An earlier report (The Living Planet Report 2018) warned that tens of thousands of species have gone extinct and wildlife populations have dropped by 60% in the past 50 years. For thousands of years, Indians have celebrated sacred groves (forest fragments that communities protect because of religious connotations). The sacred groves find mention in ancient Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts. We must designate at least five hectares of sacred groves either on degraded village wasteland or on individual plots of agricultural land especially if it is degraded. Surely creating new forests on degraded farmlands in villages can be made a national priority in our effort to re-green this planet.

Source: Hindustan Times May 14, 2019 03:45 UTC