Germana Carillo About a decade ago, a New Delhi entrepreneur named Jai Dhar Gupta became a clean air activist. The main reason? He was diagnosed with bronchial asthma and so decided to spread awareness of the dire need to ensure that our cities breathe better. A path that led him to create the first private Biosphere in the world
@Rajaji Raghati Biosphere/IG
Drawing inspiration from Avatar – James Cameron’s cult film – and his own battle with bronchial asthma, Indian environmental activist Jai Dhar Gupta built a sprawling 32-acre biosphere that converted a degraded land into a thriving ecosystem.
Gupta had a vision-a place like Pandora, the fictitious planet in the movie, a bright Darwinian park full of the sounds and colors of evolution.
In 2021, he came upon a patch of land snuggled between Rajaji National Park and Tiger Reserve and the Raghati River. It was degraded with severe soil erosion and ecological imbalance.
The natural contours had been taken away, with the land being levelled, further accelerating soil erosion. Besides, monocultural agroforestry through non-native eucalyptus had further deteriorated health of the ecosystem as reported by The Hindu.
Acquiring the land, Gupta launched a rather ambitious restoration effort. He removed thousands of non-native eucalyptus trees and laid the foundation for a diverse, native ecosystem.
After the eucalyptus plants had been torn out, Gupta also initiated a seed bank and, working through the biodiversity parks, grew and propagated saplings of haldu, rohini, mala, saal, jamun, and pangana which were planted throughout the biosphere.
A biosphere is a microenvironment. It’s a zone of life. We have the tiger reserve next to us, and we are working to create a pure environment, growing only what nature intended for this particular area, he says.
Positive outcomes and future possibilities
Although still in its initial phase, the Rajaji Raghati biosphere has already witnessed tremendous success. By selecting only native species and providing a supportive habitat, more than 99% of the saplings that were planted survived and are thriving. The result is very rapid development of biodiversity with many species of wildlife returning to the area. Additionally, strategic planting and contouring have reduced soil erosion by magnitudes, thus improving the health and stability of the soil. Also, the diverse flora and organic farming laid the ground for effective carbon sequestration, which may provide a solution to mitigate climate change.
The Rajaji Raghati biosphere is not a mere conservation project but testimony to the metamorphosis that vision for environmental management and sustainable practices can accord. In a country where deforestation has emerged as one of the major environmental challenges, private biosphere models like Rajaji Raghati offer a ray of hope by underlining the importance of active community involvement and sustainable practices in preserving our forests.
What if these could be replicated elsewhere?
