My Forest is an initiative of Pune NGO Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF) committed to on-ground forest conservation in the Northern Western Ghats, specifically in forest areas which are privately owned and are under urgent threats of deforestation due to lack of conservation knowledge and changing value systems.

The clearing and burning of forest lands account for almost 20% of all global Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. In comparison, the global transportation sector (which includes road, rail and air travel) emits 14% of all GHG emissions. There is more carbon in Forests than in the atmosphere and they can act as vital carbon sinks. That is why, saving the existing forest cover is the easiest way to combat climate change.

Through My Forest, our mission is to halt the loss of forests by making the cause of ‘conservation’ economically viable for private forest landowners with the help of our many patrons and nature enthusiasts from around the world. It is also an initiative to harness the power of people further by involving the urban population in a cause which is incidentally connected to them. It is a platform for people from any social, economic and education background to come together for a cause of biodiversity conservation which is universal and all-inclusive- both in its benefits and its repercussions!

We invoke participation from every environmentally aware citizen to help us in the herculean task of saving and regenerating these forest patches which lack government support but are immensely important biodiversity havens, carbon sinks and wildlife corridors in the Northern Western Ghats.