“An estimated 18 million acres of the global forest, which is roughly the size of the country of Panama, are lost each year,” illustrates a report from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The situation of deforestation in India is no different. India has seen rapid deforestation in recent years, primarily due to its focus on economic development. According to government data, in the past 30 years, 14,000sq km of forests were cleared to accommodate 23,716 industrial projects.
One of the serious examples of catastrophe due to deforestation in India is the deteriorating condition of the ages-old Cauvery river. Data from the Global Forest Watch (GFW), which collects annual data on global forests using satellite imagery, warns that the biodiversity of the Western Ghats is under threat due to the depleting Cauvery.
The amount of tree coverage area lost is equal to 20,000 rugby sports grounds or 40,000 football grounds.
87% of the Cauvery basin’s original tree cover has been lost. Almost half the Cauvery basin suffers critical groundwater depletion.
This has impacted the livelihood of farmers in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
- 47,190 farmer suicides in 15 years in Cauvery basin
- 83% of farmers in Tamil Nadu and 77% of farmers in Karnataka are in debt
- 17 districts in Tamil Nadu were drought-hit in 2019
- 15 of the last 18 years have been drought years in Karnataka
The simplest way to make Cauvery flow again is to plant trees. How?
Cauvery Calling is an initiative that will support farmers to plant 242 crore trees in the Cauvery basin by adopting agroforestry. Agroforestry has proven to increase farmers’ incomes by 300-800% in 5-7 years. The scheme will also revive the river and groundwater levels by increasing water retention in the Cauvery basin by an estimated 40%.
18 species of plants have been identified for planting along the Cauvery basin which will be done by farmers in their agricultural lands.
Raising 242 crore trees involves procuring seeds and nurturing them as high-quality saplings in nurseries which will then be transported and given to farmers free of cost for planting.
It takes 18-24 months to raise high-quality saplings and the average cost per sapling comes to around 42 per tree.
Chennai has gone dry and Bangalore will run out of groundwater anytime. This cause is not for rivers, but for all of us. If there’s no water, there is no life.
Cauvery is Calling. Do you have the heart to hear?
