Port Blair, Oct. 9: The one-week compulsory training course on Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of Island Ecosystem for the Indian Forest Service (IFS) Officers got underway on 9th October 2023 at TSG Grand. The training is being organized by Zoological Survey of India, Port Blair sponsored by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.
This training course enrolled by 21 senior level Indian Forest Officers (IFS) from various States & Union Territories. The five days training course includes class rooms teaching exercise; field visit to Swaraj Dweep (Rani Jhansi Marine National Park), Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, Wandoor; Baratang (Mangrove ecosystem & lime stone cave), besides hands on training on intertidal marine fauna at Bumanella, South Andaman. The training course was inaugurated by Dr. T.S. Ashok Kumar, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), as a Chief Guest; and Shri. Kamal Datta, IFS, Additional, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Department of Environment and Forests, A & N Islands was the guest of honour. Besides the participants, the inaugural programme was attended by the officials from the Department of Environment & Forests, FSI, CIARI, Pondicherry University, Botanical Survey of India.
In his inaugural address, Dr. T.S. Ashok Kumar, IFS highlighted about the importance of the training programme and welcomed the participants. He also briefed the objectives and highlighted on the first priority, which is to add to your knowledge. He said, all of you are highly qualified, who have come through national level, having completed your examinations. After that also you do many academic scores in forest service, because forest service in both professional and administrative. Therefore, you have a lot of knowledge, but it is also true that every day knowledge is increasing and science is growing. The world is changing and we have to update ourselves, whether you are a DFO or whether you are a Conservator or whether you are a PCCF.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are rich in biodiversity resources, and covering 87 percent of the geographical areas covered with tropical forests and this training programme is an opportunity to interact with fellow trainees and see the beauty of this archipelago. There are two ways of acquiring knowledge, one is by studying and attending classes. The other is through interaction. Because of the experience, the people have different type of knowledge and you can learn from talking to them what are the things they are doing in different states this one week will provide you that opportunity.
We focus on mainland because we live there. Our surroundings are there and we live there. The planet has only 29% of land. So naturally, there should be something in the nature which has kept 71% of the planet under oceans of water. All the animals and the fish, turtles and bigger animals, we are very familiar. The coastal and marine biodiversity is the interface between oceans and land. That is the spot where you see a large amount of diversity, amphibians and mangroves, birds, crocodiles, alligators, a lot of things occur in this region.
Mostly we are not aware of the number of species occurring in oceans. The destruction of the habitats is more dangerous than the production in number of certain species. Like coral reefs, they are called right forests or equal to rainforests in biotechnology. Coral reefs, then sea, grass meadows, and we have mangroves, the coastal areas. These are the very, very sensitive ecosystems and minor changes and pollution can cause serious damage. Anything that happens to oceans, it will adversely affect our well-being of human beings, the islands are immediate threats. Therefore, the scientific community, the forest department is fighting to regulate, control, postpone the disasters. We have, the legal framework and implementation is one of the challenges. We have CRZ, the modification to 2019, like Forest Conservation Act, all the coastal areas that is applicable to regulate the development of electricity. He wished all the participants for successful training.
Shri. Kamal Datta, IFS Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, in his felicitation address, welcomed the trainees to the island territory. He briefed about the history of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and earlier settlements. He also highlighted about the marine biodiversity and its importance. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands is rich in coastal and marine biodiversity and there cannot be a better place to visit and study the coastal and marine biodiversity. The coral reef of this islands is very much important and after the tsunami 2004, most of the corals in Andaman & Nicobar Islands got damaged. If you see the tsunami effect, the southern part of the Nicobar group got submerged and northern part of this island of North Andaman district got uplifted. The global warming is another major threat. Because with this global warming, the water temperature is slowly increasing. Being an island territory, Andaman & Nicobar Islands are the first to face the drought of nature, due to the sea level rise. He wished the trainees for successful completion of the training course.
Dr. C. Sivaperuman, Officer-in-Charge, ZSI, Port Blair, greeted the dignities and guest invites. In his welcome address, he mentioned about the training course and briefed about the next five days programme both class room and field visit. He also emphasized the role of Zoological Survey of India, Andaman & Nicobar Regional Centre, Port Blair in organizing various level of training courses. The function concluded a the vote of thanks.
After the inaugural session, the technical session was started, Dr. Sivaperuman, wherein he delivered a talk on the overview of Biodiversity of A & N Island with special reference to Marine ecosystem. Dr. K. Sivakumar, Professor, Pondicherry University delivered two talks on Introduction to Management of Coastal and Marine Biodiversity in India: Challenges and Prospects; Introduction to Endangered Species Recovery Programme of India.