India Man Plants Forest Bigger Than Central Park to Save His Island

Since 1979, Jadav Payeng has been planting hundreds of trees on an Indian island threatened by erosion. In this film, photographer Jitu Kalita traverses Payeng’s home—the largest river island in the world—and reveals the touching story of how this modern-day Johnny Appleseed turned an eroding desert into a wondrous oasis. Funded in part by Kickstarter, "Forest Man" was directed by William Douglas McMaster and won Best Documentary for the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014.

See more from the filmmaker.
http://polygonwindowproductions.com/

See more photos of the world's largest river island.
http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/tags/majuli/

The Short Film Showcase spotlights exceptional short videos created by filmmakers from around the web and selected by National Geographic editors. We look for work that affirms National Geographic's mission of inspiring people to care about the planet. The filmmakers created the content presented, and the opinions expressed are their own, not those of the National Geographic Society.

To submit films for consideration, please email SFS at ngs dot org.

[Traffic noises and car horns]

This is the town of Jorhat in the
remote North East of India.

I suppose Jorhat is not really that
different from any other city in India.

People here work very hard.

They keep their heads down and
push ahead. They don't look back.

Life here is difficult for some and
even more difficult for others.

My name is Jitu Kalita and Jorhat is
where I was born and where I live.

My house is located
just outside of Jorhat.

This is my nephew.

He is suspicious of cameras.

In Jorhat I do many different things
but mostly I am a photographer.

I love photographing nature.

I take shots of the beautiful birds and
wildlife that live in our part of India.

In my house I keep some of my photography
awards but I don't like to show them off.

A few kilometres North of Jorhat lies one
of the largest rivers in India, the Brahmaputra.

Millions of people live along its shores.

Every year during the monsoon the
river floods everything in sight.

Destroying homes and farms and eroding away
hundreds of square kilometres of land.

One of the worst affected
areas is Majuli island.

Majuli is the worlds largest river island.

And it is home to over 150,000 people.

Since 1917, Majuli has lost over
half its land mass to erosion.

And the rate of erosion
has recently accelerated.

Well the erosion of Majuli. There
are several causes. The first is that:

This islander lost his home and his
temple. He points to where it once stood.

This temple may be next. It's located
only 2km from the river bank erosion.

The temple is nearly 250 years old.

Unless something is done in as little as
5 years this temple could be washed away.

[he sings a prayer]

The Brahmaputra is where I
take most of my photos.

One day in 2009, I was exploring a barren
part by boat when I something strange.

It looked like a forest
far in the distance.

I began walking towards it and when I
reached it I couldn't believe my eyes.

I had found a dense forest in
the middle of a barren wasteland.

When I left the forest I saw a man far
in the distance so I began following him.

I found him by the riverside. At first he thought
I was a poacher and tried to attack me.

But he stopped when I told
him I was just a photographer.

I asked him what he was
doing in the forest.

He explained he was planting trees
and he had been since the 1970's.

He told me his name was Jadav Payeng.

When I discovered Jadav Payeng and his forest
I wrote an article about it in the local newspaper.

Soon after he became known throughout
India. We are now very good friends.

This is Majuli island.

Since I was a child Majuli has
been a place of wonder for me.

Once, I ran away from home and came here.

I spent days exploring and drawing
pictures of the plants and animals.

To me Majuli is heaven.

Scientists recently announced that in 15-20
years Majuli island could be completely gone.

This is the forest mans
home on Majuli island.

Every morning the forest mans family helps
him prepare for his journey to the forest.

[motor boat engine starts]

[mobile phone ringtone plays]

Hello?

The forest man is being
honoured in a nearby city.

Payeng has won dozens of awards
for his incredible achievements.

But I think he feels frustrated
by getting awards.

Local government has tried to get Majuli
listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site

but their application has
been rejected each time.

Payeng has many brilliant
ideas about how to save Majuli.

He tells everyone his ideas but so
far no one has adopted them.

Sometimes I wonder what 10, 100
or a thousand Payengs could do.

He once told me I worry about the
fate of the world just like everyone.

I see bad things happening on my
island and I do what I can to help.

I'm just a simple man.
There are many just like me.

When I asked him if he thought
Majuli could be saved he replied - Yes.