The actual strength of a nation lies in its natural and human resources. Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers have the vital responsibility of conserving the natural resources, environment and traditional culture, said Uttarakhand governor Baby Rani Maurya. She was speaking at the annual convocation of IFS probationers at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) here on Tuesday.
Addressing the gathering, she said that India has a prosperous history of scientific management of forests. Stating that a nation’s actual strength lies in its natural and human resources, she said that India is among the top 12 countries in context of biodiversity and abundance of natural resources. Maurya said, “Forests have special place in the livelihood of people of mountain States like Uttarakhand. We need to make extensive programmes for watershed development and rain water harvesting to improve the agricultural productivity. Benefits of forestry should be connected with the rural economy. Locals should be trained to earn livelihood through eco-tourism.”
She also expressed concern over the increasing forest fire incidents and asked that a standard operating protocol be made and implemented effectively. Women have very important role in forest resources management. They depend on the forests in many ways. Local women and stakeholders should be included in forest conservation efforts, she added.
The IGNFA director Omkar Singh, informed the gathering that this institution had served the country for last 79 years. He said that all the IFS officers in independent India and around 350 forest officers from 14 other countries have been trained in this institution. He further informed that a total of 64 IFS probationers and two foreign trainees from Bhutan were awarded with diploma in this convocation. Jagtap Kiran Suresh of Maharashtra cadre topped the 2017-19 training course.
Speaking on the occasion, director general of forests, Siddhanta Das said that India had a rich history of scientific management of forests which is one of the oldest in the world. He also emphasised that as the large population of the country is heavily dependent upon the forests for its livelihood and sustenance, programmes are needed not only to conserve the biodiversity for posterity but also to use it in a sustainable way for economic upliftment of the people.
Additional director general of Forests, Saibal Das Gupta said that the days when forests were treated as mere timber resources are over and now the focus is on harnessing the ecological benefits from forests. He exhorted the officers to conserve forests by empowering local communities, sustainable sharing of benefits from forests and by supporting rural livelihood options.