The Forest Research Institute officiating director, Dr RK Aima, has stressed on the need for learning new methods and technologies developed by various institutions for prevention and control of forest fires.
He said this while addressing participants at the inauguration of a training programme for Forest Department staff on forest fire mitigation and management jointly organised by the National Institute of Disaster Management, New Delhi and Forest Research Institute.
The course director of the training and FRI Silviculture division head Kunal Satyarthi emphasised on the need for advance preparation for mitigation of forest fires especially in the Himalayan regions. Other speakers said that expansion of urban population near forest areas can cause forest fires during fire season.
The basic purpose of the training is to sensitise the officers of forest departments on the extent of damage caused by forest fires.
They spoke on the reasons for occurrence of forest fire, the steps that can be taken to prevent or minimise the losses due to fire by use of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System tools and by developing a strong network between other departments of the Government and Joint Forest Management Communities (JFMCs) to control forest fire disasters.
To enlighten the participants on these issues, officials and faculty members from Uttarakhand forest department, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Forest Survey of India, National Institute of Disaster Management, New Delhi, Doon University and FRI will deliver lectures during the training.