India’s Uttar Pradesh has carried out a massive tree-planting campaign that has the goal to boost the forest area. In fact, it’s part of the Indian pledge to maintain a third of their total land a forest.
And, millions of Indians participated in the annual planting mission. They managed to plant more than 250 million saplings in one day throughout the most populous country in the state.
The reforesting campaign was led by the state government officials of Uttar Pradesh, as well as numerous activists and lawmakers, all in an effort to lower carbon emissions and fight off climate change.
Which Areas were Reforested with these 250 Million Saplings?
The saplings were planted by the volunteers in areas like farms, schools, forests, and along riverbanks and highways.
According to the state forest official, Manoj Singh, they’re dedicated to increasing the forest cover of their state to over 15 percent of the total land area in the next five years.
Another government official said that the forest cover has already increased in the last couple of years. In fact, they’ve noted a 127 square km increase in Uttar Pradesh when compared to that from 2017.
Moreover, they also boosted the number of trees and plants. Their tree cover elevated to 3.05 percent when compared to the national average of 2.89 percent stated in the 2019 report by the Forest Survey of India.
How many of the Planted Saplings Survive?
According to Dara Singh, the State Forest Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the survival of the saplings is still a concern since usually, only 60 percent of these saplings make it. The rest 40 percent become ill or don’t get the needed water.
But, he emphasizes that around 80 percent of the saplings they’ve planted in the last four annual drives have made it. The areas where the reforesting is being done are geo-tagged so that they can know what happened.
Interestingly, the saplings have QR codes that help the officials keep records and verify if they’ve survived or not.
Also, they have teams formed that monitor the progress in the reforested areas.
The Extent of India’s Green Campaign
India has pledged to make a third of its total land area (95 million hectares) under tree and forest cover by the year 2030.
Moreover, their government has given $6.2 billion for the tree planting happening throughout the country. Still, the pressure from a rapidly growing population and industrial development is further stressing the land!
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