Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, APRIL 23
Inspired to conserve and support the environment and its natural resources, the youth organization of Phesama, a village that shares borders with the state capital Kohima, initiated a mass tree plantation drive on Saturday.
About 3000 saplings of different varieties of trees including local willow, neem, banyan, cherry, banana and figus species were planted on the occasion spreading over an area of 3 sq Km from Varü to Dzücharü streams at Phesama, near the National Highway-29.
Around 700 volunteers from Phesama village, St. Paul Institute Jesuit trainees, and students and teachers of St. Paul School Phesama participated in the tree plantation along with representatives from Angami Public Organisation (APO), Angami Students’ Union (ASU), Southern Angami Youth Organisation (SAYO), and Southern Angami Sports Association (SASA).
President of Angami Public Organization, Dr. Vilhousa Seleyi, who also participated in the plantation drive, lauded the village youth for taking up an initiative that is not solely for the welfare of the village but also for the earth. He underscored the dire need to safeguard the eco system and conserve plants and natural resources for future generations.
He criticized the growing individualism in society where most people today strive to acquire wealth for their own personal comforts and interest. “We have to start thinking and act on what is best for our people and our society,” Dr. Seleyi said.
President of Phesama Youth Organization (PYO), Khriezhapu Kuotsu, said the initiative on indigenous tree plantation was taken up with a central vision for a healthy environment and to create awareness for all. “We are aware of the much talked about global warming and climate change which have become a worldwide concern. As we look around, we witness our hillocks, rivers and streams slowly losing its greenery and getting dried up. Is this not a concern for us? We have a huge challenge ahead and this is the right time, if not late, to usher in this change,” the youth leader asserted.
He viewed that the tree plantation drive is a small way to begin change and was hopeful that the trees that are planted today would boost the survival of the people tomorrow.
The Phesama Village Council was said to have adopted a resolution earlier in 1994 with a grave concern over the serious socio ecological crisis and environmental issues and subsequently banned hunting, fishing, collecting of firewood/ grass/ herbs/ plants, burning of jungles and dumping of loose mud within its jurisdiction. The resolution was further reaffirmed on January 23 this year in which PYO was authorized to implement the resolution in toto.
The youth organization initiated the tree plantation drive as part of implementing the village authority’s resolution and as an action plan for conservation of water, which has become a pertinent issue to the village community in particular and the surrounding areas in general. The village also supply large segment of drinking water to the citizens of Kohima.
At a time when people everywhere are facing the negative impact of environmental degradation and climatic disasters consequent on exploitation of natural resources to a great extent, conservation of environment through plantation projects by raising trees having potential to increase the efficiency of the soil’s water holding capability would check the vulnerability of communities to climatic disasters like landslides, floods and drought situations etc.
