Miyawaki forests in Bengaluru need more than just trees

Bengaluru: The Miyawaki method is a technique for creating a dense forest in a very short time. Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist, popularised this, inspiring many environmental enthusiasts. Bengaluru’s first Miyawaki plantation took place at the Toyota Kirloskar factory in Bidadi, which the company says was carried out in 2009 under the guidance of Akira Miyawaki himself.

. Miyawaki forests are now pitched as urban heat-reduction pockets, carbon sinks, biodiversity pockets, flood-mitigation buffers, and pollution barriers near roads.

. “In a city like Bengaluru, where every inch of real estate costs a bomb, finding land for actual forests is difficult. A few small high-density green patches can be really useful,” says Deokant Payasi, a co-founder of Saytrees, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in tree planting and Miyawaki in Bengaluru.

. The process involves deep soil preparation, planting 2 to 3 saplings per square metre from 40 to 50 native species, and intensive maintenance for the first three years, after which the forest is left to sustain itself, explains Payasi.

. He explains the layered structure as central to the Miyawaki method:

. “A forest will have multiple layers — starting from the canopy, then you will have a tree layer, then you will have a sub-tree layer, then you will have shrubs, and a bit of the grasses. So it’s a combination of all of them.”

. For Bengaluru specifically, he gives examples: peepal and banyan for the canopy layer, and pongamia and mahogany as locally found trees. The proportion he follows is roughly 15% canopy, 55–60% trees and sub-trees, and 15–20% shrubs, grasses, and flowering plants.

. He also ties the layering directly to biodiversity: each species and layer supports different fauna. “For squirrels, you require a tall tree and a slightly stronger tree so that they can climb. If only shrubs are there, then the squirrel will not be there.” The idea is that 40 to 50 different native species, packed into a small area, replicate the layered habitat that a monoculture plantation could never.

. On species selection, his practical advice is to either refer to established native species lists published by Bengaluru University or the Forest Department, or simply observe a nearby natural forest and draw from what is already growing there.

. “For the first three years, it requires attention and a lot of water, and a gardener has to be there. But when it becomes a living forest, it will thrive on its own,” says Payasi.

. Who does Miyawaki in Bengaluru?

. Saytrees says it has undertaken at least 50 Miyawaki sites in Bengaluru, including at Bengaluru University, Manyata Tech Park, and a 3.5-acre Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) park in Banashankari 6th Stage. The NGO receives Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding and works on government land allotted through agencies such as the BDA. Payasi estimates that Saytrees has covered about 100 acres under the Miyawaki method.

. Apart from partnering with Saytrees, BDA has undertaken Miyawaki plantations in areas including Banashankari Stage and Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout. Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE) partnered with BDA for a 7.5-acre greening drive with 195 native species in the 6th Block of Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout (NPKL). There is one more high-density plantation undertaken by Saytrees in this layout, say sources. “Locals are happy with Miyawaki plantations, they are supportive of it, says a BDA forest official.

. K-RIDE officials explain how the NPKL project took off. For the tree felling in Suburban Rail Corridor 4, K-RIDE needed to plant over 20,000 trees and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BDA, which allotted the NPK Layout. They planted 30,000 trees across nine blocks.

. “But while surveying the site, we noticed recycled water flowing through a marsh wetland, and degraded but ecologically interesting land. We took forward the idea of Miyawaki plantation here, in conversation with BDA officials,” explains a K-RIDE official.

. “We focused exclusively on indigenous, rare, endangered and threatened species. We also built rainwater and groundwater recharge structures, diverted a nala to irrigate the plantation, and converted existing water bodies into stone-paved ponds,” the official explained.

. The funding comes from German Development Bank (KfW) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), with the Ministry of Railways and the Government of Karnataka as stakeholders, the official says.

. The Bengaluru West City Corporation’s 2026–27 maiden budget explicitly proposed 100 Miyawaki forests to be created in parks, schools and roadside vacant land using native species. The budget also linked this to specially-abled-friendly parks, animal parks, and senior-citizen libraries. No other corporation has any Miyawaki proposal as of now. And officials are unaware of any corporation-funded Miyawaki project being undertaken as of now.

. Since no specific body is responsible for Miyawaki forests, there is no data on their actual extent in Bengaluru or on their survival.

. What matters in the Miyawaki method

. A team of researchers, including Anirban Roy from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), studied the carbon sequestration potential of Miyawaki forests in urban landscapes between 2021 and 2023 across sites in Bengaluru and Palakkad.

. The sites studied ranged from two to five years old. Researchers also examined biodiversity and soil health in many Miyawaki plantations, including at a 1,200 sqm site at the Indian Railway Institute of Disaster Management campus off Mysore Road, developed as Miyawaki by Saytrees.

. The study found strong carbon sequestration potential in Bengaluru sites. However, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad site, where grassland had been cleared to create the forest, showed significantly slower carbon sequestration.

. Researchers also flagged concerns about biodiversity: dense canopies blocked herbaceous growth, faster-growing trees crowded out slower-growing species, and thick leaf litter prevented natural regeneration. No new species were observed growing naturally within the plots.

. “The misconception of considering grasslands as degraded lands and then creating a Miyawaki forest is very unfortunate. That is not going to give us any benefit in the long term,” Anirban Roy told DH.

. He observed that, unlike natural forests, Miyawaki forests are herb-deficient. “A forest without herbs is considered to be a very unhealthy forest in ecological parlance — herbs do a great job in microbial health of the soil, trapping the fine carbon, and they are meant for earthworms and all kinds of microorganisms,” he added.

. Abi Vanak, Director of the Centre for Policy Design at ATREE, says the Miyawaki method is widely misunderstood in India. “I won’t call it a forest. It’s a Miyawaki garden or Miyawaki plantation,” he says.

. A Miyawaki plantation, when executed well in an appropriate setting, can act as a carbon sink. However, “many studies have shown worldwide that natural regeneration makes for more resilient landscapes. Carbon sequestration rates are also higher in natural ecosystems,” he replied when asked which type of forest can sink carbon better.

. Researchers say Miyawaki plantations leave little room for new species because of intense competition among planted species for water, sunlight and resources.

. Note of caution on water

. Where should Miyawaki plantation be done? Experts feel it should not be done in naturally open ecosystems like grasslands and scrub, or even in open forest areas. “Because then you’re destroying that ecosystem by unnecessarily planting trees there,” Vanak explains.

. “These trees need a lot of water to grow at a rapid pace. Under no circumstances should it be grown in semi-arid landscapes or in arid landscapes where water is a constraint,” he adds.

. Since Bengaluru is almost semi-arid, with less than 1000 mm of rainfall per year, water is a major concern, he explains. However, there is a silver lining. “Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has made it mandatory to have sewage treatment plants, so there is a lot of unused treated water, which could be used for these,” he opines.

. He adds a note of caution. “I have seen many organisations putting money into Miyawaki in open areas, and claiming to have planted thousands of trees in small areas. But most of those will die within a few years if not managed well. Also, it should not be passed off as land restorastation,” he says..

. “Since predictions project 2026 as a drought year because of El Niño, it would be interesting to see how many of the Miyawaki plantations will survive it,” he adds.

Miyawaki forests in Bengaluru need more than just trees

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