00:07stretching across four states and one of India's oldest mountain ranges the
00:12Aravalli green wall project is an ambitious attempt to revive a landscape
00:17under growing environmental pressure the project is inspired by Africa's
00:25successful great green wall initiative and aligns with India's national goal of
00:31expanding carbon sinks experts say that strong commitment and sustained funding
00:37are key to making this initiative a reality process of recreation is not easy
00:46I think the African green wall project and the China green wall project I think
00:51kind of proves that lots of mistakes will be made it's lots of money and
00:57commitment is going to be required to make this happen and this is certainly
01:00not a one-term government kind of initiative I think you know no matter
01:06what government comes in I think one will have to stay committed you know I've
01:10spent the last five years trying to create to rewild and create a very small
01:14forest in Uttarakhand and it's it's the slow life it takes about 30 years to
01:20create what is what we are attempting to create with this wall it's going to take
01:25us 30 years and that's it people put their sweat and blood into it the project
01:33aims to create a 1,400 kilometer long and five kilometer wide green belt along the
01:40Aravalli range besides restoring degraded land through planting native species the
01:47green corridor is expected to act as a natural barrier against dust storms
01:53originating from Western India in Pakistan however experts with experience in
02:00building private biospheres point to certain challenges and I can tell you the
02:08biggest threat to these habitats is humans and the livestock of humans initially we
02:13will even have to guard these saplings you know you're going to start with saplings
02:17which are going to be two three feet or four feet tall at most and you're going to
02:24have to protect those things till they become you know eight ten twelve feet out of the
02:29range of you know the cows and buffaloes and so on the focus has to be on native
02:34species I know there are four states involved Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi
02:42whatever is being planted in each one of those states has to be native to that place.
02:48While environmentalists appreciate the initiative they warn that such projects will not have a
02:54meaningful impact unless activities like deforestation and mining in the region are stopped.
03:01Even if you're talking about say you know enhancing the say the deprived you know plantation land etc it's
03:15understandable but now you are you're what you need what they need to actually think is that all the
03:21deforestation the mining the excavation that is happening in Aravili that needs to be stopped.
03:28There is no dearth of plantation there, there is no dearth of trees and the forest and the forest will
03:35grow if you will let them grow.
03:38Despite these challenges the Aravili green wall remains one of India's most significant environmental projects in recent years. If implemented
03:49effectively it has the potential not only to restore a fragile ecosystem but also to serve as a model for
03:56large-scale climate and conservation efforts in the country.
04:08Aravili green wall remains one of the most significant areas.
04:09Aravili green wall remains one of the most significant areas.
04:11Aravili green wall remains one of the most significant areas.
04:12Aravili green wall remains one of the most significant areas.
04:12Aravili green wall remains one of the most significant areas.
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