WWF-India is running the Cities for Forests campaign, a social project for people to reconnect with their forests and find out how they can help conserve them.
Photo: WWF-India

The campaign was launched on July 30, when students and young professionals across the country went to streets with banners for passers by. Tied banners and signage on trees along the roads were hanged to attract more attention of dwellers. The launch events took place in Bangalore, Kolkata, Shimla, Dehradun, Baroda, and smaller towns like Mandla, Valsad, and Ramnagar. The campaign was launched during the International Year of Forests as declared by the United Nations.

Introducing the campaign, Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF-India, said, “City dwellers often forget their inter-dependence on forests—fresh air, water, recreational activity, sources of wilderness and imagination. ‘Cities for Forests’, with its unique call to action, aims to build environment awareness amongst citizenry, to enlarge the support and understanding for the protection of India’s forests and her natural heritage.”

The Cities for Forests campaign calls upon Indians to go out and discover the forests that support their cities and share their findings on the interactive platform citiesforforests.in. Here they can upload stories, pictures, presentations, and videos about individual observations of the city’s forests and green spaces.

Currently, WWF is also running the Living Forests Campaign, which combines science, new perspectives from partners and decades of on-the-ground experience to help address the challenge of saving the world’s forests, says WWF official site. As part of the campaign, WWF is asking the public, policymakers, and businesses to support the goal of Zero Net Deforestation by 2020.

WWF-India aims to organize events across various cities during the Wildlife Week in October, where some of the best findings shared by individuals or groups on citiesforforests.in will be presented to politicians, government advisors and environment journalists, to make a bridge from those who have ideas to those who can bring changes.

This year WWF is celebrating its 50th anniversary with ‘The world where we live’ Campaign’.