Photo Source: India TV News
Several years ago, a young boy from Majhuli Island in nAssam witnessed how snakes washed up on the banks of the river Brahmaputra during monsoo died as the heat dried up the water once the monsoon was over.(Forest Man)
This incident scared that young. The thought of something similar happening to us humans terrified him. The rapid deforestation and the annual monsoon were eroding the banks of Majhuli Island and endangering the lives of all the people living there. So, he gave up his school at a very young age and started planting trees along the sandbars of the Brahmaputra river.
This young boy is none other than India’s very own forest man, Jadav Payeng. When he was younger, Jadhav recalls that a palm reader predicted that his life would take “the course of Nature” and looking at what he has accomplished it seems like this prophecy has come true.
Majuli, the largest river island in the world, has shrunk over the past 70 years by more than half. Back in the 1980s, the Assam Forestry Division began a plan to reforest 200 hectares of the forest in one of the sandbars of the Brahmaputra river. But the program failed and was abandoned in 1983. After the failure of this Reforestation program, Jadav Payeng single-handedly attempted to reforest the submerging island of Majuli.
What started as an effort to help save our environment by a young boy soon turned into a mass plantation drive, and today Jadav is known all around the world as the “Forest Man of India.” The land that was initially allocated for the reforestation program back in the 1980s, is now known as Molai Kothani Forest, named after Jadev’s nickname, Molai. His forest is today home to approximately 120 species of birds, including migratory ones, as well as elephants, rhinos, and tigers that visit from Kaziranga National Park. Apart from that, there are several thousand trees, including vocal, Pride of India (Lagerstroemia), cotton trees (Bombax Ceiba), silk trees (Albizia Procera), royal poinciana (Delonix regia) among others.
Photo Source: thinkmust.co
His work soon grabbed the attention of both local as well as national journalists. A Jorhat-based journalist and wildlife photographer, Jitu Kalita wrote about him in the Assamese newspaper, The Dainik Janambhumi in 2010, leading to several stories in different publications as well as numerous documentary films on him. The government also recognized the noble job he has been doing over the past 30 years and awarded Jadav with the prestigious Padma Shri award back in 2015. Earlier in 2012, he was honored by the Jawaharlal Nehru University for his exceptional work towards restoring Majuli’s forest. Recently, Jadav has also won the “128th Commonwealth Point of Light Award.”
But Why is Jadav’s Work So Important?
Photo Source: EastMojo
Over the years, as humans have evolved, they have caused some serious damage to the environment. According to concerned scientists around the world, forests are home to 80 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, and preserving their environment is very important to save these species, including humans.
The plants and trees perform photosynthesis, as a result of which the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is converted into oxygen. Today, when the planet is suffering from widespread climate change due to global warming as a result of excessive emission of greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide, reforestation is the most cost-effective way of lowering carbon emission levels.
In Conclusion
Climate activists, scientists, and environmentalists around the world have been urging everyone to take measures to help reduce global carbon emissions to help reduce global warming. Reforestation, as discussed above can have a major impact on reducing global carbon emission levels. Other than that, these forests are also home to several indigenous tribes, endangered plants, and animals.
It is high time that we realize the importance of forests and contribute in whatever capacity we can to help contribute to the global effort of restoring our forests.
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