India will establish the country’s first Forest University. The University of Forest will be the first of it’s kind. The Telangana Assembly has approved the Forestry Universities (UoF) Act 2022. It will be the third University of Forestry in the world, following Russia and China. The Telangana government has decided to increase the size of Hyderabad’s Forestry College and Research Institute (FCRI). The FCRI will be upgraded to the status of a university.
Additional 18 programmes, including Ph.D., Diploma, and certificate courses in Urban Forestry, nursery management, agro-forestry, tribal livelihood enhancement, forest entrepreneurship, climate-smart forestry, and forest park management, are planned to be launched when FCRI is upgraded to a university.
The FCRI currently has 366 seats. The employee strength will be 210, up from 118 now. The Chancellor of the University will be the Chief Minister of the State, and the Chancellor will appoint the Vice Chancellor.
According to the government, the purpose of the varsity will be to produce qualified forestry professionals for the preservation and long-term sustainable management of forest resources, as well as to foster research and development of appropriate methods for propagation of plantation crops to meet demand from industry and domestic needs.
Aside from traditional forestry operations, the university will work to develop Agro-Forestry models suitable for different Agriculture and Agri situations in order to reduce pressure on natural forests and economic upliftment of farming communities.
1. In order to create learning synergies, the University will network and partner with similar institutions.
2.The University’s goals will be to train high-quality forestry professionals for the preservation and long-term management of forest resources.
3. The University will promote action research by providing farmers with comprehensive training.
4. To promote research and development of appropriate methods for spreading plantation crops to meet the business demand.
5. In addition to traditional forestry operations, the University will work to develop agro-forestry concepts suitable for various organic agriculture conditions in order to reduce pressure on natural forests and to improve the economic well-being of farming communities.
6. Under the flagship initiative ‘Telangana Ku Haritha Haram,’ the Telangana government has positioned 268.83 crore saplings.