India, June 27 -- The Delhi government is planning to create two new Miyawaki forests in the heart of southwest Delhi by planting 350,000 saplings of native species, environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Thursday. The forests will be created in Kharkhari Jatmal (2.44 hectares) and Jainpur (4.54 hectares), both near Najafgarh.

Miyawaki forests, which are 30 times denser than regular forests, were pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1980s. In these forests, saplings are planted close to each other to form a dense ecosystem. This is believed to ensure a high degree of carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration.

"In April the Delhi government announced that it will plant 7 million saplings this year. But there is hardl...