The Man Who Planted Trees - Real-life Counterparts

Real-life Counterparts

Real-life people in other countries have produced similar effects. Abdul Karim in India created a forest out of nothing over a period of 19 years, using the same method as Bouffier. Another man, Jadav "Molai" Payeng, planted a forest sprawling 1,360 acres, calling it the Molai Woods, in Assam, India. An organization called Trees for the Future has assisted more than 170,000 families, in 6,800 villages of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, to plant over 35 million trees. Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, founded the Green Belt Movement which planted over 47 million trees to restore the Kenyan environment. Shanghai Roots & Shoots, a division of the Jane Goodall Institute launched The Million Tree Project in Kulun Qi, Inner Mongolia to plant one million trees to stop desertification and alleviate global warming.

The character of Bouffier has some similarity to the legendary early 19th century American tree planter Johnny Appleseed. Another tireless promoter of tree-planting is Marthinus Daneel, Ph.D., Professor of African studies at Boston University and founder of ZIRRCON (Zimbabwean Institute of Religious Research and Ecological Conservation). Daneel has worked with churches for years planting millions of trees in Zimbabwe. Due to instability in Zimbabwe in recent years, such efforts have been significantly curtailed. Similarly, concerned about global warming, Bhausaheb Thorat planted 45 million seeds after being inspired by the book. For this he started the Dandakaranya Abhiyaan in June 2006 at Sangamner, Maharashtra, India (Sangamner is on Pune-Nasik highway). UNEP has taken notice of this campaign in its A Billion Tree Campaign in which almost 45 million seedlings have been planted. Harmony magazine's Tina Anil Ambani has an article on Bhausaheb Thorat's global warming awareness efforts and his Dandakaranya Abhiyaan in the December 2008 edition.