Efforts of restoring the earth’s green covers has increased drastically over the past few decades as climate crisis deepens. Dozens of governments across the world, non-profit groups and individuals have joined the campaign to plant more trees to combat climate change. Unlike a few decades ago, people today have environmental awareness. It is encouraging to see government officials, civil society organisations, students and individuals even in the most remote corners of the world taking up tree plantation drives in a big way, especially on World Environment Day. Thousands of tree saplings were planted during the occasion in Nagaland. The world has learned the hard way but it’s better late than never. The collective efforts taken up by the people will surely pay dividends in terms of livelihoods, absorbing carbon dioxide and improving the health of the ecosystem. Northeast India, which is home to one-fourth of the country’s green cover, has been witnessing consistent loss of forest area over the last few years, so tree plantation drives will help lessen the damage in the region. However, such efforts may not make much impact if people continue to cut down trees for timber business, as it takes several years for a tree to mature. Currently, it is not possible to do away with the practice of jhum cultivation, which is said to be the main cause of deforestation in the region, as it has been the source of livelihood for the people for ages. This farming practice cannot be stopped at least for a few years, until an alternative means of livelihood is provided. What the people can do is restrict uncontrolled felling of trees for commercial purpose, and of course plant tree saplings.
In doing so, it is important to know that saplings require care and maintenance for a couple of years to survive. Those who plant trees should take up this responsibility as well. What is even more important while carrying out plantation drives is choosing the right variety of plants. Experts are of the view that planting wrong trees at the wrong place and monoculture plantation can do more harm than good. They say such an approach can speed up the extinction of millions of species that are facing the risk of disappearing from the face of the earth. Losing out on biodiversity while tackling climate change can be costly. While there will be conflicting opinions on this, we won’t lose by taking the advice of experts on what, where and how much to plant. Their expertise can also be used to help solve supply issue at local seed banks. To be safe, we can plant native species or allow the forest to naturally regenerate, which is in fact the best method of recovering green covers. Planting trees to fight climate change may prove futile if biodiversity is compromised and people fail to consciously take measures to reduce carbon emissions.