Environment Day: Govt to distribute 64L saplings

Thiruvananthapuram: The state forest department will distribute 64 lakh saplings to mark the observance of ‘World Environment Day’, which falls on Wednesday. Announcing the decision here on Monday, forest minister K Raju said similar sapling-planting drives in the previous years had been moderately successful.
“Studies initiated by the department have found that 55% of the saplings thus distributed during the year 2016-17 have survived and are being sustained, while the success rate was 63% in 2017-18. We will ensure a similar nurturing of the saplings this year as well,” the minister told reporters.
This year, 83 varieties of saplings are being distributed, of which 44.24% are that of fruit-bearing trees, the minister said. These also include ornamental plants (10.55%), trees used for timber (17.56%), medicinal plants (15.79%) and those for protection and conservation of soil, water, river banks and beaches.
“The saplings were grown in 97 nurseries across the state. Besides, the forest department will plant 3.2 lakh one-year-old saplings of big fruit-bearing trees on government lands on Wednesday. The department will also plant 10,000 mangrove saplings on lakeside at Mattummal, Ponnani and 14,000 and 30,000 casuarina saplings on coastal areas at Ponnani and on Ezhimala Naval Academy premises, respectively,” Raju said.
The saplings will be distributed to individuals and groups, including educational institutions, media houses, residents’ associations, voluntary and environmental organizations.
Principal chief conservator of forests and head of forest forces P K Kesavan, who was also present at the news conference, said it would take another 23 years to remove eucalyptus trees (last planted in 2018) completely from the state. It would take another 8-10 years for the removal of other species like acacia and mangium. These varieties of trees cause severe dip in water table. The government has directed to avoid these varieties in afforestation programmes, he said.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the World Environment Day celebrations at a function to be held at Vanasree Auditorium at the forest department headquarters here at 3 pm on Wednesday. The celebrations are being organized with the support of Kerala State Biodiversity Board and department of environment and climate change.