Dehradun (The Hawk): Chintan Satra the research roadmap of Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) was organised on the 30th of June in the convocation hall of Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Sh. Bharat Jyoti, IFS, Director Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun was the chief guest for the occasion and presided over the inaugural session and also delivered the key note address. Director, Forest Research Institute(FRI), Dr. Renu Singh, IFS delivered the welcome address on the occasion. She welcomed the Chief Guest Sh. Bharat Jyoti, Director General Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Sh. A.S. Rawat,IFS, Sh. Suneesh Bakshi, IFS, IG(RT), MoEF&CC, Principical Chief Conservators of Forests from different states, senior forest officers, senior scientists from ICAR,NBPGR,ICFRE and FRI, researchers from different universities, Ph. D scholars, progressive farmers and representatives of the press and media to this one day brainstorming session of ICFRE. She then called on Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education for the inaugural address. Sh. Rawat spoke at length about the importance of forests, and the services rendered by them as also about the competing pressures on the forests. He spoke about the need to brainstorm ideas to reorient the research to meet the emerging challenges in the field.
This was followed by a presentation on the overall activities of Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education by Dr. H.S. Ginwal, Scientist-G. Subsequently, the delegates were organised into six thematic groups which deliberated on different thrust areas. Working Group I worked on the thrust area Managing Forests and Forest Products for livelihood. The deliberations were chaired by Dr. Vijay Kumar, IFS, PCCF, Uttarakhand. The Working Group II deliberated on the thrust area of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Security. The deliberations were chaired by Dr. Dhananjay Mohan,IFS,PCCF and MD, Forest Development Corporation, Uttarakhand. Working Group III worked on the thrust area Forest and Climate Change and the deliberations were chaired by Ms. Madhu Sharma,IFS ,PCCF, Karnataka Forest Department. Working Group IV worked on the thrust area Forest Genetic Resources Management and Tree Improvement. The deliberations were chaired by Sh. Jagdish Chandra, IFS, PCCF and HoFF, Haryana Forest Department. Working Group V worked on the thrust area Forestry Education and Policy Research and meeting emerging challenges. The deliberations were chaired by Sh. Bharat Jyoti, IFS,Director, IGNFA. Working Group VI worked on the thrust area Forestry Extension for taking research to the people. The deliberations were chaired by Dr. M.P. Singh, IFS,Director, IWST, Bangalore.
The deliberations were followed by presentations made by the individual working groups on the recommendations from the six thrust areas. Vote of thanks was delivered by Shri R.P. Singh, IFS, Head Silviculture and Forest Management Division. The programme was compared by Ms. Vijaya Ratre, IFS, Asstt Silva (G), FRI. All Dy. Director Generals, Assistant Director Generals, Scientists of ICFRE and FRI participated in the programme. The entire team of FRI under the guidance of Director, FRI contributed immensely in making the programme a success.