The Sahyadri is an important place not only in our country but also in the world.
The Sahyadri ranks among the 35 most important regions in the world in terms of biodiversity. Many endangered and rare species of animals, birds, plants, amphibians and insects are found in Sahyadri. Most of the rivers in South and West India originate in the Sahyadri. However, its future is threatened by the easily available water, wind, forests and minerals in the Sahyadri. Uncontrolled tourism, urbanization due to cold weather on the Ghats, deforestation and mining are the main reasons for the ongoing decline of the Sahyadri.
It is not uncommon for Sahyadri to be the cradle of the whole of Maharashtra. This means that we have the dual benefit of the existence of these forests.
There is infinite power in nature. No natural thing is useless. Even the seeds left after eating the fruit are not wasted. They also turn into big trees. Wild animals and birds sow seeds in the right place, so why shouldn’t man gather them?
With this in mind, for the last few years, with the idea of filling the Sahyadri trees with shrubs, our nomadic group started collecting seeds of different fruits growing in the Sahyadri and spreading them all over the Sahyadri. (As soon as the calculation of which tree will grow where and its use to the local tribal people comes to mind)
Where to get seeds or seedlings?
Plenty of NGOs provide free seeds or seedlings for such work.
Contact the forest department in the city, seeds or seedlings can be obtained free of cost through the forest department.
Be self-sufficient: – Fruits brought home (mango-raisin-fennel) seeds should not be thrown away, they should be stored.
Even if the sticks of Vada brought on Vat-Pournima are lost in the ground, Vada survives. The same is true of Nirgudi. They live by planting Nirgudi branches. Once Nirgudi grows, other plants can grow on its basis.
If sand is planted, it does not cause soil erosion. Sand is a perennial grass.
Why should you plant trees?
Due to increasing urbanization, artificial cooling places that are being cut down for no reason, the number of trees is decreasing day by day. Factories built due to increasing industrialization, overcrowding of vehicles and huge increase in pollution due to them. Unrestricted access to the Earth’s atmosphere has resulted in global warming. As a result, the balance between the environment and the seasons is greatly disturbed. Rising temperatures have also caused much of the world’s snow-covered ice to melt. (We have had this horrible experience in Uttarakhand.) If this ice continues to melt, there is a danger of rising sea level and flooding. To do this, by planting more and more trees in the open, these trees will absorb carbon dioxide gas and will be a great help in preventing global warming. Therefore, we should try to maintain the balance of the environment by undertaking projects like tree planting / seeding and arboriculture.
If trees grow on the slopes of the hill, soil erosion will stop. As a result, degradation of fertile lands will stop.
Excessive deforestation is drastically reducing the natural habitat of wild animals. Many people and wild animals have lost their lives unnecessarily in this. (There are many examples of this in Nashik-Junnar-Vidarbha area.)
At least 33% of the land area of any country is covered by forest. The natural forest ecosystem is less than that. It is a very frightening situation. Needless to say, the condition of the evergreen forests in the Sahyadri is going to get worse in the next few years due to the windmills that have been erected barefoot and for many other reasons).
Forests are the real source of water storage. The water holding capacity of 25 million hectares of forest is more than two and a half times the water holding capacity of Bhakra Dam.
Friends, one and a half-three hundred years ago, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj banned tree felling through a decree.
“Vrikshavalli, the verdant embrace of nature, reminds us that every tree is a testament to life’s resilience and the harmony of existence.”
