KSLSA & Dhare Foundation – 5 Crore Tree Afforestation and Ecological Restoration Mission

Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) in collaboration with the Dhare Foundation, is launching a large-scale environmental initiative to plant 5 Crore saplings across Karnataka, with 2 Crore saplings in and around
Bengaluru under the “Green Ring Bengaluru” mission and the remaining 3 Crore across other districts of the State.

This initiative is designed not as a conventional plantation drive, but as a long- term ecological restoration program focused on biodiversity, climate resilience, and water sustainability.

1) Implementation Strategy – Geography, Scale and Execution

The project will be implemented in a structured and scientific manner across Karnataka:
Bengaluru – Green Ring (2 Crore Saplings):
Plantation will be carried out within a 50 km radius of Vidhana Soudha, divided into three zones:
 Urban Core (0–10 km): 20 lakh saplings
 Peri-Urban Zone (10–30 km): 80 lakh saplings
 Rural/Forest Belt (30–50 km): 1 crore saplings
Rest of Karnataka (3 Crore Saplings): Plantation will be undertaken across districts through:
 Government lands and institutional campuses
 Lake buffer zones
 Degraded lands and agro-forestry models
 Road corridors and public spaces
Execution Framework:
 Scientific plantation methods (Miyawaki, agro-forestry, avenue plantation based on geography)
 Soil preparation, planting, mulching, and watering protocols
 Continuous monitoring through GPS tagging and geo-mapping
 Monthly tracking of survival and growth

 Community participation and institutional collaboration KSLSA will play a critical facilitative role by coordinating with District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) to:
 Secure permissions from local authorities
 Enable coordination with Panchayats, District Administration, and Government Departments
 Support ground-level implementation across districts

2) Why Miyawaki Method in Green Ring Bengaluru
The Green Ring Bengaluru mission adopts the Miyawaki method to address the ecological crisis caused by rapid urbanisation.
a) Creating Biodiversity Hubs With increasing construction activity in and around Bengaluru, natural
habitats for birds, butterflies, bees, and insects are disappearing. Miyawaki forests:
 Create dense, multi-layered vegetation
 Provide food, shelter, and nesting spaces
 Act as mini-forests that become natural homes for living species Protecting biodiversity is essential to maintain the cycle of life—pollination, soil regeneration, and ecological balance depend on the presence of diverse species.
b) Natural Bio-Walls Against Pollution Miyawaki forests function as green bio-walls:
 Dense foliage traps dust, PM2.5, and PM10 particles
 Reduces spread of air pollution
 Improves urban air quality
c) Higher Carbon Absorption compared to conventional vegetation, Miyawaki plantations:
 Grow faster and denser
 Absorb significantly more CO2
 Contribute to climate change mitigation

d) Reduction of Urban Heat (Cooling Effect)

 Dense canopy cover provides continuous shade and reduces direct solar radiation
 Evapotranspiration from thick vegetation cools the surrounding air
 Helps reduce the urban heat island effect, leading to a noticeable drop in
local temperatures
 Contributes to making surrounding areas more livable, especially in highly concretized zones
e) Groundwater Recharge
 Dense root systems slow down rainwater runoff
 Improve soil infiltration
 Enhance groundwater recharge

3) Moving Beyond Monoculture – Native Ecological Planting
This 5 Crore plantation initiative is fundamentally different from traditional plantation models.
 It avoids monoculture plantations such as areca, coconut, and acacia,
which:
o Do not support biodiversity
o Fail to attract pollinators
o Do not create ecological balance
 Instead, the project focuses on:
o 100% indigenous species
o Around 90% fruiting and flowering trees
o Supporting birds, bees, butterflies, and other species

In large monoculture plantations like acacia, it is often observed that even honeybee nests are absent, highlighting the lack of ecological value. This initiative aims to reverse that trend by creating living ecosystems, not just tree cover.

4) Lake Rejuvenation – Integrated Water Sustainability
Karnataka has more than 45,000 tanks (lakes), many of which are degraded. As part of this initiative:
 Dhare Foundation will undertake efforts towards:

o Cleaning and desilting lakes
o Restoring feeder channels
o Strengthening lake ecosystems
o Plantation around lake peripheries

This will help:
 Improve groundwater recharge
 Restore aquatic biodiversity
 Support agriculture and farmers
 Reduce flood risks and improve water availability

5) Resource Mobilisation and Public Participation
This mission is designed as a collaborative effort involving institutions, corporates, and citizens.
 CSR partners, institutions, and individual donors are invited to contribute
 Donor names will be displayed at plantation sites
 GPS coordinates of plantation locations will be made publicly available through the website for transparency and monitoring
 Community participation will be encouraged to ensure long-term sustainability

Conclusion
The 5 Crore plantation initiative by KSLSA and Dhare Foundation is a transformative step towards restoring Karnataka’s ecological balance. By combining scientific plantation methods, biodiversity restoration, pollution
control, temperature reduction, and groundwater recharge, this mission goes beyond planting trees—it aims to rebuild self-sustaining ecosystems for future generations.
Along with afforestation, the integrated focus on lake rejuvenation across more than 45,000 tanks will revive Karnataka’s traditional water systems, strengthen groundwater reserves, and restore aquatic biodiversity. Together, tree plantation and water body restoration form a unified ecological strategy to ensure long-term environmental sustainability for the State.