Professor Shyam Sunder Jyani Joins Praanada as Ambassador

Praanada is proud to announce that Professor Shyam Sunder Jyani, a Rajasthan-based climate activist, is now an Ambassador for Praanada and will be advising us on our pilot project in Alwar.

Professor Jyani is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Dungar College in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. Since 2003, he has devoted himself to the greening of Rajasthan, the largest and most arid state in India. Working with schools and villages, he has organized the planting of more than 2.5 million trees, focusing on planting indigenous trees that fit well with the local conditions, especially fruit-bearing trees that help meet the nutritional needs of the families caring for them.

His unique concept of Familial Forestry is key to his success. He has encouraged thousands of families to adopt a tree as a “green family member,” resulting in a survival rate of over 95% for the trees planted.

In 2021, his concept of Familial Forestry was awarded the United Nation’s prestigious Land for Life Award, the world’s highest award for land conservation and restoration. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is the world’s only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. In announcing the 2021 winner, the UNCCD wrote:

“This year’s Land for Life Award goes to Familial Forestry of Rajasthan, India, a unique concept of Shyam Sunder Jyani, Associate Professor for Sociology at Dungar College in Bikaner, Rajasthan, that relates a tree with a family, making it a green ‘family member.’

Placing a family at the cornerstone of society, the concept ensures the success of any social campaign. Familial Forestry means transferring the care of tree and environment in the family so that a tree becomes a part of the family’s consciousness. More than a million families from more than 15,000 villages of desert-prone northwest Rajasthan have planted over 2.5 million saplings in the past 15 years, with active participation of students and desert dwellers.”

At Praanada, we are honored to have the opportunity to work with Professor Jyani and excited to have the benefit of his expertise. As we work to bring our own “mini-jungle” into existence in Alwar, we recognize that working with the community through individual families and local schools will be essential to our success.