Pune Citizens Take Geotagging Of Green Cover Into Their Own Hands
Pune’s green cover is now being meticulously mapped by its own citizens, addressing critical data gaps left by official authorities. A growing movement of residents, conservationists, and biodiversity experts has proactively undertaken the task of tracking and protecting existing trees. These vital citizen-led geotagging initiatives are proving crucial for monitoring species health and urban biodiversity across the city’s hills, riverbanks, and forest patches.
On Pune’s Chatushrungi, Taljai, and ARAI hills, members of the Green Hills Group actively geotag saplings using the custom-built TrackMyTree app by CoReCo technologies. This app records species, planting date, GPS location, and caretaker, enabling data-driven monitoring of growth rates and species performance. This steady initiative involves 50 to 80 volunteers each weekend, having already tagged thousands of trees. The necessity for these efforts became starkly evident in 2024, when over 150 residents around Taljai hill alleged that authorities had indiscriminately cut down native trees without proper permission. This incident, which led to an FIR, underscored the critical absence of a public, up-to-date tree database. In response, residents from Sahakarnagar began independently mapping remaining trees using the open-source Epicollect portal, documenting native species and highlighting crucial data gaps.
Concurrently, the Pune River Revival (PRR), a volunteer collective, systematically documents trees along the Mula river using the ConnecTree tool, developed by the Pune Knowledge Cluster (PKC). This data collection, verified by PKC experts, raises awareness about critical riparian zones which act as buffers against floods and filter pollutants. Even in Pune’s urban areas, residents are engaging in geotagging to ensure the survival of newly planted saplings, particularly where Metro work caused significant tree loss and lack of shade. The overarching motivation for all these citizen-led groups remains the pervasive lack of official data and transparency regarding Pune’s green cover. Citizens express limited trust in administrative efforts, citing outdated information and inaccessible databases, thus fueling these impactful initiatives to safeguard the city’s natural heritage and promote sustainable urban development.
This widespread citizen engagement is effectively filling critical information gaps in Pune’s urban forestry. These voluntary efforts are not just documenting trees; they are fostering community ownership and promoting sustainable urban planning. Such initiatives are crucial for both environmental preservation and improving the quality of life in Pune’s rapidly developing landscape.
