Massive drive to plant 1,11,000 trees in Kanha-Pench wildlife corridor
01 Oct 2020 07:21:20
By Kartik Lokhande :
The nation will be celebrating Wildlife Week from October 2. Often, celebrations of Wildlife Week focus more on fauna and less on green cover despite its significance in habitat conservation. Ahead of Wildlife Week this year, here is something that focusses on green cover in wildlife corridor. A logistics service company has taken up a drive to plant 1,11,000 trees this year alone in Kanha-Pench wildlife corridor. As part of the company’s Go Green initiative, the plantation drive aims at reducing global warming, reducing human-wildlife conflict, conserving local flora and fauna, and also promoting local livelihood. In fact, plantation has been an annual activity of the company since 2017. The company has planted around of 4,52,000 trees in the last four years.
The company estimates that 1,11,000 trees planted this year are likely to offset 22,22,000 kgs of carbon per year on maturity. The company took up plantation drive in collaboration with Grow-Trees in Kanha-Pench wildlife corridor. The trees being planted include indigenous species like Tamarind, Shisham (North Indian Rosewood), Siras (Frywood), Teak Wood, Karanj (Indian Beech), Custard Apple, Ber (Indian Plum), Kateswari (Red Silk Cotton), Kashid (Yellow Cassia), Wood Apple, Amla (Indian Gooseberry). The plantation drive aims at preserving ecosystem around Kanha-Pench wildlife reserve, rebuilding wildlife habitats, and supporting tribal communities. Earlier, the company had planted 2,22,000 trees in Kanha-Pench corridor.
The company claimed that the project of planting trees had helped revive biodiversity of the region, reduce man-animal conflict. It has also resulted in providing direct employment to over 70 families every year, creating around 5,600 workdays during pit digging and plantation activities alone. Even during COVID-19 pandemic, the company provided support to villagers of Karwahi and Dulara villages by distributing dry ration to them, and generating employment opportunities. Since 2017, the logistics service provider has planted 4,52,000 trees in collaboration with Grow-Trees, across Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Sikkim. These trees are expected to offset about 9 million kg of its carbon footprint.
The said company is Blue Dart Express Ltd. Balfour Manuel, its Managing Director, was quoted as saying that planting 1,11,000 trees was another step towards reducing and/or avoiding emissions of greenhouse gases and environment protection. Bikrant Tiwary, Chief Executive Officer, Grow-Trees, stated that rural communities highlighted how wildlife in Pench Tiger Reserve entered villages due to deforestation, and often led to man-animal conflict situations. Wildlife entering villages disturbs region’s agriculture-dependent economy. Trees planted in the region will provide the resources required to sustain the tiger population in the forests, while also benefitting the rural communities, he said. Pench Tiger Reserve is home to a significant population of India’s tigers and is among world’s most important tiger habitats. Pench-Kanha wildlife corridor was chosen for the above-mentioned plantation drive this year to allow tiger population residing in the region more mobility, which in turn improves their chances of survival and growth.