Shyam Sunder Jyani (born 1979[1]) is an Indian environmentalist and academic, best known for afforestation efforts in the Indian state of Rajasthan. He is presently an associate professor of sociology at Dungar College, Bikaner.[2]

Biography

He originated from a rural farming family in the village of 12 TK, Sri Ganganagar district.[3][4] His involvement in environmental activities began in 2003, when he and some students revived a number of dying neem trees within Dungar College's campus.[5][6] According to Jyani in a 2023 interview, his initial efforts faced initial resistance from other teachers (typically members of the upper caste, accusing him of attempting to steal college land), but received support from students, especially those hailing from Other Backward Class and scheduled castes.[7]

Afterwards, he began campaigning door-to-door for tree planting in Bikaner,[6] and in 2006, he formulated the idea of "Familial Forestry", which involves local families by encouraging them to plant fruit trees at their homes as a "green member". The idea was launched at the village of Himtasar, where 120 households were part of the pilot project. The choice of fruit trees allowed the anti-desertification campaign to serve an additional purpose of improving the local villagers' nutrition.[8][9] According to Jyani, educating the families on the benefits and the after-planting care of the trees increased the saplings' survival rate from 20–30% to 90%.[9]

In order to further extend the campaign's reach, he incorporated the activity of tree planting in activities like Diwali.[4] A mobile app has also been released to increase awareness of the afforestation drive and its benefits.[8] On Gandhi's 150th birthday in 2019, he enrolled 150 schools in Rajasthan and their students in a tree-planting drive.[10][11] His efforts have seen planting of more than 2.5 million saplings in north-western Rajasthan by 1 million families across 15,000 villages by 2021,[12] with the greenery being visible from satellite imagery as a "green wall" at the margins of the Thar Desert.[11] By 2023, 3.8 million saplings had been planted.[7] Most of the plants and necessary irrigation tanks were purchased on his own expense.[3][10] In a 2021 interview with Deutsche Welle, he has also stated plans to expand tree-planting efforts to major cities.[13]

Promotion of millets

In 2023, the International Year of Millets, Jyani began to promote the use of millets, especially in traditional rituals such as marriage ceremonies and religious fairs.[14] He also orchestrated an inaugural "Raabri Day" on 23 May 2023, with Raabri being a millet-based drink.[15][16]

Awards and honors

In recognition of his work, he was awarded the Indira Gandhi National Service Scheme Award in 2012,[5][10] and later the Land for Life Award from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 2021.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "On My Radar: Hema Malini Becomes 'Durga' In Varanasi". The Sunday Guardian. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Government Dungar College, Bikaner – Faculty Profile" (PDF). Dungar College. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Desert areas of Rajasthan bloom under afforestation efforts". Mongabay India. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  4. 1 2 "For this Rajasthan village, green Diwali means shunning firecrackers, planting trees". Hindustan Times. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Green Hero: राजस्थान में हरियाली के लिए एक प्रोफ़ेसर 15 साल से लगा है, परिवारों को पेड़ों से जोड़ता है". Indiatimes.com (in Hindi). 2 October 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  6. 1 2 Dutta, Prabhash K. (5 June 2020). "World Environment Day special: A sociology professor is making deserts bloom as forests in Rajasthan". India Today. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  7. 1 2 Zaffar, Hanan (6 January 2023). "Meet the Tree Man of India's Thar desert". FairPlanet. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  8. 1 2 "A sociology teacher in Rajasthan's Bikaner driving forestry revolution". Hindustan Times. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Familal Forest' a boon for Bikaner". The Times of India. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 Bhattacharya, Imana (3 October 2019). "Saplings of change". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  11. 1 2 Chatterjee, Dev (24 January 2020). "Green wall of Bikaner: Professor plants trees to prevent desertification". Business Standard. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  12. ↑ "Indian climate activist gets prestigious UN land conservation award". India Today. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  13. ↑ "Familial Forestry in India: Caring for trees like they're family". DW. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  14. ↑ "Rajasthani wedding revives rural families' sweet ties with millets". Times of India.
  15. ↑ "People of Rajasthan returning to their roots celebrating Rabri Day and promoting millets". Kisan Tak.
  16. ↑ "Consumption of Rabri together across the country including western Rajasthan, protest against cold drinks". Dainik Bhaskar.
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