IAS officer plants 1 lakh saplings in waste land
| Date :26-Jun-2019 |
Special Correspondent:
Raipur
Can a mining area be eco-friendly? In Raigarh district, yes it can as the administration is creating a man-made forest. With an initiative taken six months back, former Raigarh Collector Shammi Abidi adopted miyawaki method - a Japanese method of developing a forest with rich bio-diversity of plantation. Though the idea is relatively new in India, it has been successfully implemented across the world. Currently, the project has been implemented at two places on a pilot basis. At Pandripani, around 28,000 saplings were planted in 2 acres area and around 72,000 saplings were planted in 5 acres area at Jurda. The miyawaki method of planting saplings involves planting different types of saplings close together.
By closely planting many random trees in a small area it enriches the green cover and reinforces richness of the land. This leads to co-existence of plants and each plant draws from others the vital nutrients they need to grow and become strong and healthy. This method of afforestation proposes the selection of native species of a forest by planting native and naturalised trees (simultaneous use of intermediate and late succession species).
The method banks on identifying potential natural vegetation of an area which is followed by planting of late succession species in a mixed manner, along with the companion species. Sharing the success story of this method, Abidi said that Raigarh is an industrial district with mining pressing problems of air pollution. I wanted to take up something which could provide a permanent solution to it. Miyawaki technique helps in faster growth of forest and focuses on rich biodiversity of plantation. Such plant varieties were chosen which could grow well on the soil here.”
With this method of afforestation, Raigarh is aiming at growing natural forest with natural species at a quicker rate to rescue forest cover. Since the afforestation is done in a small area, it can be used in urban areas like schools, road dividers or industries which can benefit society as a whole. A crucial and significant factor of this project was that this was a completely natural process and at NO point any chemical was used in the plantation process.
Now seeing the speedy growth and nearly 100% survival of the plants, more such projects would be carried out in Raigarh in near future with special emphasis on using this technique to restore abandon mines which is another major cause of concern, said Abidi. Already a high-level delegation from Andhra Pradesh visited these projects sites to learn and witness the success of the project and they have already replicated the same in their state, Abidi said. According to the former collector of Raigarh, she was initially apprehensive because normally such plantations don’t last long unless they are taken care of but the grassroot level involvement has given amazing results. We named the project as Mahatma Gandhi Oxyzone,” mentioned Abidi.
On benefits of Oxy Zone, Abidi said an average mature tree can release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings. With this general thumb rule, the Mahatma Gandhi Oxy Zone will be providing enough oxygen for over 2, 00,000 human beings after few years. Apart from this there will be a host of related benefits including the development of a whole new eco system in these forests. A critical intervention in this unique initiative in Raigarh was to create a sense of ownership amongst the villagers for this project.
This helped not only in creating a better connect with everyone right from day one but has also helped in making the villagers accountable for protecting and caring these project sites, Abidi said. The very objective of the initiative is to reduce pollution by absorbing dust particles, Maintaining an Oxygen Rich zone, Providing of Shade and shelter, regulating flow of storm water and Cleaning of the soil through phytoremediation. Moreover, Carbon sequestration, Groundwater Table recharge can also be done through this unique initiative, Abidi said. Sharing their knowledge about the Miyawaki methodology, Jinendra Parakh and Sumedha Chaudhury, who claimed to have closely followed the project in Raigarh, said that Raigarh has witnessed unpredictable weather conditions in recent past.
Last year, the district was declared drought affected due to minimal rains, whereas this year there has been average rainfall. In order to mitigate these extremes of weather calamities, it was decided to grow a natural forest in the city. “The thought behind this decision was that water retention by forests affects the amount and timing of the water delivered to streams and groundwater by increasing and maintaining infiltration and storage capacity of the soil. Forests can soak up excess rainwater, preventing run-offs and damage from flooding. By releasing water in the dry season, forests can also help provide clean water and mitigate the effects of droughts. This will encourage Darwinian competition for survival of the strongest variants of each species and in around ten years, this can give rise to a dense forest.”