Urban forestation technique: BMC to plant 10,000 saplings to develop Miyawaki forest in Malad

Located in the densely populated Malvani locality of Malad in suburban Mumbai, this plot was originally reserved for setting up a garden space. The plot, however, was encroached by furniture sellers and local small scale business owners — since 2008, owing to which it could not initiate development works on this till date.

The BMC took over the land from the collector in July this year, following which the civic body had issued notices to all the occupants in the plot. Paving way for the establishment of the upcoming Miyawaki forest, the civic body razed 63 encroachments on the plot on October 26.

In a bid to increase green cover amid the worsening air quality in the city, 8,800 indigenous plantations including amla, teak, sheesham, jambhul, and arjun among others are slated to be planted over an area sprawled across 2,200 square metres. Furthermore, the civic body is also eyeing to plant 1,200 trees, spanning over 12 feet in height, along the boundary wall of the plot of the Malad Miyawaki forest, taking the tally of total plants up to 10,000.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior civic official said, “Earlier, the plot was encroached by huts and furniture shops. Following the removal of the encroachments, we levelled the plot and carried out all necessary measures for the creation of an urban forest.”

Conceptualised by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the early 1970s, the Miyawaki technique of plantation was developed to restore indigenous ecosystems whereby native trees are densely planted within small patches. With 30 times the tree density of other plantation techniques, Miyawaki forests have the potential to serve as the perfect antidote to the challenge of developing green cover within a space-crunched city like Mumbai.

According to senior civic officials, 1,100 green plots were identified across Mumbai, of which 64 plots were earmarked in 2020 for the development of urban forests using the Miyawaki methodology. While the city’s first ever Miyawaki forest had been developed by the BMC at Chembur’s Bhakti park, the biggest Miyawaki plantation drive was carried out at Chandivali’s Nahar Amrut Shakti Udyan, wherein over 41,000 saplings were planted over 13 acres.