Caritas India planted 1,20,877 trees within a week in Caritas India program areas. The plantation drive started on the eve of World Environment Day 2022 and continued for a week across 20 States in the country.

All the thematic programs contributed to this plantation drive covering 26 States including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Punjab, Odisha, Puducherry and Haryana.

Planting trees are one of the biggest and cheapest ways of taking CO₂ out of the atmosphere to tackle the climate crisis. Trees absorb and store the carbon dioxide emissions that are driving global heating. According to an estimate worldwide, plantations could remove just under one-third of all the emissions from human activities that remain in the atmosphere.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) has suggested the ‘plantation of diverse tree species’ as one of the measures to withstand climate impacts. It also suggested agroforestry and conservation, protection and restoration of natural forests as other measures to tackle climate change.

Scientist across the globe has a different opinion about plantation as a cure for climate change. The argument related to sapling sustainability, extended lifetime to reach its optimum advantage, an appropriate place for plantation, and the amount of carbon released if the tree dies. Though there are both proponents and opponents one thing is clear there is no silver bullet, and we need thousands of solutions. We need to prevent our emissions, reduce the use of fossil fuels, and draw down carbon that currently exists in our atmosphere. Therefore, the plantation is one of the most powerful and easily available methods.

Plantation and nature conservation is a cross-cutting area in Caritas India, as it provides numerous benefits such as clean air, water, biodiversity, social impact, health and helps to regulate climate. The plantation that runs across different themes has promoted people to plant different species of trees to protect their future. In many program areas, fruit, vegetable trees and forest plants are promoted including mango, betel nut, coconut, jackfruit, papaya, moringa, krishnachura, peepal, and aojar to secure the nutrition of the families.

Men, Women, Children and elders from the community came forward to participate in this noble initiative by planting tree saplings in individual and community land including Schools, Churches, Parishes, dioceses, panchayat premises, highways, and forest areas. Some of the programs committed to continuing the plantation drive in the coming few months. The saplings and trees for the drive are mostly arranged by the community through the Government line departments and their contributions.

Jharana Jena, a Community Member of Sipakuda village in Odisha says: “In some way or the other we all realise how dependent we are on our natural resources and immediate environment. This plantation will serve as a reminder that we should keep our environment clean and safe.”

Apart from tree plantation, the community also prepared and dispersed seed balls. A seed ball is a technique of planting trees by embedding organic seed balls in the ground. The FARM program in North-East India used more than 6000 seed balls in the barren, fallow and forest land to increase the green cover.

In Assam, Dibrugarh Caritas India has promoted the ‘Gift a Plant’ model to encourage the community towards using plants as a gift rather than any article. This practice not only created mass awareness and ownership but also embodies respect and responsibility toward nature. Now, the practice is commonly seen during public and private functions including meetings, birthdays, and anniversaries.

The country is full of examples where people and communities have created mass plantations to conserve the environment but what is more important is to sustain the effort to realise the required outcome in future.