Green warrior goes Miyawaki way to shore up Hyderabad lung space

Hyderabad: To increase green cover in urban localities and also to encourage native plantation, Mahesh Talari, an environmental enthusiast, has adopted the Miyawaki plantation method and has been converting open plots into green lands.

This method is best suited for urban areas, as it helps transform degraded plots into lush green spaces. Using this method will help increase biodiversity, enhance carbon sequestration, urban greening, and results in an improved ecosystem. The growth of these plantations is ten times faster than a natural forest. The Miyawaki method was developed by Akira Miyawaki in the 1980s. In this method, only indigenous trees and plants are used to ensure that the forest is in harmony with the local ecosystem. Trees are planted very close to each other, which promotes faster growth due to competition for light and resources. Also, growing different plant species closely aids in creating multiple layers such as shrubs, sub-trees, and canopy trees, mimicking a natural forest structure.

Mahesh Talari, founder of Ever Green Again, said, “In our urban areas, we can see a lot of open plots lying empty or filled with trash. Seeing this, a thought came to my mind that why cannot we adopt the Miyawaki plantation method, as this method focuses on recreating natural forests with native species, allowing them to grow quickly and become self-sustaining in a short period. So in 2020, by adopting this plantation method, I started planting saplings in open government plots in the city including at Uppal, Lingampally, Cherapally and BHEL.

Till date, we have planted 30,000 to 40,000 saplings and all of them are native plants, including Jammi Chettu (Prosopis cineraria) Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) Neem (Azadirachta indica). While growing trees, we use only organic fertilisers such as vermicompost, etc in place of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Miyawaki forests can grow 10 times faster than conventional forests and become self-sustaining within three years. The forest is maintained for the first two to three years until it becomes self-sustaining. In this green mission, the Police department and GHMC are supporting us.”

On urban plantation, he said, “The government is encouraging plantation, but mostly in urban areas, we find avenue plantation. In this method, foreign plant species are used and their lifespan is of less duration. So it will better if the State and Central government encourages Miyawaki plantation in urban areas. In the coming days I am planning to take forward this plantation method to other States across India.”