The Foundation is running its ‘Plants for Punjab’ initiative, which aims to plant one billion trees in the state in the next 25 years, which will increase its forest cover by 10-12%.

RoundGlass Foundation is planting mini forests by mobilizing community support through gram Panchayats and Youth Clubs. Here are some of its recent milestones:

• 450 mini forests planted since 2018.
• 5.83 lakh tree saplings planted; most have a high survival rate of more than 90%
• Bring back native trees of Punjab which on the verge of extinction
• Native varieties of trees such as Van, Peelu, Roheda, Desi Beri, Reru, Pharwan, Jhand, Phulai, Desi Mango, and Desi Kikar planted
• 716 villages under 17 districts covered
• Aim to plant one billion saplings in the next 25 years
• Plant for Punjab is inspiring the youth to stay back in villages and work towards increasing the state’s forest cover instead of migrating abroad. It is also creating employment opportunities under MGNREGA, where one person is handling 200 saplings under Van Mitra Scheme.

Almost 85% of the geographical area of Punjab is under agriculture. This is a direct outcome of the Green Revolution, which was launched in Punjab in 1968, and led to the state becoming India’s food basket with record production of grains and bringing more land under farming. However, 50 years later, Punjab is dealing with an unwanted legacy of the Revolution — environmental degradation and pollution. Reforestation drives, such as RoundGlass Foundation’s Plant for Punjab initiative, are crucial for not just for recovering the forest cover but also restoring biodiversity and for climate correction.

Read the full story that first appeared in Fair Planet here: