‘Blue green centres’ soon at 100 locations across Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Centres to conserve the environment will soon come up across the state. These facilities, to be named ‘blue green centres’, will each include a small community hall, a park and a building where members of the local community will be taught various aspects as part of the greening mission.
They may even have a small artificial lake and will come up at 100 locations including Chennai in the first phase, said Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary, at a panel discussion among experts at Anna university on Tuesday.It was organised by the Australian Consulate as part of its collaboration with the state government to mark Madras Day. A toll free number will be announced that can be used by residents to get information on the saplings they want to buy and where to buy.
Experts at the discussion called for a tree act and wetland management plans better than the existing ones most of which have remained on paper for years. Joss Brooks, an Australian ecologist who presented the success story of Adyar eco park, said that working together the two (TN and the Australian mission) can create green spaces across Chennai and Tamil Nadu which provide residents with a deep understanding of nature, while also contributing to management of the watershed and restoration of the state’s indigenous ecology. “This is both the right thing to do and a smart thing to do. By adding blue-green education centres to each park we can engage citizens for a better future and also train local people to use the surrounding environment for their economic empowerment,” Brooks added.
Australian Consul General Sarah Kirlew said there is a lot of cooperative work Australia and India can do on conserving and restoring ecosystems including around water management, where Australia has some world-leading technology.
Massive greening measures be from mangrove planting to increasing green and tree cover will be undertaken across the state, said Sahu. “By 2030, we will add 12,000 sqkm of forests using the 260 crore trees we will plant. This year alone, about 615 sqkm of green space has been added by 3.3 crore saplings planted.”