Saturday, 12 March 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
A week-long compulsory training course on management of forests for water quality improvement for officers of Indian Forest Service (IFS) concluded at the Forest Research Institute (FRI). This training program was designed to expose the participants to the recently studied advances in forest management.Various topics were discussed to enhance the understanding of the issues related to forest hydrology, management plan and the policies for improving the water quality by forestry interventions. The16 IFS officers who participated in the course included those from Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Odisha and New Delhi.
Speaking as the chief guest in the valedictory session, State Biodiversity Board chairman Rajiv Bhartari said that river rejuvenation planning is necessary along with water conservation and forest management. He said that rivers have different owners and stakeholders and should thus be treated meticulously along with biodiversity assessment to minimise the loss of biodiversity. The FRI should undertake analytical studies to ascertain the ground reality, he added.
Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) director general and FRI director Arun Singh Rawat said that as per the direction of the MoEF the course was designed to provide knowledge of recent advances in hydrological studies in forests. He also appreciated the idea of taking a site and doing an analytical study.
