In his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio broadcast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited an example of a Kerala-based teacher, Raafi Ramnath, who used Japan’s Miyawaki technique to grow a mini forest called ‘Vidyavanam’ by planting over 450 trees of 115 varieties.

Miyawaki forests spread rapidly and become biodiversity spots in two to three decades, he said. 

What is the Miyawaki method?

• Miyawaki is a method that has been named after Japanese botanist and ecologist Dr Akira Miyawaki, who devised it.

• Myawaki developed this technique in the early 1970s for the restoration of indigenous forests in Japan using native tree species.

• It is a technique to plant saplings of various species close to each other which develops into a dense urban forest. The growth of plants is ten times faster using this method and as a result, the forest developed is thirty times denser. 

• Planting will be done densely where one square meter area accommodates at least four trees with different layers (1 canopy level, 1 tree level, 1 sub-tree level and 1 shrub level) for a multilayered forest.

• Through the Miyawaki method, a forest can be developed in just two to three years while it takes at least 20 to 30 years through the traditional method.

• Miyawaki forests absorb more carbon than conventional woodland schemes because they grow more quickly and are densely planted.

• Higher biodiversity has been recorded in Miyawaki forests than in neighbouring woodland.

• There is no doubt in the potential of Miyawaki crowd-foresting technique in the restoration of the lost tree cover in a short time in India. This technique is highly effective in the establishment of urban forests as well as converting unproductive wastelands into ecological and socially beneficial productive lands. 

Miyawaki method growing popular in India

• PM Modi pointed out that this technique is now spreading very fast in different parts of India too. The PM had inaugurated a Miyawaki forest in Kevadia, Ekta Nagar in Gujarat. 

• In the memory of the people who died in the 2001 earthquake, a Smriti-Van has been built in Kutch in the Miyawaki style. Its success in a place like Kutch shows how effective this technology is, even in the toughest of natural environments.

• A Miyawaki garden is being created in Aliganj, Lucknow. In the last four years, work has been done on more than 60 such forests in Mumbai and its surrounding areas. 

• PM Modi urged the people, especially those living in cities, to make an effort to learn about the Miyawaki method.

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