Department of Forest and Climate Change, Government of Chhattisgarh organised a workshop on ‘Forest Fire Prevention and Management’ at the Dandakarnya Auditorium of Aranya Bhavan, Nava Raipur on Friday. The workshop brought together senior forest officials, security personnel, policymakers, and subject experts to discuss strategies for addressing the challenges of forest fires, which significantly affect biodiversity, forest health, and the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. Speaking on the occasion, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Forces V Sreenivasa Rao emphasised the importance of coordinated efforts to mitigate forest fire risks. He outlined the workshop’s objective to strengthen preparedness and foster collaboration among various stakeholders. Retired Indian Forest Service

 

(IFS) officer Dr R K Singh highlighted the necessity of a ‘whole-of-government to whole-of-society’ approach for effective forest fire management. Inspector General of Forests of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India Rajesh S discussed the National Action Plan on Forest Fires and commended the Chhattisgarh Forest Department for its efforts under the State Action Plan on Forest Fire. He stressed the importance of policy frameworks and interdepartmental coordination in addressing forest fire risks. APCCF (Protection) Sunil Kumar Mishra provided an overview of forest fire challenges specific to Chhattisgarh, while APCCF (Wildlife) Prem Kumar addressed the complexities of managing forest fires in LWE and wildlife areas. Representatives from the police and security forces, including Ajay Singh, DIG, CRPF; Balaji Rao, IPS, DIG, CAF; and J K Singh, BSF, highlighted the importance of coordination between security forces and the

 

Forest Department. They discussed joint strategies to improve response mechanisms and emphasised the significance of collaborative efforts in mitigating forest fire risks in sensitive regions. A discussion on strengthening forest fire preparedness and mitigation at the regional level was chaired by Dr R K Singh. The discussion covered advanced firefighting techniques presented by Raju Agasimani, IFS, CCF, Raipur Circle; best practices in forest fire management from Odisha, shared by V Karthick and innovations in fire detection and monitoring tools presented by Vikas Gusain, Senior Technical Assistant, Forest Survey of India. IFS officer Pankaj Rajput conducted the proceedings of the programme. Grishmi Chaand proposed a vote of thanks.