Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been focusing on tree plantation and conservation to increase the green area and keep the air clean. For the third year in a row, Mumbai has won the 'World Tree City' award. Mumbai currently has 29.75 lakh trees and more than 5 lakh trees have been planted in the last few years through urban forestry. As a result of this, Mumbai was able to strengthen its position in the list of green cities around the world.
The Food and Agriculture Organization and the Arbor Day Foundation came together in 2019 with the goal of tree conservation and tree planting around the world. They embarked on a campaign to celebrate cities that have innovated around the world. These organizations recognize the ongoing efforts to maintain tree conservation and environmental balance around the world. The World Tree City list of cities that qualify on various criteria is then announced and awarded. On the occasion of World Earth Day, the Prestigious Award of 'World Tree City' was handed over to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The certificate was signed by Dan Lambe, chief executive of the World Arbor Day Foundation, and Hiroto Mitsugi, assistant director of forestry at the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Additional Commissioner Abhijit Bangar, Additional Commissioner Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, Superintendent of Parks Jitendra Pardeshi, Additional Commissioner Dr Amit Saini and Additional Commissioner Dr. Sudhakar Shinde accepted the award.
Mumbai has fulfilled the standards of fixing responsibility for the maintenance of trees, setting rules to control the management of trees, and maintaining an updated list of tree resources. For the third time in a row, Mumbai has been selected for the World Tree City Award.
The target to plant 50 crore trees
The Food and Agriculture Organization, a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, is working to reduce food shortages around the world, as well as prevent hunger deaths, and the Arbor Day Foundation, a US-based organization that has been planting and preserving trees around the world for more than 51 years, has created a movement for tree conservation. The foundation aims to plant 500 million trees worldwide by 2027.