Meet the Forest Man of India

A man in his 50s sat quietly in the front row at Girimitra Sammelan in Mulund mdash an annual event to encourage and recognise mountaineers in Maharashtra and all over India As one of the guest speakers his topic was the importance of trees and the need to protect the environment For an observer he came across as just another other Indian from a distant villageDuring his talk he revealed that he never studied beyond Class 10 and yet astounded the audience with his knowledge of environment and why global warming must be stopped ldquoWe do not understand but everything we do is affecting the environment If every Indian plants just one tree the problem of global warming will be solvedrdquo he stressedEveryday Jadav Payeng travels from his home Kokilamukh to Molai forest on the other side of the Brahmaputra river The speaker Jadav Molai Payeng is a member of the Mishing tribe in Assam and singlehandedly created the Molai forest named after him which he claims is bigger than the adjoining Kaziranga National ParkJadav Payeng takes care of the entire forest all by himselfThe need for a forestAssam had experienced its worst summer in years in 1979 the heat was so unbearable that according to village lore even dogs were jumping into the river Brahmaputra to survive Around this time the 17yearold stumbled upon 100 dead snakes on a hot bed of silt sandbar that was formed from the previous yearrsquos flood in the region Disturbed he approached the village elders who advised that planting trees was the best solution He met with forest officials who suggested growing bamboo trees For three years government officials supplied saplings till it was abandoned due to the death of these plants But Payeng carried on planting saplings in the treeless sandbarsldquoI never imagined this would grow this big I am happy to see that itrsquos home to many animalsrdquo reveals Payeng Today 35 years later the Molai forest is home to several wild animals including four Royal Bengal tigers Indian rhinoceros 82 elephants deers rabbits apes and species of birds including vultures which are near extinction In the initial period every morning Payeng would carry new plants from his home at the Majuli island the worldrsquos largest river island on the Brahmaputra into the jungle planting them in newer patches and nursing them everyday Soon he found ways to cultivate seeds and began growing saplings within the forest itself turning the sandbar into selfsufficient grovesWhy does this matterThe Molai forest is situated on the banks of the Brahmaputra an area prone to soil erosion and floods that wreck havoc in Assam every year In 2012 floods displaced over 15 lakh people in Assam lives were lost and entire villages were washed away Every year floods leave behind huge amounts of sand broadening the Brahmaputra and destroying cultivable landldquoMany including relatives and friends have lost everything to soil erosion and have moved out of the Majuli Island ldquoIt has been reduced to less than half of its original size in the last few decades Reforestation is the only way to prevent soil erosion We need to plant more trees soon or else the river will eat into the land and wersquoll be left with nothingrdquo warns Payeng Majuli is home to more than 100 species of birds more than 20 reptiles more than 20 mammals and nearly 100 types of local fishMission possiblePayeng lived with his family in the forest His lone source of income was selling milk from the cattle to villagers on the other side of the Brahmaputra He lost over 100 cows to tigers from the same forest he created but this never deterred him from planting more trees ldquoThey also need food to surviverdquo says PayengIn 2008 a herd of elephants even destroyed his house ldquoSince then I have been living with my family of wife and two kids in Kokilamukh Jorhat Assam on the other side of the river Itrsquos not safe for them to live thererdquo he admits But thatrsquos not where the problems ended The Molai forest has been an easy target for poachers due to the absence of forest officials This is another reason why Payeng doesnrsquot want to leave his forest ldquoIrsquove lost animalsrdquo says a saddened PayengNow Payeng has made it a mission to create awareness about the need to plant trees to help save the environment ldquoPeople must be taught its relevance from an early age Environment science should be a compulsory subject in school When they grow up they will value the environmentrdquo he believes Payeng has also been working with villages around the bank of Brahmaputra to instill such awareness