Srinagar, Sep 1: Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-Kashmir) has brought together 37 Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers from 18 States for a three-day national capacity-building programme on “Ecotourism in Forest and Wildlife Realms: Prospects & Challenges”, being held from September 1–3 at the Shalimar Campus.

Organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, the programme brings together senior forestry professionals, university leaders, researchers and subject experts to deliberate on emerging opportunities and challenges in sustainable ecotourism, forest and wildlife management.
Addressing the participants, Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-Kashmir, Prof.Nazir Ahmad Ganai, stressed that tourism in ecologically fragile regions must be guided by sustainability, conservation and community participation. He said the objective should not be to maximise tourist numbers but to maximise the positive value of tourism while minimising its ecological footprint.
Emphasising the vulnerability of Himalayan ecosystems, Prof. Ganai called for a calibrated approach in which tourism becomes an instrument for conservation rather than ecological degradation. The Vice Chancellor also underlined the growing role of GIS, remote sensing, Artificial Intelligence and digital monitoring in protected-area management, biodiversity assessment, visitor management, ecosystem monitoring and evidence-based decision-making. He said SKUAST-K has an important role in generating scientific evidence, building professional capacities and providing technology-driven solutions to emerging environmental challenges.
Former Chief Secretary, Mr. Ramesh Negi (IAS), Guest of Honour, emphasised the need to shift ecotourism from a tourism-centric to a conservation-centric model, keeping ecological carrying capacity, biodiversity protection, local livelihoods and responsible visitor behaviour at the centre of planning and management.
Dr. Javeed Iqbal, Course Director, said the programme has been designed to go beyond conventional classroom-based training by providing participants with a field-oriented, interdisciplinary and technology-enabled learning experience. He noted that participation from 18 States would facilitate cross-state learning and exchange of experiences from diverse forest and ecological landscapes.
The programme covers key themes including Himalayan biodiversity, protected-area management, ecosystem carrying capacity, legal and institutional frameworks, Eco-Development Committees, participatory planning, gender integration, overtourism mitigation, sustainable livelihoods, GIS, remote sensing and AI-based conservation monitoring.
As part of the experiential component, the participating officers will visit important ecological and tourism landscapes including Wular Lake, Gulmarg, Zabarwan landscape, Chandaji Eco-Restoration Site and Hokersar Wetland. They will also be exposed to technological innovations at SKIIE and the Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, SKUAST-Kashmir.
The programme builds upon SKUAST-Kashmir's continuing engagement with MoEFCC through capacity-building initiatives focused on smart conservation, forest landscape restoration, climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation. The University has also been advancing multidisciplinary, technology-driven solutions involving AI, IoT, CRISPR and precision systems.