Context

Recently, the Embassy of Israel in India, in collaboration with a non-profit entity, has officially joined the ‘Million Miyawaki project’ as part of Earth Day celebrations.

About Million Miyawaki Project

• Deals With: “Million Miyawaki mission” is a community-led initiative aimed at improving air quality in Indian cities through mass afforestation in tight urban spaces.
• Aim: Under this project, efforts are made at planting a million trees in Delhi-NCR by creating ‘forest-like’ Miyawaki plantations of 600 trees each, with a variety of up to 30 different locally-sourced species.

What is a Miyawaki Technique?

Miyawaki is a technique developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1980s.

• Aim: To make more green areas in a small space by growing a dense forest in just ten years, which usually takes a hundred years.

Features Of Miyawaki Technique

• Cultivating multi-layered forests involves cultivating multi-layered forests that grow rapidly.
• This type of cultivation mimics the natural biodiversity of native forests.
• The method includes planting two to four varieties per square meter.
• In the cultivation process, only those largely self-sustaining plants are selected.
• It reduces the need for regular maintenance like fertilization and watering.

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Benefits of the Miyawaki Plantation

• Mitigation of the ecological impact of mining activities 
• Restoration of biodiversity
• Enhance ecosystem services
• Creation of carbon sinks
• Creating and offering livelihood opportunities for local communities 
• Promotion  of Sustainable development 
• In this technique, the interdependence among plants supports the growth of each other
  • It causes trees to grow much faster using this method compared to the conventional ways.
• This technique helps grow fully grown dense forests (20 feet high) in a short time (two years).
• It will help in revolutionizing the paradigm of urban afforestation by transforming small plots into mini-forests. 

Drawbacks of Miyawaki Technique

• Decreased Tree Variety: In this plantation method, some trees such as Timber trees are mainly preferred which causes a decrease in the variety of tree types found naturally.
• Suitability Limitation: This afforestation technique is suitable for suburban or urban areas with limited space but is unsuitable for tropical regions.
• Disruption of Natural Ecosystem: The natural wildlife movement is limited due to the narrow spaces between trees which disrupts the natural flow of the ecosystem.
• Uncertainty in Rainfall Impact: The effectiveness of rainfall brought by Miyawaki forest trees remains uncertain.