Our correspondent
Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Environment and Forests Minister Wangki Lowang urged citizens to adopt sustainable conservation practices while stressing the ecological and livelihood significance of forests.
Speaking at the 37th annual day celebration of the north east regional centre of the G B Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment (GBPNIHE), here on Wednesday, the minister lauded the active role of communities in the state in protecting wildlife.
He asked researchers to ensure ground-level implementation of conservation practices, underlined the role of fallow periods in shifting cultivation for soil recovery, and called for identifying sustainable alternatives to ease pressure on forests.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife & Biodiversity) Ngilyang Tam, in his address, described Arunachal Pradesh as both the “Land of the Rising Sun” and a biodiversity hotspot, with nearly 79 percent of its area under forest cover, the highest in India, an official communique informed here on Thursday.
Tam pointed to the ‘Pakke Declaration’ on climate change as a milestone, and highlighted ecotourism, carbon sequestration, and community-led management of sanctuaries as key pathways to sustainable development.
Delivering the 12th Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant Himalayan Popular Lecture, Prof Padma Raj Gajurel of Northeast Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST) spoke on “Diversity of Wild Edible Plants in the Eastern Himalayan Region – Management and Conservation Priorities for Sustainable Development”.
He emphasised documenting traditional knowledge, sustainable harvesting, and the critical role of wild edible plants in food security and livelihoods.
Prof Mohan V Aware, Director of NIT-Arunachal Pradesh, and Prof Narendranath S, Director of NERIST, in their addresses, stressed the urgent need for balanced natural resource management.
Prof Aware called for integrating technology, commercialisation, and sustainability, while Prof Narendranath highlighted the interdependence of forests, rain, and irrigation in sustaining biodiversity and soil fertility.
He cited the examples of Padma Shri awardees Tulsi Gowder and Salumarada Thimmakka to underline the collective responsibility in forest conservation.
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