IUFRO POST-SYMPOSIUM TRAINING WORKSHOP BEGINS AT PAU

LUDHIANA, FEBRUARY 14:(Anmol Singh)

A two-day IUFRO (International Union Forest Research Organization) post-symposium training workshop on 'Working effectively at the interface of forest science and forest policy,' organized by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in association with IUFRO-SPDC and EU-BENWOOD Project, commenced here today. Dr SS Gosal, Director of Research, PAU, was the chief guest while Dr M. Kliene, Coordinator IUFRO-SPDC and Mr Pramode Kant, Director, Institute of Green Economy, New Delhi, were the guests of honour on this occasion.

Inaugurating the workshop, Dr Gosal highlighted issues concerning afforestation and reforestation. He pointed out that the involvement of scientists in such programmes is generally at the limited scale. PAU plays a significant role in State Agricultural Policy to match the interests of the farmers, added he. Highlighting the current issues of climate change and carbon sequestration in plantations, Dr Gosal said that the barriers in these activities are stringent and need to be addressed in the interest of stakeholders, more specifically the farmers and tree growers.

Dr Kliene stressed on the need to increase the participation of stakeholders in policy framework. He added that a lot of information is available with the experts but this must pass on to the stakeholders. Further, the available knowledge needs to be updated with scientific inputs and disseminated through different channels including training workshops, said Dr Kleine. He highlighted the objectives of IUFRO workshop which aims to equip the participants with the key aspects of science-policy interactions and best practices for work at the science policy interface in the context of international, national and local policy processes.

A wide range of case studies were presented addressing the forest-related science-policy issues including short-rotation forestry (SRF) under various management objectives. Interactive sessions were held where the participants shared their experiences and discussed the forest-related climate change mitigation projects, the scientific contributions to the forest policy and management and promoting of SRF in Asia and Europe.

Earlier, Dr Avtar Singh, Head, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, welcomed the chief guest, guest of honours, dignitaries, resource persons, faculty member and students of PAU. Dr SC Sharma, Coordinator, IUFRO post symposium training, SBS Nagar, Punjab, proposed the vote of thanks.


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