May 20, 2004

Durdana Soomro shares her fascination for old trees and discusses how we can protect them

In the compound of a bungalow in Patriata, some distance from Murree, there is a 70-year-old tree which is alive today because of the provisions made for it by an English officer. I haven’t seen it myself, but a friend who has said there was a plaque there with the name of the man who had planted it and left money behind for its care.

Who knows who planted those beautiful trees that till recently lined Abdullah Haroon Road in Karachi and which in the course of one night were brutally massacred with the swiftness and stealth of an army operation. Various motives have been put forward as to why these trees were cut, just as there are differing views as to how old these trees were. Some say they were 50 years old, others say 100. You may think 50-100 years is a good innings for a tree, but while trees do have a life span, it is much longer than you think.

If you go to Kew Gardens in London, you will see the oldest pot plant in the world: a cycad (Encephalartos altensteinii), which dates back to the early 1770s. It was collected in the Eastern Cape Region of South Africa and brought to Britain in 1775 by Francis Masson, one of Kew’s earliest plant collectors. It measures four metres from the base of its stem to its tip, growing at the rate of 2.5 cm a year.

In Kew again there is a pagoda tree (Sophora japonica), which is almost 250 years old. It was brought from the Duke of Argyll’s estate in Whitton in 1762, and is one of the few trees that survived from the original botanical garden started on the site by Princess Augusta, mother of George III. Its name implies that it is a native of Japan but it actually comes from China, and it may interest you to know that extracts of its fruits were used to adulterate opium.

On a trip to the Sofiero Gardens in Helsingborg, Sweden, I saw a 90-year-old grape vine which was still bearing grapes. It is in an English-style conservatory built around 1912 by Gustave VI Adolf (then Crown Prince) and his first wife Margareta. Several varieties of vines were planted in it to keep the Royal table well supplied with grapes and five of these are still bearing fruit.

The above are examples from botanical gardens but cultivated trees or those growing in the wild can also attain a great age. The banyan (Ficus benghalensis) family, which includes some of the world’s largest trees, is a familiar sight. It attains a height of 100 feet or above but what is even more remarkable is its girth.

A single mature banyan tree may be as large as a forest extending over more than an acre. This is because of its aerial roots that descend to the ground like spectacular curtains. Over time some of them become supporting trunks and generate roots of their own. The process continues over the entire life of the tree, which according to ancient Indian writings could be 5000 years or more. Two banyans at Prayag and Gaya in India, which were described as already ancient by writers in 400 BC, were still alive in the 17th century and admired by Emperor Jehangir.

In Karachi you would have passed many of these trees without batting an eyelid. This is because most trees here are not allowed to develop to their full glorious expanse. It is a problem that has to do not only with increasing urbanization but also with lack of planning and foresight. Trees are constantly being chopped and hacked for wood or to make way for telephone lines, electricity lines, billboards, road widening etc. Their roots are squashed by pavement blocks, their trunks are daubed with toxic paints. Is it a wonder then that so few of them grow old gracefully?

Although the Sindh Trees and Parks Ordinance is there to protect trees that fall within municipal limits, (presumably to see that they don’t!) it seems that the law is rarely implemented. What we need alongside the law is an active maintenance and conservation programme along with increasing public awareness and appreciation.

Tree plantation weeks have become the norm but we also need tree inspection weeks and tree maintenance weeks to make sure that the trees are thriving. You can’t just plant trees and then forget about them. Young trees need a lot of attention to make sure they develop properly.

They need staking to ensure that the trees grow straight and are not damaged by the wind. They also need proper watering which may necessitate digging a pit around the tree. To make sure that the tree has a nice shape it may need pruning of some of the side shoots or those branches which are not growing in the right direction.

Young trees need fertilizing and they also need to be checked for insect or disease attack. This care and attention continues even when the trees are mature, although it may not be as intensive. But mature trees sometimes have problems of their own which need to be addressed.

In Kew I was surprised to see massive, fully mature trees being given root treatment. Even though they were growing in the lap of luxury it seems that they were stressed out due to root compaction and drought. Root zone treatments being given included injection of high pressure nitrogen gas to break up the soil and allow air and water to penetrate, introduction of fungi which would combine with the tree roots and increase nutrient and moisture intake, and mulching to conserve moisture and prevent recompaction.

A programme of regular care and maintenance should be there for all trees, but those of special significance in terms of their size, beauty or age could be singled out for special attention, perhaps something on the lines of Singapore’s Heritage Trees Scheme.

This was started in 2002 to protect the majestic mature trees and significant tree-lined roads in Singapore. The system is purely voluntary with members of the public nominating trees that they feel need to be conserved. The nominations are then judged by a panel comprising members of the National Parks Board, Urban Environment Council, People’s Association and arboriculture experts on the basis of height, girth and social, cultural, historical and educational significance.

To start with 36 trees have been nominated, ranging from 80-100 years old located mostly in parks and roadside verges. Once a tree has been nominated special efforts are made for its maintenance and protection and to increase public awareness about its significance.

The involvement of the citizens is a crucial aspect of tree protection. Earlier in the article I listed some examples from botanical gardens because that is where you would expect to find the best-kept trees. But there is another angle to it. In botanical gardens trees are labelled and the public is provided with information to increase their awareness and appreciation.

If you go to Karachi’s Zoological Garden, which was laid out more than 150 years ago, you will see some fine old trees. But sadly there is no information whatsoever as to what kind of tree it is, its age, uses etc. A few plaques in front of some of the more interesting trees would not cost much but would make a visit to the garden a more rewarding experience.

It is not always necessary to spend big sums of money to make a difference. But we do need to make an effort if we want to save our mature trees for future generations. These trees not only add a great deal of beauty to the landscape but are a part of our history; they give us a sense of identity and rootedness in our environment which, given the rapid pace of change, we need more than ever before.

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