Kerala Social forestry gets UN recognition

• A host of afforestation programmes taken up by the Kerala government in the last four years has received United Nations' recognition.
• The programmes, implemented by the state Forest Department, like 'Ente Maram Padhathi' (My Tree Scheme), 'Haritha Keralam' (Greening Kerala), 'Haritha Theeram' (Greening the Coast Programme), 'Vazhiyorathanal Thanal' (Road-Side Planting of Shade Trees) have been widely appreciated for its effective implementation by the international agency.
• As part of the programmes, a total of 1.87 crore saplings have been distributed and planted in the non-forest lands across the state contributing as part of the 'Plant for the Planet-Billion Tree Campaign' of the UNEP.