U S MOINUDDIN SPEAKS ABOUT ONE TREE BY ONE PERSON

BANGALORE(MT NEWS): Meet the multitalented U S Moinuddin, a hardcore environmentalist, author, educationist, motivational speaker and a social activist. He candidly speaks to Jeelani M N and discusses about One Tree by One Person and its role in making the earth greener and safer.

What is One Tree by One Person ?

One Tree by One Person, a revolutionary movement to make India and the world greener was introduced by environmentalist U S Moinuddin in the year 2002. The agenda of this movement is to encourage tree planting and educate the masses about the role of trees in our ecosystem.

People love trees, but most of them do not make an effort to plant them as they get engrossed in their day-to-day activities. To make tree planting more realistic and easier, U S Moinuddin began to promote the idea of “One Tree by One person,” according to which, a person is required to plant at least one sapling during their lifetime and take care of it. As of 2019 the population of Bangalore is 1.29 Crore, if every resident takes an initiative of planting one sapling, then the city will have  over 1 Crore trees in addition to the trees that already exist. If every Indian takes an initiative of planting a sapling, then there would be 137 crore trees. Likewise, if every person across the earth plants a sapling, then there will be 7.7 billion trees in addition to the trees that already exist.

 In an overcrowded city like Bangalore, how does one plant so many trees? That is the usual question asked by many. “Nature gives us varieties of trees. Where there is more space you can plant a Rain tree, Sausage tree, Melia Dubia, Tabebuia Rosea,  Gulmohar,  Peltophorum Pterocarpum(Copper Pod) Mango, Tamarind, Cannon Ball tree(Nagalinga) and other big trees, where there is less space you can plant Silver Oak, Honge, Singapore Cherry and other small and medium size trees.” Moinuddin answers.

This movement is attracting people of all age groups. Students across schools and colleges, office employees, housewives, factory workers and others have sworn to plant trees and make our environment healthy and beautiful. U.S. Moinuddin has been constantly meeting people and encouraging them to support this campaign where one can witness a Greener India and a Greener Earth . He has also planted a large number of saplings and also takes out rallies and distributes saplings for free.

One Tree by One Person is also inspiring people in Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Bahrain, Poland, Russia, New Zealand and America.

“Global Warming is a serious problem; the Earth is becoming warmer and warmer as a result of the toxic gases generated from the vehicles, forest fires, factories and deforestation. As a result, the Polar ice caps can melt, rising the sea levels. When the sea levels rise, islands such as Lakshadweep, Maldives, and hundreds of other islands including the Southern part of India, which is a Peninsula can get submerged under water. Planting trees can slow down the global warming process to a very large extent.” Moinuddin further states.

With the concept of One Tree by One Person, the deserts can become green, the barren lands can become productive, the temperature in the cities will decrease, and the trees will attract rain replenishing the decreasing water table. This is one campaign that will truly make the Earth a greener place to live in.

One Tree By One Person is a vision oriented Movement. It is not about a single person or a group of people taking an initiative of planting trees, but it is about every person across the earth, becoming responsible citizens of the planet, for a greener and safer earth.

One tree by one person was initiated back in the year 2002, did you ever think that a movement like this would become a necessity for Bangalore as it is slowly losing its Garden City tag?

 The concept of One Tree by One Person is a realistic solution not only to Bangalore, but to every town and city. From the 80’s, Bangalore has witnessed a great ‘transition’ with the inflow of people from different cities and towns. With the huge inflow of people, new problems did arise in terms of providing infrastructure. As of 2019, the population of the city has surpassed the 12 million mark, and about 8 million vehicles move on the roads, every day. Many of the roads are small, and to ease out the traffic congestion, many trees were mercilessly cut to widen the roads. Plantations and farm lands were made into residential layouts to house the huge population. Everywhere, huge trees were chopped in the name of development.  Eventually, when the temperature reached 40 degrees C in the year 2016, many people began to realize the importance of trees in our ecosystem.

You have been working towards building a better environment? What is the difference you see in Bangaloreans towards the environment?

Bangaloreans are very passionate about trees. We have a culture, where trees like Coconut, Mango, Guava, Sapota, Jackfruit , Papaya, were often planted in front of the houses or backyards. Very often, the plots were big. Now, due to the scarcity of the land, in a 1200 Sft  plot, two to three families dwell, in two or three floors that are constructed. Hence, the scarcity of land has forced many of the Bangaloreans to drift away from the tree culture, which was predominant over the generations.

What has been your biggest strength and weakness towards the movement?

My greatest strength is my ability to think big; One Tree by One Person intends to involve every human across the planet to participate in planting trees and become responsible citizens of the planet. Internet , including the social networking sites have been an effective tool in propagating the movement across many countries. Though, One Tree by One Person is a colossal dream, the response shown by people towards the movement is very encouraging.  Every human should realize that it is their country and it is their planet. When it comes to weakness, I don’t think there has been any.

How difficult was it to help the farmers in the drought hit areas of Karnataka, what methods were implemented from your side?

Very often, farmers from different parts of the state communicate with me, they ask me about the different varieties of saplings that can be planted, in the regions. Some, discuss about fast growing trees, some want fruit yielding trees where as some other want shady trees.

What kind of difficulty agriculturist face, as you have closely associated with them, one way the government can help?

Labour is the major problem these days, finding people to work on the land is a rather expensive and cumbersome process. Earlier, men, women and children from the family used to work on the fields and hence, the scarcity of the labour was not felt. Now, many move to distant cities and towns seeking a better life.  Government does have a large number of schemes for the farmers. But, the farmers should approach the concerning authorities and obtain the benefits. Strangely, not many farmers are aware of the schemes the government initiates.  For the plantations, drip irrigation and using of sprinklers in fields can be a good solution to ease out the problem of manpower.

How difficult is it to work as an environmentalist and what fears you face about the future of your city?

Trees are my passion, contributing my efforts to safeguard the environment is a routine, which I sincerely enjoy. Often, people invite me to different localities, to gain information about the trees that can be planted in their areas. Eventually, the feeling is enormous, when I realize that people love trees, it is just that somebody needs to initiate them to plant and protect the saplings until they become full fledge trees.

There is a need to make Bangalore green, what advice would you give Bangaloreans?

Safeguarding the environment is the duty of every human. Every individual should plant a sapling and support the cause of One Tree by One Person, for a greener city and a greener earth. Planting a sapling is a part of the work, but protecting it, until it becomes full fledge tree, is a real challenge. This can be easily achieved when we treat the sapling as though it is a member of our

family. Also, the existing trees need to be cared, respected and protected.

You have published a Self Help Book- GREAT THOUGHTS, will we see any work on the environment, or any new work in the pipeline?

Yes, my first book was Dreams, Action and Success, which was followed by Great Thoughts, these books have also been translated in Kannada and Tamil. My third book Revelations from a Cave will be published soon, I have often been receiving calls and emails from my fans, inquiring about the new book. A thought on writing a book on trees and the environment does linger in my mind, which I might start writing along with my fourth book which I intend to start after Revelations from a Cave is published.

 You are a multi faceted man, a writer , environmentalist, teacher, Social Activist and a father which role do you enjoy the most ?

I fit into all these roles, very easily. Writing, trees, teaching, are all a part of my everyday process which I wholeheartedly enjoy.  I am a father of three kids, the role is a pretty challenging one, I need to give equal attention to all the three, little bit of extra caring towards one, creates resentment from the other two.

Any new projects or future plans to help Bangalore?

Conserving the environment is a real challenging process, which can be easily achieved when every individual participates in it. With consistency in thoughts and actions, Bangalore will always remain a Garden City.