Jadav Molai Payeng, who is well recognized as “The Forest Man of India”, is the greatest example of to what extent a man can do for the betterment of the environment and the love for nature. With the aim of reforestation, Jadav Payeng has alone transformed an unproductive sandbar of around 550 hectares on the shore of the Brahmaputra River into a forest equivalent to the size of 15 football stadiums. He is honored with the title of “The Forest Man of India” by spending 30 years of his life planting approximately 40 million trees. The woodland is now known as the Molai Kathoni as per his name.
The journey from a common man to become The Forest Man of India
Jadav Payeng belongs to the Indigenous Mishing tribe in Assam who was found to be born in a poor buffalo farmer family. Majuli in Assam, which is the native land of Payeng, is also regarded as the largest river island of the world, situated in the Brahmaputra river in India and was subjected to excessive flood, drought and soil erosion. Payeng experienced the devastating impact of ecological degradation and erosion several times.
In 1979, at the age of 16, once he witnessed a disturbing scene. One day, while going through the sandbar, Payeng noticed hundreds of dead snakes scattering on the land, which were the victims of extreme drought. This scenario has created a significant impact on Jadav’s mind which led him to decide to take certain effective measurements. While searching for actionable solutions, he was advised to plant bamboo trees.
Around that time, as a preventive measurement for the soil erosion and floods in Majuli island, the concerned department of Assam state was found to have initiated a forestation drive on an experimental basis. Like many other local people, Payeng also participated in the forestation drive but even after the accomplishment of the drive and despite everyone going back, Payeng has decided to continue the mission alone. From then, he began to plant a tree sapling per day in that unproductive land which was now converted into a green woodland spreading across 1390 acres with the effort of a single man.
Majuli, which was once used to become the victim of excessive floods and erosion, is now the habitat of several animals, including Bengal tigers, rabbits, one-horned rhinoceros, monkeys, and deer. Moreover, each year, a herd of elephants was found to be visiting the woodland and sometimes staying for three to six months. Additionally, several types of trees are available in the respective woodland including Arjun, Cotton Trees, Silk Trees, Royal Poinciana and different types of Bamboos.
Payeng’s seamless efforts over the years have resulted in the development of a rich biodiversity which supports the animals, trees and insects to live together. Behind the initiative, the purpose and mission of Payeng is to make the planet greener, ensure environmental betterment and offer a healthy living to the future generation. In today’s growing concern for climate change, Payeng’s reforestation efforts provide an effective solution which can allow both human beings and the environment to thrive.
Payeng’s efforts came to the attention of the foresters when they visited the woodland in 2008 in search of the elephants that moved after damaging the crops in the neighboring village. His story further spread across the nation when a wildlife reporter named Jitu Kalita was found to have written an article about him. In 2012, in recognition of his efforts, Payeng was given the title “The Forest Man of India” by Sudhir Kumar Sopory, Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Challenges occurred in the journey
The journey of Payeng was not quite easy as at various times he had to confront a lot of problems. At the initial time of the journey, Payeng did not get any support from others, even from the foresters. Lack of resources to grow the plants and bad weather conditions are often found to be major challenges faced by Payeng. Despite having these challenges, Payeng has continued his mission to plant one tree per day.
Moreover, as the size of the woodland began to increase, Payeng started to confront new problems. The neighboring villagers often complain that the wild elephants are destroying their crops and tigers were also observed to enter their village. Moreover, Payeng also got threats from the angry villagers regarding destroying his woodland in response to the challenges posed by the animals to their lives. Concerning this, Payeng has focused on arranging sufficient food for the animals in the jungle like planting banana trees for elephants, which led the animals to stop going to the nearby villages.
Awards and recognition
The positive contribution towards the well-being of the environment and mankind, has facilitated Payeng to receive multiple awards and honours. For example, the Balipara Foundation gave the Ecological Restoration Award to him in 2013. Payeng has also been seen to receive the fourth-highest civilian award in India, Padma Shri, in 2015. Despite being a school dropout, the contributions of Payeng has led him to attain a doctorate degree from Assam Kaziranga University and Agricultural University. He was also honored with the Karmayogi Award in New Delhi in 2020 for his consistent effort for environmental conservation.
Moreover, inspired by the life and work of Payeng, several documentaries and books have been released. A few such documentaries based on his life include “The Molai Forest” by Jitu Kalita, “Foresting Life” by Aarti Shrivastava and “Forest Man” by William Douglas McMaster. Vinayak Varma has also written a book titled “Jadav and the Tree-Place”, which Jadav Payeng was found to be featured.
The mission is to spread awareness towards climate change and forest essentials across the world
Forest Man of India Shri Jadav Payeng, a living example of what difference plantation can bring forth, appeals to all to plant trees on this World Environment Day. @mygovindia #WorldEnvironmentDay #ForNature pic.twitter.com/EzKPlbP3HD
— MyGov Assam (@mygovassam) June 4, 2020Payeng is actively involved in spreading awareness among the younger generation regarding the climate change crisis and the essence of building greener ecosystems and forest essentials across the world. In the school curriculum across the United States, the motivational story of Payeng towards emphasising forest essentials is included. There was an agreement also signed between Payeng and Fundacion Azteca, a non-profit organisation in Mexico, to promote environmental works and forest essentials in that country.
FAQ
1. Who is Jadav Molai Payeng, and why is he known as The Forest Man of India?
Jadav Molai Payeng, well recognised as The Forest Man of India, is an example of what a man can do for the betterment of the environment and his love for nature. With the aim of reforestation, Jadav Payeng alone transformed an unproductive sandbar of around 550 hectares on the shore of the Brahmaputra River into a woodland equivalent to the size of 15 football stadiums. He is honoured with the title of The Forest Man of India by spending 30 years of his life planting approximately 40 million trees.
2. What inspired Jadav Payeng to start his reforestation efforts on the sandbar of the Brahmaputra river?
In 1979, at the age of 16, once he witnessed a disturbing scene. One day, while going through the sandbar, Payeng noticed hundreds of dead snakes scattering on the land, which were the victims of extreme drought. This scenario created a significant impact on Jadav’s mind which led him to decide to take certain effective measures. While searching for actionable solutions, he was advised to plant bamboo trees.
3. What challenges did Jadav Payeng face in his journey to create the Molai Kathoni?
The journey of Payeng was not easy as, at various times, he had to confront a lot of problems including a lack of resources, bad weather conditions and threats from villagers to destroy the woodland.
4. What types of animals and plants can be found in the Molai Kathoni?
Majuli, once a victim of excessive floods and erosion, is now the habitat of several animals, including Bengal tigers, rabbits, one-horned rhinoceros, monkeys, and deer. Each year, a herd of elephants visits the woodland, sometimes staying for three to six months. Several types of trees are available in the woodland, including Arjun, Cotton Trees, Silk Trees, Royal Poinciana, and different types of bamboo.
5. What awards and recognition has Jadav Payeng received for his contributions to environmental conservation?
The positive contribution towards the well-being of the environment and mankind has facilitated Payeng to receive multiple awards and honours, including the Ecological Restoration Award in 2013, Padma Shri in 2015, Karmayogi Award in New Delhi in 2020.
