The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) director general VK Bahuguna said this at the inauguration of a five-day compulsory course for the officers of Indian forest Service on ‘Forest and Climate Change: Opportunities and Challenges of Adaptation and Mitigation’.

Addressing the participants at the Forest Research Institute on Monday, the ICFRE DG said that climate change is a major challenge for developing countries like India that face large climate variability and are exposed to enhanced risks from climate change.

With 1,73,000 villages classified as forest fringe villages, the communities obviously depend to a considerable level on forest resources. Issues related to water and food security are also important in relation to climate change adaptation, added Bahuguna.

The head of FRI Biodiversity and Climate Change division and the course director Dharmendra Verma, while welcoming the participants informed them that Climate Change Division at ICFRE is playing a proactive role in forest and climate change related issues at the national and international level and is engaged in capacity building programmes of the officers of Indian Forest Service, scientists and technologists working in the Government sector in related fields.

According to the programme organisers, about 35 officers from 21 State Forest Departments are participating in the training programme.

Anita Srivastava conducted the session while VRS Rawat of ICFRE proposed the vote of thanks. The FRI director Sharad Singh Negi and other officers and scientist of ICFRE and FRI were also among those present on the occasion.

The compulsory course is a part of Government of India’s scheme for one to two week long short-term courses for officers of the Indian Forest Service Officers in the premier institutions in the country for updating their knowledge, skills being about a positive change in their attitude for facilitating better management of natural resources of the country through organising specialised tailor-made courses.