News about the government’s plan to chop-off nearly 17,000 trees in south Delhi has made me very sad. It's like someone is causing me damage personally. I feel it's a grave sin to cause any harm to trees and nature. It's bad karma.
At the same time, Delhi's air has gone from bad to worse. We can hardly breath and it feels like living in a dessert. People are falling ill; people with bronchial and heart disease are worse off. Air conditioning bills are escalating by the minute, and working outside in the sun is unbearable.
Amid all of this, I feel it’s time for a simple reminder — Why we need to plant more trees.*
*Please take notes and don’t doze off like you did back in school.
1. Forest plants, like all green plants, help renew the atmosphere. As the trees and other green plants make food, they give off oxygen. They remove carbon dioxide from the air.
2. Humans and all living things require oxygen. If green plants do not continuously supply oxygen, almost all life would end.
3. If carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere, it could severely alter the earth’s climate, which is the present and real danger.
4. Forests include large trees, smaller plants, mosses, shrubs, wild flowers, and much more.
5. Forests and their care and conservation can be a great source of livelihood for rural populations.
6. Forests are a great source of food and fresh water.
7. Forests will prevent droughts and further desertification of India, which is happening at an alarming rate, leading to a huge crisis for farmers and our fertile farmlands.
8. It's critical that we plant forest-type, broad-leaved, bird- and insect-friendly, and fruit-bearing trees. Broad-leaved trees should be planted alongside the storm-water drains and Yamuna banks on a war-footing.
9. Less of concrete and concretisation of soil in Delhi and NCR will cool the atmosphere and prevent excessive heat and dust formation, and aid ground-water recharge as well as prevent wastage of rain water.
10. Our country and its urban people have to be made aware of all ecological factors and the truth.
I hope this Environment 101 was useful. Let’s come together and not let anyone destroy our environment.
Purnima Dutta Gupta, My Report
(Purnima Dutta Gupta is an avid nature lover. Before monsoon, Purnima plants trees in her society. There was a barren patch of land in Poornima’s area. So 7 years back she got all kinds of biodiverse trees planted there with the help of PWD and MCD horticulture divisions.)
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