Maintaining quality of forests a major challenge: Javadekar

New Delhi, Sep 2: Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar today termed maintenance of forest as a "major" challenge and urged research institutes to draw a "distinct plan" of improving the quality of forests.

Urging forest and wildlife officers to focus on 4 I's -- image, innovation, initiative, and interaction, Javadekar stressed on the need for ensuring people's participation in changing the quality of forests.

"Maintaining and improving the quality of forests is a major challenge. We must ensure that degraded forest must be converted into moderately dense forest in 10 years and moderately dense forest must be converted into dense forests in 5 years.

"To that end, water harvesting and changing some species are must. Forest research institutes must draw up a distinct plan of improving the quality of each forest taking the existing flora and climate into consideration," Javadekar said.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day conference of Principal Chief Conservators of Forests (PCCFs) and Wildlife Wardens (WW) here.

"Forest and wildlife officers must focus on the 4 I's – Image, Innovation, Initiative and Interaction," he said.

Laying emphasis on ensuring people's participation in changing the quality of forests, he urged the officers to provide solutions to various challenges.

The minister also released a report "Management effectiveness evaluation of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in India 2006-2014".

The agreement to establish the world's first centre of World Natural Heritage and Training at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was also signed on the occasion.

The Union Cabinet had recently given its approval for signing of the agreement between UNESCO and the government and had authorised DG (Forests) and Special Secretary of the Government to sign this agreement.

PTI