Tussle over ‘unauthorised-but-well-intentioned’ Miyawaki forest in Hassan district

Hassan: A “Miyawaki forest” was recently developed in Hassan district by Hasiru Bhoomi Pratishthana, but it has been removed owing to allegations that it was put up on government land without due permission.

The greens are claiming that their effort was well-intentioned to cool the environment and protect it from the scorching heat, for which irrigation systems were also arranged. Children and youngsters also took part in the initiative, they said, but now the ecosystem it is being discouraged by the authorities, they lament.

However, people living adjacent to the “forest” including a police inspector are behind this discouragement, the greens say, while they were sitting on dharna for “justice” under the banner of Green Land Foundation recently.

Senior journalist R.P. Venkateshamurthy, President of the organization Venkatesa Gowda, Secretary Girijambika, members Purushottam, Appaji Gowda, Shivashankarappa, Mamata Patil and Dinesh participated in the dharna.

What is a ‘Miyawaki forest’?

The “Miyawaki method” is an afforestation technique for cultivating fast-growing groves of native plants, with dense, mixed planting intended to simulate layers of a natural forest. Originally developed by ecologist Akira Miyawaki in the early 1970s for a big corporation, the method has been adopted by various Japanese MNCs, which planted Miyawaki forests both domestically and overseas.