The pressing need today is to preserve and maintain green covers and forests to ensure a stable environment, clean water, and in the long run, human survival, finds out Diptiman Dewan
Irregular rainfall patterns, periods of intense cold in the winters and increasing temperature during summers have become a regular phenomenon in most urban areas in India and across the world. Add to that the diminishing levels of ground water , melting of Himalayan glaciers and polar ice caps — mankind has a reason to worry about its future.
INCREASING URBANISATION
In India, between six and seven million people are added annually to urban areas. This results in the increase in developmental activities in cities, the fallout of which is an intense pressure on green spaces, besides deforestation and degradation of forests and ridges. Also, the demand for water, construction of dams, demand for minerals like coal, as well as for forest products and land, is increasingly resulting in diminishing forest cover, both, in quality and quantity across the country and the world.
NEED FOR GREEN
A healthy forest recycles nutrients, regulates climate, stabilises the soil, treats waste, stores water, purifies air, and provides habitat to millions of life-forms . It provides clean air to breathe, maintains ground-water levels besides increasing water quality by breaking down pollutants and nutrients, as well as regularises rainfall and climate patterns — thus, helping to maintain the general equilibrium around it. Even the natural phenomenon of shedding of leaves by trees ensures that the soil nutrients are recycled through decomposition . The presence of green covers has a calming effect on the environment around as they absorb noise, improve aesthetics and keep the air clean.
WAY OUT
A forest or green cover in every city or urban dwelling is a must for the environment. The Ridge in Delhi, Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore, or the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai, are examples of natural forests and green covers which help sustain the urban environment as well as provide habitats for numerous species of plants, animals, along with providing for ground water levels, which is critical in today's scenario.
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