Breathing New Life Into Cities

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Kullu is set to develop a new city forest, joining a growing list of urban areas embracing greener initiatives under the Nagar Van Yojna. While projects like Pune’s Warje urban forest have transformed neglected spaces into thriving ecosystems, challenges like pollution, maintenance, and funding still loom large. Can urban forestry truly counterbalance the environmental challenges faced by cities today?

Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh | Source: harrisreel

Last month, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) approved a 10-hectare city forest proposal to be developed in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. Similarly, in July ’22, urban forest projects for 6 cities in Jharkhand were also approved.

These projects are being developed under the ‘Nagar Van Yojna’. The scheme, launched by the government in 2020, aims to develop 400 Nagar Vans (City Forests) and 200 Nagar Vatikas (City Gardens) by 2024-2025, with the support of the local bodies, to improve the quality of life of city dwellers and for its various ecological and climate benefits. According to the scheme guidelines, city governments and other land-owning agencies can also submit proposals through the concerned State Forest Department for financial assistance.

Source: cities4forests

Why do urban forests matter?

The scheme has also showcased the Warje urban forest in Pune as a model project which developed 16 acres of neglected land owned by the state forest department and planted ~9500 trees in the area. The neglected land has now been transformed into an area of rich biodiversity and also helps in absorbing approximately 129,000 kg of carbon dioxide and producing about 562,000 kg of oxygen per year.

MoEFCC, in a Lok Sabha reply, has said that a total of 173 project proposals have been approved under the Nagar Van Yojna in 2021-22.

Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala have the most number of approved projects. The development of these urban forests supports India’s commitment at the COP27 UN climate summit to create an additional carbon sink (a natural or artificially created environment that absorbs CO₂ from the atmosphere) of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030.

Unfavourable factors like pollution and heat waves in cities, maintenance, resources and expertise required in the municipal government, financial limitations, etc. are seen as challenges while developing city forests. Despite the challenges, urban forestry has innumerable benefits. To read more about City Forests, visit.

Does your city have an Urban Forest?

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