PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) director general Kanchan Devi said that a significant portion of land is undergoing various stages of degradation due to various factors but holds strong potential for restoration. She emphasised that improvement in ecosystem services through forest landscape restoration efforts like clean water, fertile soil, climate regulation and productive forest landscapes is crucial for agriculture, resource management and the resilience of communities. Devi said this while speaking at a two-day consultation workshop on designing pathways for forest landscape restoration organised by ICFRE with ICIMOD and GIZ which ended on Tuesday.
The workshop brought together 42 participants from State Forest departments of Uttarakhand and Gujarat, members of Uttarakhand Van Panchayats, ICFRE, GIZ, IUCN, FSI, TERI, ICIMOD, ICFRE-FRI, NGOs and experts to collaboratively develop a shared vision and actionable strategies for capacity building and knowledge sharing on forest landscape restoration in India. Deepa Singh from ICIMOD shared her experience on impact pathways and theory of change for capacity building on forest landscape restoration. Over the two days, participants engaged in dynamic sessions and group exercises. The workshop gathered reflections from representatives of the Gujarat and Uttarakhand State Forest departments, Van Panchayat members and research institutions, affirming their commitment to collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration efforts.
