Shyam Sunder Jyani

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Shyam Sunder Jyani (born 1979[1]) is an Indian environmentalist and academic, best known for afforestation efforts in the Indian state of Rajasthan. He is presently an associate professor of sociology at Dungar College, Bikaner.[2]

Biography[]

He originated from a rural farming family in the village of 12 TK, Sri Ganganagar district.[3][4] His involvement in environmental activities began in 2003, when he and some students revived a number of dying neem trees within Dungar College's campus.[5][6] Afterwards, he began campaigning door-to-door for tree planting in Bikaner,[6] and in 2006, he formulated the idea of "Familial Forestry", which involves local families by encouraging them to plant fruit trees at their homes as a "green member". The idea was launched at the village of , where 120 households were part of the pilot project. The choice of fruit trees allowed the anti-desertification campaign to serve an additional purpose of improving the local villagers' nutrition.[7][8] According to Jyani, educating the families on the benefits and the after-planting care of the trees increased the saplings' survival rate from 20–30% to 90%.[8]

In order to further extend the campaign's reach, he incorporated the activity of tree planting in activities like Diwali.[4] A mobile app has also been released to increase awareness of the afforestation drive and its benefits.[7] On Gandhi's 150th birthday in 2019, he enrolled 150 schools in Rajasthan and their students in a tree-planting drive.[9][10] His efforts have seen planting of more than 2.5 million saplings in north-western Rajasthan by 1 million families across 15,000 villages by 2021,[11] with the greenery being visible from satellite imagery as a "green wall" at the margins of the Thar Desert.[10] Most of the plants and necessary irrigation tanks were purchased on his own expense.[3][9] In a 2021 interview with Deutsche Welle, he has also stated plans to expand tree-planting efforts to major cities.[12]

Awards and honors[]

In recognition of his work, he was awarded the Indira Gandhi National Service Scheme Award in 2012,[5][9] and later the Land for Life Award from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 2021.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ "On My Radar: Hema Malini Becomes 'Durga' In Varanasi". The Sunday Guardian. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Government Dungar College, Bikaner – Faculty Profile" (PDF). Dungar College. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Desert areas of Rajasthan bloom under afforestation efforts". Mongabay India. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b "For this Rajasthan village, green Diwali means shunning firecrackers, planting trees". Hindustan Times. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Green Hero: राजस्थान में हरियाली के लिए एक प्रोफ़ेसर 15 साल से लगा है, परिवारों को पेड़ों से जोड़ता है". Indiatimes.com (in Hindi). 2 October 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  6. ^ a b Dutta, Prabhash K. (5 June 2020). "World Environment Day special: A sociology professor is making deserts bloom as forests in Rajasthan". India Today. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b "A sociology teacher in Rajasthan's Bikaner driving forestry revolution". Hindustan Times. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Familal Forest' a boon for Bikaner". The Times of India. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Bhattacharya, Imana (3 October 2019). "Saplings of change". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  10. ^ a b Chatterjee, Dev (24 January 2020). "Green wall of Bikaner: Professor plants trees to prevent desertification". Business Standard. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Indian climate activist gets prestigious UN land conservation award". India Today. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Familial Forestry in India: Caring for trees like they're family". DW. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
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