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In Defence of Kashmir’s Poplar Trees

6 April 2020

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By: Jauhar Rafeeq and Tanveer Ahmad

It is most tragic that government had started a war against poplar trees without taking any opinions from experts of the said field. Lakhs of poplar trees are being chopped in Kashmir Valley without knowing the fact that these trees are not allergic.

There are about 16 million Poplar trees in Kashmir Valley. Poplar is the only fast growing tree species in Kashmir Valley which gives an income of Rs 9000 to 15000/tree at a short rotation of 7 to 8 years. The Poplar is a most favoured tree species used for plantation in Kashmir Valley. It is considered as an economically back bone tree species of farmers in Kashmir.

Misinformation regarding Poplars

The name “Russian poplar” is a misnomer and has nothing to do with Russia. The variety of poplar trees was introduced in Kashmir in 1982 from the US. Locally called as Russi Frass, the species takes less time (10-15 years) to grow, as compared to the Kashmir poplar that takes 30-40 years. There is myth that, pollen (in reality unfertilized seed) of Russian poplar is allergic in nature which is totally baseless. As per the study conducted by Government Medical college Srinagar, SKIMS-Soura and several scientists based on their research in the same field, pollen of Poplars can cause allergic reactions in less than 20 percent of people. Compared to this pollen from Pine and some grass species can cause allergic reactions in 62.7 percent of population while as pollen from Chinar tree cause allergic reactions in 60 percent of population. Studies show that pollen of other tree species are allergic than poplars. Does it mean that we shall fell all trees. If we can not bear them for just 15 days. How can they bear us for a long. Poplar unfertilized seeds have 0.0001 percent effect on our health.

High Court orders to chop Poplars

The battle against the Russian Poplars soon reached the Jammu Kashmir High Court. In 2014, the Jammu Kashmir High Court banned the sale, purchase and plantation of female Russian Poplars. In May 2015, the Jammu Kashmir High Court directed all Deputy Commissioners and Tehsildars in Kashmir to implement its orders on chopping down Russian Poplars all over Kashmir. The decision was taken by the court in view of health hazards being caused by the Russian Poplars. The High Court specified that the Tehsildars concerned would be personally responsible for ensuring compliance of orders passed by the Deputy Commissioners, for removal of the Russian Poplars across Kashmir.

“It is a common knowledge that pollen seed of Poplars is adversely affecting health of general public, mostly of elderly people and children. The pollen seed of these trees has given rise to chest diseases in Kashmir, which can become life threatening for them,” the Court observed. The District Magistrates were directed to implement the court order without delay, as “the menace of Poplar trees of Russian species has caused havoc with health of people.”

Lakhs of Poplars chopped

Following the HC order, lakhs of Russian Poplar trees were chopped in Kashmir. Jammu Kashmir Government informed the High Court that nearly two lakh Russian poplar trees had been cut down in south Kashmir districts. The Distric Magistrate further gave an undertaking that about 1 lakh Russian Poplars would be chopped in Anantnag district this month. Through north and south Kashmir, Russian Poplars were sawed and slaughtered on the orders of the government. The trees that had enhanced the beauty of Kashmir for close to 40 years started being felled everywhere – by the highway, across the fields, in rural Kashmir and urban Kashmir.Anantnag, Budgam, Baramullah, Shopian, Kupwara. The list went on. The High Court ordered that action be taken on immediate basis for the “removal of nuisance”.

Twist in the Tale

Forest, environment and medical experts in Kashmir have discovered that the much-abused Russian Poplar trees are not responsible for any allergies as per medical research. Scientists from diverse fields are alarmed by the “indiscriminate, unjustified felling” of the Russian Poplars. The civil society has “vowed to protect 15.22 million Russian Poplar trees in Kashmir”. Experts say there are approximately 15.22 million poplar trees in Kashmir. They believe that “such large scale and their felling, as per experts, given their huge number forming a green cover in Kashmir, will turn Kashmir into a desert.”

On June 24, environment experts, scientists, academicians, legal experts and others participated in Srinagar in a panel discussion on ‘Poplar Tree Felling: Allergy Respite or Ecological Disaster?’ The panel discussion was organized by Mantaqi Center for Science and Society, Islamic University. The experts and participants from diverse fields pledged to save Kashmir from the ‘environmental catastrophe of Poplar felling’. Dr. Mushtaq Siddiqi, Vice-Chancellor of Islamic University of Science and Technology said, “We will use legal course and contest the order that calls for mass felling of poplar trees.” Dr Siddiqi said that various reports from SKIMS as well as publications in many international journals had made it amply clear that Russian Poplar is ‘not the culprit’ or a health hazard for the society.

As per scientific evidences, Poplar tree seeds are responsible for zero percent allergies. If the trees are to be chopped off because of their allergy potential, then Poplar has zero potential. A study titled ‘Role of Skin Prick Tests in Allergic Disorders’. was published in Indian Journal of Immunology. The study results stated that a majority of people (54 percent) were allergic to the pollen from a common ‘carrot grass’ that grows as an invading weed on roadsides and in fields and lawns and people were more allergic to dust. Studies conducted by Dr Naveed Nazir Shah, shows that 92 percent people are allergic to house dust, 73 percent to lawn grass, 65 percent to pine tree pollen, 59.3 percent to Chinar tree pollen and 18.2 percent to poplar tree pollen. According to Dr. T.H Masoodi, (Dean Faculty of Forestry SKUASTK) the pollen of poplar trees is 40 microns in size which makes it invisible to naked eye. “What we see on roads and in air is the seed of the tree and a seed is not an allergen.

Experts opinions

In the year 2018, Faculty of Forestry SKUAST-K debated utility of Poplar cultivation in Kashmir Valley. A brainstorming session was organised by the said Faculty whose Principal Investigator was Dr J.A Mugloo, Senior Scientist at Faculty of Forestry SKUAST-K. Experts including Medical experts, Scientists of Faculty of Forestry SKUAST-K, experts from Forest department, legal experts etc were of the opinion that Poplar unfertilized seeds are not allergic in nature. Lopping upto 65% is solution while as complete felling is meaningless. As per Dr J.A Mughloo, There is management problem of Poplars in Kashmir Valley. As per him, removing of 60-70% of canopy will reduce pollen shedding of these trees upto maximum. As per Dr S.A Gangoo, Chief Scientist at Faculty of Forestry SKUASTK, simple pruning is enough to deal with the pollen shed by these trees. Pruning of Poplars not only reduce the cotton fluff produced by the tree, but also increase its productivity in terms of tree girth and height.

Conclusion

Poplars are one the most important tree species of Kashmir Valley. They have multi benefits like Revenue generation, carbon sequestration, uses in fruit industry, phyto remediation, ecological waste water treatment systems, stream bank stabilization, soil building, bio filtration, soil erosion control etc. It is unfortunate that government had started a war against Poplar trees without consulting advices from experts. We can not underestimate the importance of Poplars interms of environment cleaning and economical value. There is enough research available which suggests that Poplar unfertilized seeds are not allergic in nature. Felling of Poplars will prove fatal for Valley both ecologically and economically. It is most tragic that lakhs of Russian Poplars are being chopped in Kashmir on the order of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, based on the wrong perception that these trees are a severe health hazard for the region.

(Authors are PhD scholars at Faculty of Forestry SKUASTK. They can be reached at [email protected])