Anand Dhawaj Negi

Cold Desert Afforestation – India

Anand Dhawaj Negi, 1947-2021, popularly known as AD, was a retired bureaucrat turned “Forest man of Kinnaur” who left an evergreen legacy and miraculous story in the cold desert of India by developing a lush forest spread over 100 hectares in the high-altitude border district of Himachal Pradesh. 

The Upper Kinnaur region in Himachal Pradesh is a lot like the cold desert of Ladakh — largely uncultivated and sparsely populated. Vegetation in this cold arid region is limited to grass and shrubs at altitudes of more than 3,200 (2 miles) meters above sea level. However, in the midst of this cold desert lies an oasis of lush green forest in Thang Karma, a very remote village located 50 km (31 miles) uphill from the small town of Pooh in Kinnaur district. This lush green forest, with over 30,000 trees on 65 hectares of land, was planted and nurtured by the late Negi. Besides these trees, his work also enabled the production of potatoes, peas, asparagus, sunflower, mushroom and kidney beans, as well as traditionally grown fruit crops, including apples and apricots.

In the late 1990s, AD Negi was working with the Himachal Pradesh government for its Desert Development Program (DDP), which sought to mitigate the effects of desertification in these arid regions. While working with the government, he saw heaps of taxpayer money go down the drain. As the son of humble farmers, he was frustrated at the inability of the government to generate any fruitful results.

So, in 1998, he began working on this patch of land in Thang Karma as a volunteer and was the first to implement one of the most audacious cold-desert programs in recent memory. “It is only after I spent time experimenting with different kinds of plantations here that I have been able to develop this desert.” The process of converting this barren patch of forest into a lush green forest began by raising a nursery, following which he developed a site for contour plantation. His initial attempts at sowing seeds failed because the water supply wouldn’t arrive on time. In the initial months, about 80% of the saplings would wither away in this cold desert. Today, the survival rate is about 99%. 

He took measures such as contour planting, which is the practice of tilling sloped land along a consistent elevation to conserve rainwater and reduce the loss of soil from surface erosion. To address the problem of irregular water supply, which is dependent on glacier meltwater, he worked with local communities to channel streams from the glaciers situated around 25 kilometers (15 miles) away. To further retain the water, he planted clovers along these irrigation channels, which also doubles up as a protective cover from hares who destroy crops. Also, their roots decompose every three years, which helps improve the soil’s fertility over a period of time. 

Since then, about 200 farmers have got land from the government, and they have been inspired by Negi to grow their own orchards. Today, people from villages nearly 50 km (31 miles) away take their sheep to graze in Thang Karma because the clover he planted there is considered quality fodder. Meanwhile, orchard owners from villages, which is popular for very sweet apples, would come and buy sackfuls of vermicompost from Negi. Most local farmers who have given up farming and government departments that had once forsaken this land have learnt from him how consistency can change anything. Negi didn’t employ rocket science to build a forest, but what stands out is the consistent hard work that went into it for over two decades. 

Websites:
1) https://www.thebetterindia.com…
2) Article on Oddity Central

Video 1: https://globalearthrepairfoundation.org/three-more-inspirational-videos-of-earth-repair/
Video 2: Forest in the high desert