A 25-year-long reforestation project, which kicked off in 1996 at Darjeeling to arrest deforestation, has paid off. A report by Deepanwita Gita Niyogi
After his retirement as a tea garden worker, Birbahadur Yogi found a new vocation in life. In 2010, Yogi, a resident of Darjeeling district in West Bengal, started working with WWF-India on a hill restoration project which he continued actively for the next four years along with many of his companions.
A resident of Phoobsering tea estate area, which lies at an elevation of 1089 metres, Yogi was already a member of Sunakhari, an active self-help group in his village, with a population of about 2000. This helped him to work at the community level, the 72-year-old man said.
“I participated in the plantation work in Phoobsering which was carried out over an area of 20 hectares to restore the hills after I retired from work. Over the years, several community groups were also involved in the plantation activity carried out at various locations across Darjeeling,” Yogi said.
His village is about 13 km from Darjeeling. Most people in Yogi’s village work in tea gardens. Some have agricultural lands too where they grow vegetables for daily use.
Reviving the hills
Pasang Lepcha, who worked on the WWF-India restoration project report, Reforesting the Darjeeling Hills (1996-2022), on the completion of 25 years, informed that restoration started way back in 1996 to revive degraded land and increase green cover in the Darjeeling Hills.
Pemba Tshering Bhutia from WWF-India, who has been with the non-profit for 22 years, admitted that high demand for fuelwood led to deforestation in the first place. The demand escalates during the long and harsh winter months.
“To control the situation, a plantation took place, where community members involved in the work planted local tree species. Now, with the arrival of gas cylinders, the pressure on forest for firewood has somewhat reduced,” Bhutia said.
According to Lepcha, restoring the hills through plantation was the main aim. Tree plantation happened in tea gardens, army lands, forest areas and community lands. One special place covered under the project was Margaret’s Hope tea estate.
The project, which has been successful, may continue for five more years. The organisation has project nurseries for the purpose from where saplings are supplied. When the project was launched, 14 nurseries were established. At present, only two nurseries function. Over the year, a total area of 510 hectares has been covered. It is a huge area to be covered in the hill slopes where there are multiple challenges.
