Foresters facing climate change challenges

Foresters must face various tough challenges in the current scenario of global climate change, Forest Survey of India director general AK Wahal said while chairing the valedictory session of a two-day workshop on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus (REDD +) for Indian Forest Service officers organised by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) on Tuesday.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Wahal elaborated the role of Forest Survey of India in creating a forest inventory which will help in developing REDD+ projects. The current report of FSI contains forest carbon estimates which will help the authorities to project REDD+ strategies. Foresters will have to learn new techniques, adapt and capitalise on available resources to meet challenges facing them due to the global climatic changes, he added.

The State Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Raghu Bir Singh Rawat, said that the conservation of forests in India can be facilitated more effectively by efficient execution of REDD+ projects. Pointing at the changing scenario, Rawat exhorted foresters to be part of the dynamic process to keep abreast of what is happening at the global level. “We have our commitments to international agreements and need to formulate our national strategy accordingly,” he stressed.

Most participants were of the opinion that REDD+ is a new concept in forestry and there is need for a capacity building programme at all levels of the forest hierarchy to ensure the desired implementation of this concept. ICFRE, DDG (Education) Omkar Singh, DDG (Research) Sandeep Tripathi, and ICFRE Climate Change division head Renu Singh took part in the panel discussion. The workshop held at Forest Research Institute sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forest was attended by 20 IFS officers from different States.