Human society is making the mistake of forgetting the importance of forests. Forests are life givers. The reality is that forests have preserved life on earth, said the President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu while addressing the officer trainees of Indian Forest Service (2022 batch) at their convocation ceremony at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun today (April 24, 2024).
The President said that today we talk about the Anthropocene Age, which is the period of human-centric development. During this period, disastrous results have emerged along with development. Unsustainable exploitation of resources has brought humanity to a point where the standards of development have to be re-evaluated. She stressed on the importance of understanding that we are not the owners of the earth’s resources, but we are trustees. Our priorities should be ecocentric along with anthropocentric. In fact, only by being ecocentric we will be able to be truly anthropocentric, she stated.
The President said that in many parts of the world the loss of forest resources has occurred very rapidly. Destruction of forests is in a way – destruction of humanity. It is a well known fact that conservation of earth’s biodiversity and natural beauty is a very important task which we have to do very quickly.
The President said that human life can be saved from the crisis through conservation and promotion of forests and wildlife. We can repair the damage at a faster pace with the help of Science and Technology. For example, the Miyawaki Method is being adopted in many places. Artificial Intelligence can help in identifying suitable areas for afforestation and area specific tree species. She stated that there is a need to assess various such options and develop solutions suitable to the geographical conditions of India.
