Forest Man of India Jadav Payeng is all set to undertake a new mission in Mexico as he signed an agreement with Fundacion Azteca, an NGO which aims to plant 7 million trees in the country.
Jadav Payeng has been provided a Mexican visa for 10 years and he will be in the country for 3 months every year to work on his mission starting from September.
Payeng will also play a leading role at environment summits to be organized by the NGO and share his rich experience with the youths of Mexico. To start with his forest building in Mexico, Padmashree Jadav Payeng intends to plant areca and coconut trees.
Congratulating Payeng, Assam environment and forest minister Parimal Suklabaidya said "I extend my heartiest congratulations to an extraordinary environmental activist from Assam, Padmashri Jadav Payeng for being invited by Mexico to replenish its forests".
An agreement to help the Mexican non-profit organisation to grow more trees was signed during the Ciudad de las Ideas (CDI) at Puebla City with former Mexican Senator Ninfa Salinas Sada of Grupo Salinas, in the presence of CDI founder and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Social Change and the Free Flow of Knowledge Dr. Andrés Roemer and naturalist Rituraj Phukan.
Embassy of Mexico in India in its tweet stated, "Mexico honoured to host extraordinary environmental activist from India, Jade Payeng- 40 million trees – with own hands. An alliance with @FundacionAzteca will lead to advance new tree planting in Mexico #ForestManOfIndia Deciduous tree Seedling."
Payeng is credited to have converted a barren landscape in Majuli in Assam's Jorhat district into a beautiful forest, which the local people named 'Molai Forest'. The forest reserve on the river Brahmaputra is known for its varied species of birds and wild animals.
The title 'Forest Man of India' was conferred on him by Jawaharlal Nehru University in April 2012.
