National Festival of Tree Planting in India is celebrated annually from July 1 to July 7. This is a week long festival celebrated every year in India and also called as “Van Mahotsav”.
National Festival of Tree Planting
Van Mahotsav or Forest Festival is an annual tree-planting festival celebrated in the month of July in which thousands of trees are planted all over the country. Van Mahotsav week is celebrated from 1 July to 7 July to spread awareness of forest conservation and to save the environment.
India is known to be a country that celebrates several festivals related to trees. One of these festivals is the Van Mahotsav or the Forest Festival. Van Mahotsav was started as a crusade with the purpose of saving the mother earth and replenishing the green cover of the country. The main aim of the Forest Festival is to encourage every citizen of India to plant a sapling during the week. Also, awareness campaigns about the benefits and protection of trees and the harm caused by cutting down trees are held, promoting it as the festival of life.
Trees and forests play a very crucial role in maintaining an ecological balance and providing oxygen to human beings on the planet. The Van Mahotsav week is a reminder that we must protect forests and stop deforestation and practice the 3R rule- Reduce, reuse and recycle.
History & Significance of Van Mahotsav
The history of Van Mahotsav Day dates back to 1947 when it was first organised by Punjabi botanist MS Randhawa from 20 to 27 July. The then Delhi Police Commissioner Khurshid Ahmad Khan inaugurated the first event of Van Mahotsav on 20 July 1947 to stress the impact of deforestation on flora and fauna. A flourishing plantation drive was undertaken by national leaders like Dr Rajendra Prasad and Jawaharlal Nehru.
Since then, the tradition of celebrating Van Mahotsav and planting trees has continued. In 1950, it was declared as a national activity by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kanaiyaka Maneklal Munshi. Later on, the festival was moved to the first week in July and was renamed to Van Mahotsav in 1950.
Van Mahotsav week is celebrated in India to encourage people to plant more and more trees as they are being cut down on a large scale for industrialization and urbanization. Trees contribute to the production of food resources, maintain ecological balance, improve air quality, climate amelioration, conserves water, preserves soil, supports wildlife, reduces drought and prevents soil erosion and pollution.
Deforestation is a worrying concern and Van Mahotsav week aims to bring more and more people together to grow and save forests. Reports suggest that regions having a high population density and high forest cover were not much impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. During this week, many organizations like The World Wildlife Fund and Amazon Watch are fighting hard to promote afforestation and create awareness.
Van Mahotsav Week is enthusiastically observed in India, and the festival has become a key day on the nation’s environmental calendar. The following are some of the ways India observes Van Mahotsav Week:
Tree-Planting: Planting trees is the most significant event that takes place during Van Mahotsav Week. Government representatives, NGOs, and volunteers of all ages join together to plant seedlings all around the nation. Educational institutions like schools, and colleges, all participate in tree plantation events.
Awareness Campaigns: During Van Mahotsav Week, a number of awareness programmes are held to raise awareness of the value of forests and trees in preventing climate change These initiatives seek to raise awareness of the advantages of trees, including their ability to reduce soil erosion, provide clean air and water, and support biodiversity.
Workshops and Seminars: Workshops and seminars are held to enhance environmental awareness and urge individuals to adopt sustainable habits. The importance of conservation, eco-friendly living, and sustainable agriculture are among the themes covered in these workshops and seminars.
Competitions: Several competitions, such as painting competitions, essay writing competitions, and quiz competitions, are held during Van Mahotsav Week to raise awareness and participation. These activities encourage people to learn more about environmental protection and to take part in the festival actively.
Government Initiatives: During Van Mahotsav Week, the Indian government launches a number of activities to promote tree planting and forest protection. These programmes include giving farmers free seedlings, encouraging afforestation in rural regions, and establishing green belts along roadways.
Important Facts on Van Mahotsav
Forests cover nearly 31 per cent of our planet’s land area.
As per United Nations, forests are home to more than 80 per cent of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects
Lost forests mean the disappearance of livelihoods in rural communities, increased carbon emissions, diminished biodiversity and the degradation of land, the organisation adds.
Each year, 10 million hectares of forest are destroyed, says the UN.
Two billion hectares of land on Earth are degraded, affecting some 3.2 billion people, driving species to extinction and intensifying climate change, as per the UN.
According to the India State Of Forest Report 2021, the tree cover in India is estimated as 95,748 sq km which is 2.91 per cent of the geographical area of the country. This is an increase of 721 sq km from last assessment in 2019.
India’s forest cover is 7,13,789 sq km which is 21.71% of the geographical area of the country. This is an increase of 1,540 sq km from last assessment in 2019, the report adds.
The European Environment Agency says that in over one year, a mature tree can absorb about 22 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and in exchange release oxygen.
Each year, 1.3 million trees are estimated to remove more than 2,500 tonnes of pollutants from the air, it adds.
India is one of the ten most forest-rich countries of the world along with Russia, Brazil, Canada, United States of America, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Australia, Indonesia and Sudan.
The forest in India ranging from the dry alpine forests of Ladakh in the north to the tropical moist rain forests of Kerala in the south and from the thorny forests of the desert tracts in the west to the wet evergreen forests of north-east India.
The Chipko movement or Chipko Andolan was a forest conservation movement where people embraced the trees to prevent them from being cut.
The Chipko movement was started under the leadership of Sundar Lal Bahuguna.
In 1987, the Chipko movement was awarded the Right Livelihood Award.
The Forest Research Institute is located in Dehradun. It has its roots in the erstwhile Imperial Forest Research Institute established in 1906 to organize and lead forestry research in the country. Its history is synonymous with the evolution and development of scientific forestry not only in India but in the entire Indian subcontinent.
The Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) (founded 1982) is an autonomous, public institute of sectoral management located in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was established by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India with financial assistance from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and course assistance from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
National Forest Policy proposed that 60% of the land in the hills and 20% in the plains and in all 33% of the total geographical area should be under forest/tree cover.
Forest Survey of India (FSI) founded in June 1981 and headquartered at Dehradun in Uttarakhand.
India is ranked 10th in world, with 24.4% of land area under forest and tree cover, even though it accounts for 2.4% of the world surface area and sustains needs of 17% of human and 18% livestock population. India was placed 8th in list of Top Ten nations reporting the greatest annual net gain in forest area.
Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur have more than 75% forest cover.
Tripura, Goa, Sikkim, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Chhattisgarh and Assam have forest cover between 33% to 75%:
Andhra Pradesh (2141 sq. km), followed by Karnataka (1101 sq. km), Kerala (1043 sq. km), Odisha (885 sq. kms) and Telangana (565 sq. kms) are the states with maximum increase in forest cover.
Madhya Pradesh (77,414 sq. km) Arunachal Pradesh (66,964 sq. km) and Chhattisgarh (55,547 sq. km) are the states with maximum Forest cover (in terms of area).
Lakshadweep (90.33%), Mizoram (86.27%) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (81.73%) are the states with highest Forest cover in terms of percentage geographical area.
Mizoram (531 sq. km), Nagaland (450 sq. km), Arunachal Pradesh (190 sq. km), Tripura (164 sq. km) and Meghalaya (116 sq. km) are the states where forest cover has decreased. These states are in North Eastern region of the country where total forest cover is very high i.e. more than 70% in each state.
The Forest of Karnataka is famous for Sandal Woods. Mysore is renowned for its production of the fragrant sandalwood products and is commonly referred of as the sandalwood city of Karnataka.
Silent Valley is an evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India.
Valley of Flowers is located in West Himalaya, in the state of Uttarakhand and is known for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and the variety of flora.
In India, the major mulberry silk producing states are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir which together accounts for 92 % of country’s total mulberry raw silk production.
India contributes only about five percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions that are leading to climate change. However, about 700 million Indians directly face the threat of global warming today, as it affects farming, makes droughts, floods and storms more frequent and more severe and is raising the sea level.
Evergreen forests are found on the eastern and western slopes of the Western Ghats in states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. They are also found in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Tropical Evergreen forest in India are found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Western Ghats, which fringe the Arabian Sea, the coastline of peninsular India, and the greater Assam region in the north-east.
The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world, located in the Ganges River delta in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.
The Pichavaram mangroves in Tamil Nadu is India’s one of the largest mangrove forests.
The Sunderban Delta have been derived from the Sundari trees (the mangrove species Heritiera fomes) that are found in Sundarbans in large numbers
Van Mahotsav Day is important for several reasons. Here are some of the key reasons why Van Mahotsav Day is significant:
- Promotes environmental conservation: Van Mahotsav Day is an opportunity to promote environmental conservation by encouraging people to plant trees and to become more aware of the importance of trees in maintaining ecological balance.
- Mitigates the impact of climate change: Trees play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releasing oxygen. Planting more trees can help reduce the effects of climate change.
- Prevents soil erosion: Trees help prevent soil erosion by anchoring the soil with their roots and absorbing water. This helps protect the soil from being washed away by rainwater and wind.
- Promotes biodiversity: Trees provide habitats for a wide range of wildlife, which helps to promote biodiversity and support the ecological balance.
- Improves human health: Trees play an important role in providing clean air and water, which are essential for human health. By planting more trees, we can improve the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink.
- Strengthens communities: Planting trees can help bring communities together and create a sense of shared purpose. It can also create employment opportunities in the forestry sector, which can help strengthen local economies.
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