ABSTRACT
Auroville – the ‘city of dawn’ named after the Indian Philosopher Sri Aurobindo – is an experiment in living dedicated to the promotion of peace and international understanding. Auroville was founded in 1968 on the Eastern Coast of India, near Pondicherry. The 1,000 ha of land occupied by Auroville’s 750 adults, initially severely degraded, has now been planted with over 2 million trees. Land management approaches integrate the use of trees, animals and annual crops over individual watersheds. As the trees grew, new micro-climates were formed, and many animal species returned. The first bird count made in Auroville listed 40 species in 1972 against 104 confirmed species in 1990.
