Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, today chaired inaugural session of two day workshop on capacity building of JK Forest and other departments being conducted under REDD-Plus Action for Jammu and Kashmir.
The REDD-plus mechanism of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aims to provide financial incentive for forestry based climate change mitigation activities like reducing carbon emissions from forest degradation and increasing carbon stock through conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.
The programme was jointly organized by JK Forest Department and Himalayan Forests Research Institute Shimla.
Commissioner Secretary Forests Ecology and Environment, Sanjeev Verma, was the guest of honour on the occasion.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, while addressing on the occasion, said that J&K has emerged as a leader among Indian states in recent years. ‘We are the second best in e-Office initiative and have performed exceptionally well in Covid mitigation and management’, he added. It becomes pertinent that J&K would emerge as a model UT in environmental sector within a year’s time, he asserted. He also called for funding such initiatives by convergence of funds.
He expressed happiness to note that as per the Government of India Report, 2021, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has the highest carbon stock per unit area which is indicative of maximum biomass and good soils in forests of J&K. With 42 types of forests, J&K holds the most diverse forests in the country and has every reason to be a model UT as far as REDD-plus is concerned.
He said that the workshop should be utilized to enable a model project which is simple and practical involving convergence, livelihood generation and grass root level programmes. He expressed satisfaction that the Forest Department with the mandate of afforestation and conservation of forests is now actively involving grassroots level institutions like Village Panchayats and Biodiversity Management Committees. He also appreciated the new initiatives of ‘One Beat Guard, One Village’ programme and campaign on ‘Har Gaon Hariyali’ and ‘Van Se Jal, Jal Se Jeevan’ undertaken by the Forest department.
He congratulated HFRI and J&K Forest department for organizing this capacity building workshop.
Chief Secretary highlighted the challenges being faced by the humanity due to changing climate. He expressed concern over species extinction and the rate of biodiversity loss. He spoke on the vulnerability of primary sector like agriculture, horticulture, livestock rearing and the potential of forests for mitigation of Climate Change and its role in maintaining ecological balance, environmental stability and sustainable economic development.
While appreciating their work, Chief Secretary called upon the employees of Forest Department to do their job enthusiastically and conviction towards conservation of ecology and environment through forests. He also suggested giving them timely trainings to update their skills.