‘Tree City of the World’ Tag

 

Tree city of the world UPSC: Relevance

• GS 2: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

 

Tree city of the world: Context

• Recently, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN-FAO) and Arbor Day Foundation have jointly recognised Mumbai and Hyderabad as the ‘2021 Tree City of the World’.

Tree city of the world: Key points

• The two Indian cities have got this recognition for their commitment to growing and maintaining urban trees and greenery in building healthy, resilient and happy cities.
• It is worth noting that while Mumbai has made the list for the first time, Hyderabad has featured on it for the second consecutive year.
• The countries with the maximum tree cities include the US, UK, and Canada, with 37, 19, and 18 cities respectively.

 

 

What are the tree cities of the world?

• The ‘Tree Cities of the World’ is an initiative started by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO) and American non-profit organisation Arbor Day Foundation.
• It is an internationally recognised effort “to recognise cities and towns committed to ensuring that their urban forests and trees are properly maintained, sustainably managed, and duly celebrated”.
• The programme provides direction, assistance, and worldwide recognition for a community’s dedication to its urban forest.
• Moreover, the programme provides a framework for a healthy, sustainable urban forestry programme in a town or city.

 

How a city is recognised as a tree city?

• A city is recognised as a ‘Tree City’ if it meets five core standards to show its commitment towards caring for its trees and forests.
• To be designated as a tree city,
  • A city must have a written statement delegating responsibility for the care of trees within the municipal boundary to a staff member, a city department, or a group of citizens – called a Tree Board.
  • The city should have a law to govern the management of forests and trees.
  • The city should have an updated inventory or assessment of the local tree resource so that an effective long-term plan for planting, care, and removal of city trees can be established.
  • The city should have a dedicated annual budget for the implementation of the tree management plan.
  • The city should organise an annual celebration of trees to raise awareness among people and to acknowledge citizens who carried out the tree programme.

 

 

Why Hyderabad and Mumbai?

• A total of 138 cities have been recognised for the year 2021 under the ‘Tree cities of the world’ programme.
• Hyderabad planted more than 3.5 crore trees in 500 volunteer hours, and Mumbai planted 42,5000 trees in 25,000 volunteer hours.

 

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