India Might Soon Have Its Own Great Wall — of Trees

By Sushmita Roy

A report released by NASA earlier this year commended India and China for its role in major afforestation efforts that benefit the entire planet. India has now decided to take a step further in its fight against climate change and emerge as a global champion. The Indian government is planning to create a 1400 km-long (869 miles) and 5km (3 miles) wide green belt from Gujrat to Delhi-Haryana border, according to Times of India.

The idea is inspired by the “Great Green Wall of Africa,” a plan that was introduced a decade ago. In 2007, the African Union had launched the initiative across 20 countries to aid restoration efforts of degraded land. However, the plan never reached its target due to lack of coordination between the countries.

India plans to make this effort a national priority to achieve its goal of restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

Officials believe that having a green belt across the Aravalli Hill region — which spans from western India’s Thar desert to the green plains in the east region — will not only help reforestation efforts but act as a natural barrier to the heat and dust coming from Rajasthan and Pakistan.

Proposed green belt will span across the Aravalli Hill region. PC: Santanu Sen/ Flickr

In Rajasthan, Gujrat and Delhi, areas close to the proposed belt, 50% of the land area has already degraded and is prone to desertification. Overall, over 30% of land is thought to have been degraded in India. The current scenario, combined with the increased frequency of extreme weather events induced by climate change, had made it imperative for the government to adopt a plan as large scale as the Green Wall.

Although the plan is still in its conception stage, if successful, it could help the capital city, Delhi, to deal with its hazardous air quality, that irreversibly damages the lungs of 2.2 million or 50% of all children living in the city.

“The idea of creating a huge green belt was part of the agenda of the recently held conference (COP14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in India. It, however, could not be taken up there as final clearance is still awaited, an official who chose to anonymous told the Times of India.

The ambitious plan is likely to face hurdles but officials are excited and ambitious, after all only recently, India broke a world record in tree planting, when 80,000 Indians planted 50 million trees in just 24 hours.