The Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI) is a programme initiated by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in an effort to synergize the collaboration among the Nations of China, India and Nepal, working for the conservation and development of the vital landscape. The programme is focusing on five areas -
The Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL) is an area encompassing over 31,000 km2 in a remote south-western portion of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China and adjacent area in India and Nepal. This region forms an ecosystem vital to millions of people in all three countries, being the source of four important rivers—Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra and Karnali, and is an essential habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna, including several endangered species. As the landscape interlinks trans-boundary ecosystems, any disturbance to the ecosystem at any point impacts the entire KSL.
The Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board is a collaborator with this project, responsible for the implementation of the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) component of the project.
A one-day event on ‘Planting & Adoption of Sacred Trees’ was organized by the Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board on 19th July, 2013 in three community parks at located in Indira Nagar colony, Dehradun. The project was sanctioned under the National Environment Awareness Campaign 2012-13.
The objective of this event was to promote awareness among the residents of the said colony regarding the importance of biological diversity and its conservation, particularly in urban areas. Conservation of flora & fauna/biodiversity cannot be limited to the responsibility of the Forest Department alone, but has to be made the mass movement. With this objective, the concept of ‘Plant and Adopt a tree’ was implemented.
The event involved ‘planting and adoption’ of 105 saplings of following tree species with known religious value by the residents of the Indira Nagar colony - Rudraksh (Elaeocarpus ganitrus), Amla (Emblica officinalis), Baheda (Terminalia bellirica), Kachnar (Bauhinia variegata), Ashok (Polyalthia pendula), Maulshri (Mimusops elengi), & Golden Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris).
To ensure the protection of the saplings from cattle and other forms of disturbance, metal tree guards (also procured free of cost from the Forest Department) were placed around each sapling.
The event saw an enthusiastic participation from the residents of Indira Nagar colony, particularly from the families residing around each of the 03 community parks, where the plantation was carried out. People were asked to ‘plant and adopt’ one tree of their choice in locations closest to their house around the periphery of the park. Each participant that planted a sapling was presented with a copy of a book titled “Taru Sinchalan” (in Hindi) that provides information on the value of planting trees as available in religious books. A leaflet titled “Ek Vriksh - Dus Putra Saman” (also in Hindi), providing information on the religious importance of the different species of trees that were being planted and the list of trees associated with the 27 ‘Nakshatras’ (a term for the lunar mansion in Hindu Astrology) was also distributed among the participants.
Former Chairperson of Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha and now local MLA Dr. Harbans Kapoor also participated in the event by planting a Rudraksh tree at the community park located behind the CBI campus. He appreciated the efforts of the Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board in organizing the event and encouraged the local residents to see this exercise through to its entirety, by making sure that the trees that they planted survive in the coming years.