addition to infusing sustainable practices into our operations, our sustainability strategies also aim to arrest climate change and lead to ecosystem restoration. The 'Trees for Life' project is one such initiative," Refex Group Managing Director Anil Jain said. Minister for Yo

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang asked people to plant trees on barren land. Addressing a gathering after planting an 'Arucha' sapling on a government college campus on Monday, he said people should try to mitigate the impact of climate change and global warming by planting more trees and ensuring that no land remained barren in the state. Tamang urged people to make the state government's 'Mero Rukh Mero Santati' (My Tree, My Offspring) scheme successful by planting 100 saplings every time a baby is born. He had launched the scheme in February to strengthen the bond between nature and people. Sikkim, located in the Eastern Himalayas, has one of the highest forest cover in the country at over 47 per cent of the land mass.

The survival rate of transplanted trees in Delhi drastically comes down after the first year due to multiple reasons, including limitations of the tree transplantation policy, the city government's Forest department found during an in-house audit conducted recently. The tree survival rate after one year of transplantation is up to 90 per cent. It drastically drops to 38 per cent after three years, a senior Forest department official, requesting anonymity, told PTI. Data collected after a preliminary audit and submitted to Delhi High Court in May last year showed that only 33.33 per cent of the 16,461 trees transplanted in the national capital over the preceding three years had survived. The Delhi government's tree transplantation policy states that agencies concerned must transplant a minimum 80 per cent of the trees affected by its development works. The benchmark tree survival rate at the end of one year of transplantation is 80 per cent. A three-member committee set up to identi

Alienating people whose identities are linked to the forest and trees around them is not only unfair, but also short-sighted

Planting more trees could decrease deaths from higher summer temperatures in cities by a third, according to a modelling study published in The Lancet journal. The study of 93 European cities found that increasing tree cover up to 30 per cent can help lower the temperature of urban environments by an average of 0.4 degrees Celsius and prevent heat-related deaths. Of the 6,700 premature deaths attributed to higher temperatures in cities during 2015, one third of these (2,644) could have been prevented by increasing urban tree cover up to 30 per cent, the researchers said. These findings highlight the need for more sustainable and climate-resilient strategies to be integrated into local policy decisions to aid climate change adaptation and improve population health, they said. "We already know that high temperatures in urban environments are associated with negative health outcomes, such as cardiorespiratory failure, hospital admission, and premature death," said study lead author, .

Scientists are only beginning to investigate the connections between far-flung components of the planet's climate system