Call for integrated approach to mitigate effects

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 29

Director-General, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Ashwani Kumar has cautioned against global warming and called for an integrated approach to mitigate its effects, especially in the Himachal region.

“Advance preparations and multi-disciplinary approach coupled with intensive research is needed to combat the impact of climate change which would adversely affect agriculture, horticulture, forestry, biodiversity, flora and fauna and disturb the cropping patterns”, said Kumar who was here on a visit to Himalayan Forestry Institute here.

“The global warming being a slow process, the rise in temperature recorded so far is 1.75 degree. As per estimates, it can reduce crop yield by 15 per cent and there is dire need to develop high temperature resilient crop varieties and adopting organic farming could be a possible solution”, he said adding that the necessity of regeneration of biodiversity in Himalayan region is more as it was key to conservation and renewal of water sources.

Kumar pleaded for setting up a laboratory for certification and authentication of organic farm produce and educating the farmers about benefits of organic farming which fetched 200 to 250 per cent higher returns.

Stressing that the Himalaya region has an added advantage that it is “store house” of rare medicinal herbs, Kumar said that preservation and propagation of these rare species of herbs grown in high altitude areas can multiply the income of the farmers besides keeping them insulated from climate change.

The Himalayas are facing a serious problem of natural regeneration of several species of trees, including ‘deodar’ (pine) trees not taking place and the Himalayan Forestry Research Institute has taken a up a project for regeneration of deodar, besides another project to gauge the carrying capacity of Shimla, assigned by National green Tribunal(NGT).

Another project for regeneration and conservation of endangered Himalaya species is also underway at Potter’s Hills in Shimla with the support of the state forest department, he added. There are nine institutes under the ICFRE working in various parts of the country to formulate, organise, direct and manage forestry research, transfer developed technologies to states and other agencies and impart forestry education, Kumar said.

However, to handle the problems of the Himalayan region which are “Himalayan in magnitude” an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach is needed for which a National Institute needs to be set up, he suggested.