CHENNAI: Cyclone Vardah, which pounded the city at a wind speed of 110kmph, uprooted more than 18,000 trees. While environmental activists are demanding a massive tree planting drive to regenerate lost green cover, it is important to first understand that it was not just the wind strength that uprooted the majority of trees but poor planning over the years about what and how to plant.
Basic ecological knowledge suggests that plants require proper maintenance, including possibly fencing and of course watering, apart from timely grooming, availability of nutrients and safeguarding for years until they sustain their roots deep into the soil. But will that do?
Shobha Menon, founder of the NGO Nizhal, says two things are essential when it comes to tree planting— firstly, awareness among citizens about plants before they hastily plant trees anywhere they can find space, and secondly, a common platform like a tree health management committee through which the government, including local bodies and the forest department, along with NGOs, activists and laymen can work together for restoration, rather than working in individual directions.
“Many don’t realise the importance of trees until a disaster strikes. You’ll only realise it when it gets hotter,” remarks Shobha.
A draft Tree Act has been prepared by Nizhal suggesting steps like setting up a tree authority, a master plan for regeneration and preservation of trees, a regular tree census and mandating that each locality, depending on its size, must have a certain number of trees.
The state government had announced a bill in the assembly about three years ago but there haven’t been movement on it yet.
Talking about the need for an attitudinal change, G Vijay Kumar of the Madras Naturalists’ Society says, “You can’t just become environmentally conscious overnight. You need to talk to the right kind of people and understand what the right spaces and the advisable species are, that need to be planted.”
He adds, “All the trees that have fallen are of exotic species and not many native ones were affected.” The climate of Tamil Nadu ranges from tropical wet to dry climate owing to the state’s location next to the sea. It is known for its most unpredictable rain spells and cyclones, which makes this region exposed to high velocity winds, humidity and semi-arid dryness. Any species of flora must have the tenacity to withstand these adverse conditions.
“Vandalur Zoo had to bear massive loss due to the large number of exotic species that got uprooted. Why? Because the Corporation and the forest department are to blame for planting these there!” he exclaims.
According to a survey by Tree Bank NGO, of the nearly 80% of trees which got uprooted, the majority were non-indigenous; only a very few were native to Chennai like neem, pungai, silk cotton, tamarind and jamun.
Independent environment journalist Nityanand Jayaraman says it is also important to understand how to use space for tree planting. “Space mapping should be done,” he says, explaining that organisations involved in tree-planting must first ascertain what spaces are available. “We need to understand what kind of spaces the government is willing to put to use for restoration in the first place.”
According to the latest report of the Forest Survey of India (FSI) in 2016, Tamil Nadu’s forest cover has increased by 2,500 sq km, the highest rate of growth in the country. However, Chennai still has had the lowest green cover of 24 sq km compared with other metro cities like Mumbai (86.57 sq km) and Delhi (180 sq km). In fact, Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is one of the few city corporations that have a tree authority, with members from civil society, NGOs and residents to protect trees, regulate no-objection certificates compulsory for cutting or pruning trees and conduct census with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to measure their city’s green cover.
The Greater Chennai Corporation, Chennai’s civic body, is already sketching a scientific replanting idea by planning to bring forest and horticulture experts from various parts of Tamil Nadu to select species, planting methods and put together a sustainable maintenance framework. Experts and green activists echo a similar thought as well — don’t be in a haste to replace what has been lost; there’s a need for meticulous planning this time.