At least 85 new Miyawaki Forests came up in Bangalore in last few years.
A study conducted by the Indian Institute of Science in 2017 shows that 89 percent of green cover in Bengaluru is destroyed. The Miyawaki technique of afforestation is now seen as a way to increase Bangalore’s green cover. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) is planning to adopt the Miyawaki method to increase city’s green cover.
“In urban setting these micro forests are required. We are trying to create these micro forests so that they can have minute changes in local environment and attract lots of birds and butterflies. They can also help to improve the temperature of the forest surrounding”- said Shashank Sharma, Program manager of Bangalore-based Say Trees NGO.
The IISC study also pointed out that Bangalore now has one tree for every 7 persons as opposed to the requirement of 8 trees per person. Govind Raj, deputy conservator of forests at Forest cell in BBMP said that they don’t have any open spaces for plantations and planning to plant trees on roadsides. However, “BBMP is raising saplings in their nursery and distributing it free of cost”.
Lack of data related to vegetation also poses a big threat to the conservation and plantation of trees in the city. BBMP is yet to conduct a holistic tree census in Bengaluru, said environmentalist and founder of project Vruksha Vijay Nishant. “Until and unless you account the trees, nothing is going to help you out. Until you don’t do the conservation, planting is nothing.” He added. A recent report by Greenpeace shows the air pollution level in Bangalore is greater than the WHO standards. Increasing the green cover of Bangalore can save the city from a lot of environmental disasters. Innovative techniques like Miyawaki are welcome in this attempt.
