37 IFS officers from 18 states participate in ecotourism programme at SKUAST-Kashmir

Ziraat Times News Desk

SRINAGAR, SEPT 3: Thirty-seven Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers from 18 States are participating in a three-day national capacity-building programme on ecotourism being hosted by Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-Kashmir) at its historic Shalimar Campus from September 1 to 3.

The programme, titled “Ecotourism in Forest and Wildlife Realms: Prospects & Challenges,” is being conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, and brings together senior forestry professionals, university leaders, subject experts and researchers to deliberate on emerging challenges and opportunities in sustainable ecotourism.

The participation of 37 IFS officers representing 18 States is a major national feature of the programme, providing a platform for cross-state exchange of professional experience, knowledge and innovative approaches to forest, wildlife and ecotourism management.

Addressing the participants, SKUAST-Kashmir Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Nazir Ganai emphasized that tourism in ecologically fragile regions must be guided by sustainability, conservation and community participation.

He said the objective should not be to maximize tourist numbers, but to maximize the positive value of tourism while minimizing its ecological footprint. Fragile Himalayan ecosystems, he observed, require a carefully calibrated approach in which tourism becomes an instrument for conservation rather than a source of ecological degradation.

Prof. Ganai stressed the need to integrate scientific knowledge, modern technology, local community participation and effective governance in developing sustainable ecotourism models.

He noted that the rich ecological landscapes of Jammu & Kashmir provide an ideal living laboratory for understanding the relationship between biodiversity conservation, livelihoods and tourism.

He also highlighted the role of institutions such as SKUAST-Kashmir in generating scientific evidence, building professional capacity and providing technology-driven solutions to emerging environmental challenges.

The Vice Chancellor underlined the growing importance of GIS, remote sensing, Artificial Intelligence, digital monitoring and other frontier technologies in protected-area management, biodiversity assessment, visitor management, ecosystem monitoring and evidence-based decision-making.

Former Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi (IAS), who was invited as Guest of Honour, emphasized that ecotourism must evolve from a tourism-centric approach to a conservation-centric model.

He said ecological carrying capacity, biodiversity protection, local livelihoods and responsible visitor behaviour should remain central to ecotourism planning and management.

Course Director Dr. Javeed Iqbal said the programme had been conceptualized to move beyond conventional classroom-based capacity building and provide participants with a field-oriented, interdisciplinary and technology-enabled learning experience.

He said the participation of IFS officers from 18 States makes the programme particularly significant by bringing together diverse experiences from India’s different forest landscapes and creating opportunities for learning across geographical and ecological contexts.

The participants will examine real-world examples from the Kashmir landscape and explore practical solutions that could potentially be adapted to other parts of the country.

The programme covers themes including Himalayan biodiversity, protected-area management, ecosystem carrying capacity, legal and institutional frameworks, Eco-Development Committees, participatory planning, gender integration, overtourism mitigation, sustainable livelihoods, GIS, remote sensing and AI-based conservation monitoring.

As part of the experiential learning component, the participating officers will visit important ecological and tourism landscapes, including Wular Lake, Gulmarg, the Zabarwan landscape, Chandaji Eco-Restoration Site and Hokersar Wetland.

They will also receive exposure to technological innovations at SKIIE and the Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning at SKUAST-Kashmir.

University authorities reiterated SKUAST-Kashmir’s commitment to serving as a knowledge partner in addressing regional and national environmental challenges. The University has been promoting technology-driven solutions through its multidisciplinary expertise and applications involving AI, IoT, CRISPR and precision systems.

The programme builds upon SKUAST-Kashmir’s continuing engagement with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and earlier capacity-building initiatives focusing on smart conservation, forest landscape restoration, climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation.

With senior forest officers from 18 States participating, the programme is expected to facilitate inter-state knowledge exchange, professional networking and the development of actionable strategies for sustainable forest and wildlife management.

The programme also seeks to advance a broader approach to ecotourism—from unchecked tourism to purposeful ecotourism, passive visitation to active stewardship, resource exploitation to long-term sustainability, and policy intent to effective field action.