Nature is a natural phenomenon! Sounds odd? Perhaps, yes! The other day, one student requested me to give ideas on using the AI tool for environmental experiments. He was doing his summer project work. He wanted me to help him with some environmental concepts for applying AI tools. I do not know why he was asking for ideas from a person who does not have any technical background. There is no dearth of ideas on the internet. All he had to do was to use ChatGPT, Meta AI on WhatsApp, or even Google browser (which now uses an AI tool for searching). I learnt that there are 100s of such AI tools today in the global market. He probably wanted to identify some problem areas from a grassroot level worker like me.  I didn’t want to disappoint him, though it meant some extra effort for me. Of course, such small works do come often. The following were some of the ideas that flashed in my mind. They were all my felt needs at one time or another as an environmental activist. He chose the third idea

1. Develop a model to geotag all trees, the species location, etc. This may help stop illegal tree felling. There were some apps already. But we may explore using AI tools for better counting
2. Unauthorized garbage dumping is a big menace. We may develop an AI tool to track dumpers and clear the garbage. If the entire city is covered by an AI tool, something can be done promptly to clear the trash.
3. Bangalore’s traffic is a perennial problem. AI tool to track congested roads and make synchronized traffic management, pollution level, and roads with less traffic, coordinated traffic signaling, etc. This could save fossil fuel waste, reduce pollution levels, and save time on roads
4. Wild animals like leopards enter human colonies. The forest department is unable to track them for days. AI tool may help capture the animals and release them in jungles to avoid loss of life on both sides
5. Migratory bird tracking was traditionally done using the ringing method. Could an AI tool capture migratory birds electronically and track them to trace their route? Can it be used for a particular bird to find the number of days of flight, height, speed, non-stop or otherwise, climatic conditions in both places, eco systems, food similarity, etc.?

The above list is just indicative and not exhaustive. AI could be used widely in environmental research. However, the usefulness of this tool depends on how we use it. Artificially, one may even create a jungle or even a river or desert, and it may appear as if it is natural. But Nature is God’s creation. Oxygen can never be created in labs. Only trees can produce it to date. Even the human body and its various systems are still a mystery. Man has not yet decoded the basis of life and its beginning or end. But will life be the same after AI takes extensive strides? In the last few decades, the world has witnessed a lot of technological inventions. The lifestyle in the recent past has undergone drastic change. Survival is not that easy as we experienced in the 20^th century. This is the era of Artificial Intelligence. AI has already assumed wide dimensions in all spheres. Given the background of all these happenings in planet Earth, it appears that nature is not an exemption. If used properly, AI could prove very useful. If the same is used to get more likes and followers in social media, it may spread misinformation and fabrication. The choice is in our hands.

A farmer was driving a tractor on his farm. Interestingly he was not tilling or ploughing his land. A close look at the scene was shocking. The visual flashed on a TV channel was disturbing. Yes, he was destroying the cauliflower plants together with vegetables. Yes, he had no other way because he had been offered Rs 10 per kg which was pathetic. There is no point in adding his expenses of carrying the produce to the market as the price does not even compensate even 10^th of his investments in the production. There is always a felt need to strengthen the farmers’ hand. India has witnessed farmers’ suicides in Vidarbha, Maharashtra many a time. The agricultural produce in our country gets exchanged between many hands before it reaches the consumer. End of the day, what we pay farmers is just peanuts. This is why TN has ventured into the farmers market which is handled by the farmers directly. Indirectly, the farmers take the produce and reach the ultimate consumer without a middleman menace. Uzhavar Sandhai meaning farmers’ market in Tamil aims to empower farmers by allowing them to sell their produce directly to consumers, potentially earning them higher profits and reducing the influence of middlemen. Consumers can buy fresh produce at lower prices compared to traditional retail outlets.  Late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi deserves all praise for introducing the concept in 1999, which is still in vogue. The scheme is managed by the Agricultural Marketing Department and manned by staff from the Department of Agricultural Marketing, Agriculture, and Horticulture. These markets are located in various urban areas across Tamil Nadu. Of course, a similar market is there in Chandigarh, Punjab known as Apna Mundi, though it is smaller. In Andhra Pradesh, a direct market is in place. These are good examples of boosting the morale and economy of the farming community. We understand that these markets operate between 5.30 AM and 6.00 PM and transport facilities are provided to the farmers’ market from some nearby areas at specific times. At the farmers’ market, each farmer is allocated a separate space and is given free weighing equipment. Farmers have been issued an identity card to sell at the farmers’ market. The identity card also includes pictures of family members, so that they can bring their produce to the market. A Government officer handles each market. Price is decided by a committee and posted in the farmers’ market for public view. In Tamil Nadu, Uzhavar Sandhai is available in 104 locations, according to the TNA Agritech website. In cities, people prefer such markets and avail the benefit of better prices and quality. Such concepts must gain national-level importance. More research must take place to strengthen the farmers’ market. Unless farmers get better treatment, the exodus from the agriculture sector will deteriorate, and people will switch to other activities leading to more environmental issues such as urbanization, and dependence on food imports.

My discussion on this topic last week (South Express dated 8.3.25) has kindled some good reactions from the readers. I thought of working on their feedback. According to one reader, going by the per capita data of tree cover, if we take India’s tree cover of 28 trees per head, and multiply it by total population of 145 crore, it works out to roughly 4000 Cr trees in India, and if we increase the trees to China’s level of 130 per head, then Idia’s tree cover will be even better than China; which means India will have roughly 18000 Crore trees. The reader further made an interesting observation. He assumed that India’s land area would not be sufficient if we provided an average of 20 sq meters per tree. Thanks for the data interpretation he made. Thousands of green activists like him are there who want India to have better natural resources. He also agreed that we should compare ourselves with the tropical countries. The green cover in a country depends on its climatic zone. Tropical climate is different from temperate and polar climates. Even within tropical countries, wet, dry, monsoon, and desert climates exist. We cannot expect dense growth in dry areas. In deserts, there is no chance of tree cover except in oases.  Even in temperate regions, where we experience four distinct seasons, the climatic conditions differ between Mediterranean, subtropical, marine and continental areas. All these substantiate the weakness in using the per capita statistical tool. It is like saying that India’s per capita income is Rs 2 lac, which includes the richest individual’s income that may run to billions of dollars. If we exclude the top 100 richest individuals’ income, the average per person earning would be too small.  Poverty is a parameter that should not be estimated from statistical tools but by making proper sustainable development goals to bring a smile to the faces of the poorest. In my last editorial, (8.3.25) I said that population cannot be a yardstick for calculating tree cover and substantiated my logic with an example. One reader accepted that and requested me to compile the data on trees per sq km to compare between countries. In my view, as explained above, that also may not be a correct method as different climatic zones make the exercise a futile one.  But with the help of the worldometers website data, as per the link  https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/, an attempt is made here to compare the status of the same countries appearing in the viral ecard. In other words, the countries taken in the ecard published in last week’s editorial. The results are given in the table below

A quick interpretation of the result is made below.

• The climatic conditions, such as temperature, sunlight, rainfall, and human action, do have a bearing on the tree density
• A warm and humid climate with ample sunlight and consistent rainfall are most suitable for tree growth
• Canada, a temperate country having a vast land mass and less population density, tops the tree cover
• USA and China have a more or less similar sized land area, but USA has better tree cover, but the population density in China is five times that of USA.
• When we compare India with the US and China, we have just a third of the land area, and half of the trees per sq km. So, the tree cover is not that gloomy as depicted
• If the scientific methods of defining the global standards for analytical purposes, the researchers must consider various parameters like climate conditions, population density, and availability of land area

Trees per person versus Trees per Sq KM

Data Source: – Worldameter Website

Based on the data on population density, land area, and climatic condition, it is felt that India is reasonably keeping its green cover. Simply blaming India for having the least tree cover per person, is a futile exercise and will serve no purpose. However, efforts must be geared up to ensure that at least one third of its present density per sq km must be increased. In other words, 13533 trees per sq km must be increased to 18000 trees per sq km. In India, if the policymakers make a target-based approach to improve the green cover, there should not be any problem in reaching the global standards.

Are Indians not environment conscious? Are we the worst in terms of tree cover per person? These questions disturbed me a lot, seeing this social media viral flyer. India has the least tree cover; just 28 trees per person as depicted in this picture. Is the situation alarming? With 10163 trees per head, Canada has the highest tree density, followed by Greenland at 4964 per person. Let’s try to analyze this dismal outcome of India’s green efforts. Is this method relevant to compare the global data? Statistical methods are strange and difficult to comprehend. I learnt a few statistical methods during my studies. It was a difficult subject for me, at least. Mostly the data analysis is done on random samples or opinion polls. Sometimes even our exit polls go wrong due to the wrong choice of samples or inadequate data. But to understand the people’s preference for a product or to rate a film, we take such random methods only. Why? Even a sentence in court may take away a life by majority voting by a bench of sitting judges. A YouTube channel becomes viral if a large number of views are made. These are some examples. I wish to add the disclaimer ‘without prejudice’ for differing with statistical methods.  After all, even scientific facts differ with time. The reason why I differed with this tree data is as follows. Firstly, quality cannot be compromised with quantity. Forest departments and Tree Acts always advocate, ‘plant 10 trees when you cut one tree’. Is it correct? Could 10 tree saplings compensate for the oxygen yield of a 50-year-old tree, felled? But we all see the infrastructure industries ruthlessly felling or cutting trees and making compensatory plantation for name’s sake. There is no post plantation care or audit and accountability. For instance, let us quote an example. Say there are 100 breads, to be distributed to 10 persons. We can say that each would get on an average of 10 breads. If the same is divided among 100 people, then each will get only one bread. Similarly, if there are 1000 trees in a country with a 100-person population, then the per head tree cover will be 10 per capita. If the same country with the same number of trees has 10000 people, the per capita tree cover will be reduced to 0.1. How can this comparison prove the country’s greening effort? Further, China has a Tree Cover of 130 while India has 28. But we cannot forget the population is more or less equal. So, should we say that China is making a greening effort which is 4 times that of India? It is also a wrong comparison because China has a land mass two and a half times that of India. Greenland and Canada are not thickly populated countries. These countries, naturally, will have more green cover. About a few centuries back, until Columbus discovered the USA, it was not at all inhabited. Today, the entire world is invading the States, which is probably the reason why restrictions on immigration are getting stricter. Therefore, such comparisons will prove futile to achieve global standards. India has better resources than most other countries. India has only about 25% forest cover now, we must try to make it 33%. In other words, making it one third of our land mass must be our target.

Contemporary marriages are lavish, ending in huge wastage. Wastage in terms of money, materials, and much more. A simple middle-class marriage may cost Rs 20 lacs for the one-day fun. Eco-friendly marriages are a remote reality. In the first instance, wedding cards are mostly plastic with non-biodegradable contents. Some judicious families go for e-cards to reduce expenses. The next biggest waste is food waste. It is an issue of prestige to display a variety of food items, thereby making a wide choice for guests. There is a huge rush in all marriage houses. In the olden days, the organizing families of wedding events stood at the entrance or respectfully received the guests. Today, slowly such traditions are vanishing. People stand in long queues, present the gifts, take photos, then go to dining halls and leave. Lavish lighting, jarring music, and excessive food mark the occasion. There are chat counters, cocktails, beverage counters, and various cuisines to suit everyone’s palate. In many cases, visitors at buffets fill the plates as if they should not miss any item. Half an hour later, one can find half of the foodstuff in the bins. In a country with a population of 1.4 billion, more than a third go without 2 square meals daily. Does it not amount to a sin to waste food?

A week back, I attended a meeting where they arranged a dinner. The organizers called all to join a buffet dinner which offered rice, sambar, one side dish, pickles, and fruit. Ever silver plates were stacked. One has to take a plate, eat, and wash the plate. Unfortunately, most events rely on PET bottles to serve water. In a marriage with a footfall of a thousand, about 5000 PET bottles are used for drinking water. Many have a sip and throw the bottles with more than half of the water in them. Double sin is committed. One is to waste the water and the other is to add non-biodegradable items.  In a mass marriage program, I learned that about 50 thousand PET bottles were used. One bottle cost about 5 rupees at the wholesale rate, it worked out to Rs.2.50 lac approximately. The collective community marriage is being done as a social service to avoid huge expenses. So the idea was good. However, the organizers could consider avoiding plastic and using ever silver plates and tumblers which could be reused. Since they do this annual ritual, they can also plan to acquire plates and tumblers for long-term use. During the lean period, they could rent them out or even do it free of cost with a refundable security deposit. Any new idea is not accepted easily. The environmentally conscious citizens should rise to the occasion. There is no benefit in cursing the changing lifestyle and lamenting over the impossible. Wherever we can do something, we can. About 50 years back, we never had PET bottles, but then also life was going on. We agree that today the scale of measures to take is huge, but eliminating plastic from planet Earth is an immediate task. Time is running out