The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has undertaken a monumental project that has planted 250 million trees to help combat climate change. The state, which is India's most populous and one of the most densely inhabited places on Earth, still has enough space for the gargantuan project. The planting involved 2 million volunteers from both the region itself and from across India and was all carried out while maintaining the social distancing necessary due to CoVid-19. India is currently experiencing a huge uptick in the number of cases and deaths from coronavirus.
This particular project is just one part of a government plan to cover one third of India with trees by 2030, an ambitious target that will make it one of the most actively green nations in the world. India, much like China, is a giant emerging economy and, as such, is responsible for a very large amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Most of the energy consumed in India is from non-renewable resources such as coal and oil as opposed to green alternatives.
The trees, when grown, will cover an area the size of Texas and New Mexico combined. In Uttar Pradesh itself, the goal is to cover 15% of the landmass with trees, and while many of the 250 million planted may not survive, it is hoped that a substantial amount will, giving cleaner air for India and the rest of the world to breath.
Some of the trees were also planted along the banks of the river Ganges as it is a goal that the river also becomes cleaner. The Ganges itself is heavily polluted but is one of the most holy places for Hindus, who makes up the majority of India's population. Many also make a yearly holy pilgrimage to the river.
Tree planting is one of the easiest ways for countries to counter their total carbon footprint. Countries such as Russia, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Madagascar have also in recent years undertaken similar mass plantings and it is hoped that others will follow. The use of tree planting is also a positive for the biodiversity of a region, allowing the regrowing of habitats for wild and endangered animals and for other plant species who will foster themselves within the protection of the new forests.
According to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it is possible under a worst case scenario that global temperatures will increase by 5 degrees centigrade by the year 2100. This would result in the melting of much of the polar ice caps and rising sea levels, more extreme weather conditions, mass drought and much of the world at the equator and in the Middle East being made uninhabitable. This, in turn, would cause a mass wave of people seeking refuge as well as political instability.
It is encouraging however that programs such as this are being undertaken and that some governments are in fact fighting back against the climate crisis.
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