ECOLOGICAL HERITAGE

Himalayas are Sacred, Divine & Lifeline Crown of the world. An intrinsic part of  our ’Crowned Glory’ are Mountain people,  as off-shoots of diverse Himalayan Ecosystems. Nature and mountain people are interdependent as ecosystems, and live in sync in a symbiotic relationship. Himalayan Ecosystems include both living things (plants, animals and organisms) and non-living elements of the environment (weather, water, soil, climate, atmosphere, etc.) interacting reciprocally. We often define living things as the biotic part of ecosystems, while the nonliving part is called the abiotic one. 
From this approach evolves the concept of Ecosystem Services; to respect Natural Resources as services by Nature contributing to human welfare being (spiritual & physical) & basic necessities (goods, materials), from the point of view of conservation of ecosystems & environment stewardship , ecological equity, harmony & co-existence. 
 In this context, Ecosystem Services & Environment, is a program to bring together HUM Partners for the following objectives;
  • To create, outline & collate a comprehensive Roadmap for Himalayan Natural Resource Management & Ecosystem Restoration.
  • The areas of focus under this program include; Forest Restoration, Water, Clean Energy, Waste Management, Agriculture.
  • Forest Regeneration programs, with a focus on restoring pine forests with indigenous tree species

Himalayan Natural Resource Management

  • Training local youths YLTP youth to become Vann Sevaks on forest conservation, regeneration & natural resource management.
  • Afforestation to protect landslides, planting broad leaf trees species on hill sides to prevent soil erosion & reduce human & wildlife conflict by planting food trees in forests.
  • Finding economic utilities for Pine Needles to promote indigenous forest regeneration & prevent forest fires.
  • Organising capacity building sessions for vann panchayats on forest conservation.
  • Create demo model sites for training village youth on Agroforestry.

WATER: River Basin Management Program

  • Select and train youth, to become Jal Sevaks, Barefoot Hydrologists & Barefoot Masons.
  • Prepare village wise Water Security Plans to create awareness amongst villagers and a need to conserve water.
  • Setting Up Blue Schools & Blue villages that harness rain water for awareness & training on Domestic & Institutional Rain Water Harvesting.
  • Tree Plantation (Broad Leaf Tree Species) on river beds & Construction of Recharge Wells.
  • Spring Cleaning & Recharging, to train barefoot hydrologists in undertaking surveys, map catchment areas and make recharge zones.
  • Reviving/upgrading traditional water mills.

Waste Management

  • Undertake Projects in coordination with Municipal Corporations of Hill Cities like Almora, Pithoragarh, Nainital, Shimla, Shillong, Palampur, Dharamshala, Leh & Srinagar.
  • Village Wise Awareness Campaign on Home Composting
  • Waste Management Projects in Char Dham.
  • Pine Needle Briquetting Project.

Clean Energy

  • Pine Needles Project: Converting Pine Needles into Bio Fuel, Briquettes & Furniture.
  • PICO Hydro Projects for generating energy for domestic and commercial use.
  • Hydraulic Ram Pumps Project for drinking water and low cost irrigation.

Mission Green Himalayas

The global green cover has been rapidly  depleting over the past decade. India itself has lost a tree cover of 16 lakh hectares in the last 17 years. Forests are home to many indigenous species which are critical   in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. With fewer trees, endangered ecosystems, and the climate crisis looming large, we need to collectively make up for the lost green cover.

We are striving towards a greener Himalayas with our large-scale regular tree plantation drives. Over the years through the Mission Green Earth Campaign we have planted 9.6 million trees worldwide. Now through Mission Green Himalayas we intend to plant 1 Million Trees in the Himalayas over the next 10 Years . Moreover, tree plantation is a major activity for the water conservation projects in India as trees help in conserving rainwater, a crucial process in recharging the water table. The activity not only helps in rejuvenating water bodies but also helps  in   rejuvenating air and soil.

 

Strategy:

Planting trees and ensuring that the survival rate is high is one of the responsibilities that The Art of Living takes seriously. The trees we have planted have a 90% survival rate. This has been possible because of our 3- step strategy:

  • Planting saplings and plants and using drip irrigation
  • Digging deep trenches to protect from animals
  • Daily monitoring to avoid unforeseen mishaps

For any inquiries call us at: +91 9435700011