Trees for Villagers

Project Purpose 
Trees for Rural Communities

Location
Planting of 10,000 saplings in the community lands of Saragundlapalle, Kothamiddi, Dhaniyanicheruvu of Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Aim

• Reduce forest fires.
• Balance overuse of the forest products.
• Protect the habitat for distinctive wildlife species.
• Contribute towards the various environmental issues.
• Provide livelihood opportunities to the people.

Why trees?
The state faces bouts of forest fires, that severely hampers the growth of new trees, changes the nutrient composition of the soil, delays the establishment of a new crop and triggers soil erosion, according to the Andhra Pradesh State Forest Report, 2012 by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department.  Thinning forests increases the chance of fire by reducing the green cover and facilitating the flow of breeze. Also, it leaves flammable debris (Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project, 1996). As the population around the forest grows, the resources become more and more scarce, thus forcing the community to venture deeper inside the forest, in search of livelihood sources resulting in man-animal conflict. The March 19, 2018 issue of the Hindu reported an attack on a 60-year-old man while collecting fodder from the forest. Another report of 18th June 2017 mentioned an attack by a wild boar on a 30-year-old man, when he went hunting. The trees provide great returns in the form of NTFPs that provide livelihood opportunities to the people. The wildlife native to that area also benefits from the trees, as they contribute to their habitat. 

Flora
Tree species that would be planted here- Indian beech (Pongamia pinnata), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Siamese cassia, kassod tree (Senna siamea), Ficus spp., Teak (Tectona grandis), Tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica), Custard apple (Annona squamosa), Indian plum (Ziziphus mauritiana) and gum arabic tree (Acacia nilotica). The red sandalwood tree (Pterocarpus santalinus), is a notable tree species here.

Fauna

The project area will provide habitats for a wide variety of fauna, including the threatened and endemic bird-The Yellow-throated Bulbul, the near-threatened- Black-headed Ibis and Indian Black Turtle, etc.

Social Impact
The impact of the project has been widely noticed in increasing the green cover of the area. The tree species planted are rich sources of Non-Timber Forest Products, especially from the trees like teak, gum Arabic, neem, kassod along with the fruit bearing trees of tamarind, custard apple and plum. The community receives great returns from these trees both for their personal use as well as in the form of livelihood. The trees planted in the public land will prevent the people from venturing into the forest thus preventing them from wild animal attacks. At the same time more number of trees will mean lesser pressure on the existing trees for NTFPs. Most importantly the density of the trees will help in curbing the number of forest fires (increased tree density will reduce wind speeds thereby slowing down the rate at which forest fires spread) preventing damage to trees as well as the secondary damage like soil erosion caused to the soil.   

Adoption Summary: