05 Feb 2018|Noida | F 1 MDP Room
One Week Training Course on “Eco-Tourism, Livelihood and Forest Conservation” started at Amity University
AmitySchool of Natural Resources and Sustainable Development (ASNRSD) & AmityInstitute of Global Warming & Ecological Studies (AIGWES) jointly startedOne Week Training Course on “Eco-Tourism, Livelihood and Forest Conservation”for IFS Officers sponsored by Ministry of Environment, Forest and ClimateChange (MoEFCC), Govt. of India at Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida Campus
TheTraining course is attended by 20 Senior IFS Officers from various statesincluding Bangalore, Karnataka, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh andUttrakhand amongst others.
Inauguratingthe programme, Dr. V.B. Mathur, Director, Wildlife Institute of Indiasaid that there is an evident transition in Tourism industry and it isimportant for forest officers to understand the difference between Tourism andEco-tourism. He shared that Eco-tourism has not only promoted environmentalconservation but has large impact on social and cultural heritage preservation,economic development and enhancement of livelihoods as well. He stressed thatwith increasing number of human activities in the forest areas has led toincrease in land pollution too and the requirements for a true eco tourismexperience are becoming difficult to fulfill. Dr. Mathur apprised that suchtraining courses are necessary to upgrade the knowledge of forest officers forfurther empowering and skilling them in the area of Eco tourism so that they canunderstand the linkages between eco-tourism, employment and conservationbetter.
Addressingthe gathering, Dr. Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor, Amity Universitysaid that Eco-tourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the TourismIndustry that has helped in environmental conservation, socioeconomicdevelopment and increase in employment and entrepreneurship at a local level.She remarked that with growing interest in eco-tourism, Government has laiddown policies for re-forestation. Dr. Shukla emphasized that there is a need tocreate awareness amongst local people towards the promotion of eco-tourism withregards to culture and heritage also. She opined that partnership amongst localcommunities, educational institutions and forest authorities is required forbetter support of the concept of eco-tourism.
Dr.S.P. Singh, IFS (Retd.) Director, ASNRSD, Amity University; Prof. B.K.P. Sinha,IFS (Retd.) Advisor, ASNRSD, Amity University and Mr. J.C. Kala, IFS (Retd.)Hony. Advisor, AIGWES, Amity University were also presentduring the occasion.
Duringthe day, various technical sessions were conducted on topics such as“Conservation at the Cross Roads: Issues, Challenges and Way Forward”,“Ecotourism Initiatives in Kerala” and “Ecotourism as Responsible Tourism,Issues and Challenges”.