Dol ka Badh, Jaipur’s naturally grown forest reserve of some 105 acres that has taken root and thrived over the last three decades or thereabouts, is the focus of a new battle that is receiving national attention. The fate of the Pink City's last green lung now lies between the rising crescendo of a movement trying to protect it and the bulldozers determined to flatten it for structures that will include a mall, a fintech park and residential buildings.

The mall, tech park and other buildings are part of a largescale commercial project that is essential for economic growth and job creation, argues the State represented by the Rajasthan Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO). Opponents say these structures can be put up elsewhere and should not remove or in any manner disturb the forest that is home to 2,400 trees, over 80 bird species (some of them endangered, many migratory), and native wildlife including Nilgai, porcupine, mongoose, snakes, peacocks and a wide variety of unusual butterflies.

The movement to preserve what is a rare gem of nature in the heart of an urban centre has echoes in other movements that have risen from the grass roots to resist top down, environment-unfriendly development agenda in other parts of the country. In that sense, the movement in Jaipur has echoes of prolonged efforts to save the Aarey forest in Mumbai which has had to make space for a metro rail car shed, or protests against the planned cycle walk through Jahanpanah forest in South Delhi, or the case of the Khalanga Reserve Forest in Dehradun, which is threatened by a water reservoir project that would require cutting approximately 2,000 Sal trees.

Urban forests provide a range of valuable ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, improved air and water quality, and reduced noise pollution. In Mumbai, for example, anyone who visited Aarey forest before many trees were cut down noticed a clear drop in temperature all year round; the cooler and cleaner air drew thousands to the area just to breathe better and get away from the rush of the ‘Urbs Prima in Indis’. 

Larger role for forests

Far away from Jaipur, the city of Kochi is experiencing flooding and extreme heat risks. The increasing heat stress comes from the city’s dwindling tree cover caused by unplanned urban expansion. Kochi’s susceptibility to these hazards is also on account of its dense population, coastal geography and limited adaptive capacity.   Estimates from satellite data reflect that approximately 31% of the city's population is exposed to temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and about 26% of the city's population lives within flood plains. Local authorities and leaders are seeking a larger role for forests in the city’s new disaster management and climate change adaptation plan. The Kochi Municipal Corporation is now working with local community-based organisations like Kudumbashree, a Kerala State’s women-led poverty eradication mission, and other groups like Cities4Forests to promote planting trees and reactivating forestry. Kochi, Mumbai and Bengaluru are three Indian metros that have joined Cities4Forests, a global alliance that helps cities around the world better conserve, manage and restore nature.

Nagrika, an organisation looking at urban governance and development, has explored the issue of urban tree cover loss and highlighted the importance of urban forestry for low-carbon cities. The challenges and benefits of urban forestry are a complex system but there is no getting away from the well accepted and evidence-based view that loss of tree cover can exacerbate urban heat islands, as seen in the case of Kochi. Urban heat islands lead to higher temperatures and increased energy consumption for cooling.

Many people don’t associate cities with trees, and don't figure that urban areas are dependent on healthy forests. Trees within cities reduce heat, recharge the soil and water and provide spaces for recreation.  Nearby trees in the watersheds around cities filter drinking water and help prevent flooding and landslides.

Reverence for nature

The grassroots movements taking shape, like the one in Jaipur, tell us that the issues of the environment are increasingly resonating with ordinary people. Ordinary citizens, particularly the youth, are tending to stand up for the rights of nature, for their right to breathe clean air and live with nature around them, even in crowded urban landscapes. They are also sensitive to the long-term impacts of climate change and are willing to put in the effort to stand up and resist development that hurts the environment.

This is an important socio-political change that must not be missed. It in fact builds on the ethos of India and its traditions, which show reverence and respect for nature, with every mountain and river often recognised as a place for prayer or a space for quiet contemplation. Reverence for nature comes to this land from the Isho Upanishad: Isha vasyam idam sarvam yat kincha jagatyam jagat, Tena tyaktena bhunjitha ma gridhah kasyasvid dhanam, which loosely translated means "All that is on Earth is enveloped by the Lord. Enjoy by renunciation…”

(The writer is the Managing Editor of The Billion Press. Views expressed are personal. By special arrangement with The Billion Press)