Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran has stressed on the importance of forests in mitigating the effects of global warming and climate change.
Forests play a huge role in reducing the extent of such calamities and preserving ecosystems, he added in the message posted on Facebook on the occasion of the International Day of Forests on Thursday.
According to him, the Forest Department has adopted a number of innovative ideas for forest conservation and afforestation. Notably, the State is the first to implement a policy for ecological restoration.
Head of Forest Force Ganga Singh formally inaugurated an observance organised at the Forest Department headquarters. Speaking on the occasion, he stressed on the need to effectively manage forest resources. He also called for propagating awareness on the importance of forests and its conservation.
Presiding over the function, Chief Wildlife Warden D. Jayaprasad exhorted forest personnel to function as crisis managers capable of evolving solutions in wake of emergent crises such as human-wildlife conflicts.
The senior official also advocated adopting artificial intelligence for forest and wildlife conservation. Such tools are capable of simulating future prospects using data and thereby enabling stakeholders to anticipate threats to implement mitigation steps.
Additional Principal Chief Conservators of Forest P. Pugazhendi, Justin Mohan, L. Chandrasekhar, Sanjayan Kumar and Pramod G. Krishnan also spoke on the occasion. A webinar on human-animal conflicts was organised as part of the event.
The Kulathupuzha and Palode forest range offices in association with Iqbal College, Peringamala, organised an awareness programme to mark the occasion at Palode junction in Peringamala.
