The Forest Man of India

Jadav Molai Payeng was just 16 years old when, after a devastating flood in 1979, he caught sight of hundreds of snakes, dead from heat on a large sandbar — severed from the mainland and devoid of vegetation — in the Indian river Brahmaputra. “The snakes were not slinking and slithering like normal snakes and didn’t even bite, but were lying lifeless like old ropes,” he recalls. “I thought that a tree cover could have saved them. I sat and cried there for hours.” 

Jadav, who lived in Majuli, the world’s largest river island, decided to do something to help prevent such a thing from happening again. He turned to the elders in his community for advice, and they advised him to plant trees on the barren stretch to create habitat for the snakes and other animals. They gave him 50 cotton tree seeds and 25 bamboo seedlings, which Jadav immediately planted.

“Since the day villagers offered me saplings, I started doing plantings regularly, and it is now a full grown forest,” Jadav says. “I began loving the forest and its serene environment and [would] spend several hours here in a day.” Those plantings continued through the next four decades and led to a forest that stretches across 1,360 acres (550 hectares) and offers habitat to wild species like elephants, Bengal tigers, rhinoceroses, and more. “My goal,” says the now 61-year-old activist, “was to save the biodiversity from extinction.” The forest also serves as a vital corridor for wildlife, helping to connect larger forests in the region and providing a safe haven where animals can live and thrive.

For the most part, Jadav worked without acclaim. Then, in 2010, a local wildlife photographer published an article about Jadav and his work, and he became known as “the forest man of India.” This led to widespread recognition for his work: the government named the “Molai” forest after him, he became the subject of a children’s book called Jadav and the Tree Place, and, in 2015, he was honored with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India. He also received honorary doctoral degrees from Assam Agricultural University and Kaziranga University.  

School children around the world are now taught about the work he did, but Jadav says he was motivated only to protect the environment. “The snake incident changed my life and forced me to think about the environment and ways to save it from degradation,” he says, adding that he hopes more young people will get involved in planting trees to protect the environment for future generations.