Lorraine Chow / Nation of Change & teleSURtv & Chris Baynes / The Independent – 2017-07-06 01:20:24
1.5 million volunteers plant 66 million trees in 12 hours, breaking Guinness World Record
1.5 Million Volunteers Plant 66 Million Trees
in 12 hours, Breaking Guinness World Record
Lorraine Chow / Nation of Change
(July 4, 2017) — The central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh set a new Guinness World Record on Sunday after 1.5 million volunteers planted more than 66 million tree saplings in just 12 hours along the Narmada river.
The effort bested the state of Uttar Pradesh’s previous record-breaking feat, when 800,000 participants planted 50 million trees in one day in July 2016.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, boasted the achievement: “I am extremely proud to happily share that people of Madhya Pradesh successfully planted 6.63 Crore saplings today.” One crore is 10 million.
According to a press release for the occasion, the aim of the mass-planting event was to raise awareness for the nation’s “make India green again” plan. At the Paris climate conference, India pledged to increase forest cover to 95 million hectares (235 million acres) by year 2030 and is putting $6.2 billion towards the effort.
“I am greatly indebted to all who are planting trees today,” Chouhan also told India.com. “We will be contributing significantly in saving nature. By participating in a plantation, people are contributing their bit to climate change initiatives and saving the environment.”
India Sets Guinness Reforestation Record
Over 1.5 million people — including students,
housewives and government officials –
planted the tree saplings in 12 hours
teleSURtv
(July 3, 2017) — On Sunday, more than 67 million trees were planted in Madhya Pradesh in central India.
The reforestation effort, which spanned half a day, resulted in a new Guinness World Record being set. The undertaking fell within the Indian Government’s plans to combat widespread deforestation that has plagued the country.
Over 1.5 million people — including students, housewives and government officials — planted the tree saplings in 12 hours. The saplings included two-dozen varieties of plants.
The record for planting maximum saplings was previously held by Indian state Uttar Pradesh, which planted nearly 50 million trees in a span of 24 hours in July 2016.
The state chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “I am greatly indebted to all who are planting trees today. We will be contributing significantly in saving nature. By participating in a plantation, people are contributing their bit to climate change initiatives and saving the environment. The world talks of global warming & climate change, but Madhya Pradesh has taken a concrete step to deal with it.”
In accordance with the Paris Climate pact, India pledged to increase their forest cover to 95 million hectares (235 million acres or roughly 29 percent of the country’s territory) by the year 2030.
The government will be pumping $6.2 billion into the project. India made the commitment at the 2015 climate conference and signed the agreement on Earth Day 2016, which will reforest 12 percent of its lands.
As a result, similar projects are taking place across the country to create public awareness towards reforestation. Already, Kerala planted more than 10 million trees in June and Maharashtra will plant 40 million trees this year.
India Plants 66 Million Trees in 12 Hours
As Part of Record-breaking Environmental Campaign
More than 1.5 million volunteers were involved in the huge operation
Chris Baynes / The Independent
(July 3, 2017) — Volunteers in India planted more than 66 million trees in just 12 hours in a record-breaking environmental drive. About 1.5 million people were involved in the huge plantation campaign, in which saplings were placed along the Narmada river in the state of Madhya Pradesh throughout Sunday.
India committed under the Paris Agreement to increasing its forests by five million hectares before 2030 to combat climate change.
Last year, volunteers in Uttar Pradesh state set a world record by planting more than 50 million trees in one day. Observers from Guinness World Records also monitored Sunday’s plantation and are expected to confirm in the coming weeks that the effort set a new high.
The campaign was organised by the Madhya Pradesh government, with 24 distracts of the Narmada river basin chosen as planting sites to increase the saplings’ chances of survival. Volunteers planted more than 20 different species of trees.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the state’s chief minister, described the efforts as a “historic day.”
He said volunteers including children and the elderly had planted 66.3 million saplings between 7am and 7pm, adding in a tweet: “By planting trees we are not only serving Madhya Pradesh but the world at large.”
India is the world’s third largest generator of carbon emissions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the Paris climate accord after the US withdrew from the deal.
“The protection of the environment and the mother planet is an article of faith,” he said at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
(August 13, 2015) — Madhya Pradesh forest department has made it to Guinness Book of World Record for planting more than 1 crore saplings in a single day during the ‘Hariyali Mahotsav’ in 2014.
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