Mysuru: The much-touted and the first-ever census of trees in Mysuru city was launched this morning. A proper tree census, which would quantify the biodiversity of Mysuru, has been a constant demand among environmentalists and conservationists in city. The Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act (1976) recommends such an exercise periodically.

The census was launched next to a road near Kuvempu Park at Kuvempunagar in the presence of member of erstwhile Mysore royal family Pramoda Devi Wadiyar. Bengaluru-based  ‘Project Vruksha Foundation’ is spearheading the launch. 

It is a technology-enabled census where each tree is mapped on an app ‘Project Vruksha’ and the exercise aims to document all the trees in the city. 

The app, which is currently not in public domain, includes features of the tree, such as species, girth, origin (foreign or native), height and age, and whether it suffers from issues like diseases, entangled wires choking it, etc.

Vijay Nishanth, founder of Project Vruksha Foundation, told Star of Mysore that the census has relevance in the present scenario as Mysuru is rapidly losing its green cover. Such an exercise would help the authorities identify which species would survive better even in case of compensation planting for those trees cut for development of infrastructure, he added. 

The purpose is to make the tree census data available in public domain in the future. Another benefit would be finding more lung spaces in the city where saplings can be planted and grown into trees. “Mysuru is a Heritage City and its trees too have heritage value. The app will be used to create a tree map, by clicking pictures of trees in all 65 wards in the city and uploading their details, including location, girth, origin, size, type, age and health,” he said. 

Mapping the trees will increase accountability and the tree data will be given to the Mysuru City Corporation and the Forest Department. “We are targeting to complete the exercise in two months and the data will be in public domain area-wise, road-wise and ward-wise. As many citizen groups are involved in the exercise there will be awareness on the presence of trees and there will be efforts to save them,” he said. 

“We need to recheck the data. We aim to make this app open to the public. We will show the citizens and the authorities how we have been documenting the trees. The purpose is to make the tree census data available in public domain in the future. Another benefit would be finding more lung spaces in the city where saplings can be planted and grown into trees,” Nishanth added. 

Volunteers R. Ravikumar, S. Shariff, T.V. Chaveen, G.P. Krupa, Bhagyalakshmi, Manohar and Chaya were present on the occasion.