President Pranab Mukherjee today said that the world has woken up to the threats and challenges of environmental degradation and global warming in the last few decades which needs to be tackled by countries jointly.
The President was talking to a group of probationers of the Indian Forest Service (2013-15 batch) who called on him at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
Addressing them, the President said that "forests are not merely a resource but they encompass the cultural, spiritual and intellectual heritage of the country, according to a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.
He said the government has entrusted the officers with the responsibility of protecting this greatly valuable heritage.
"The President stated that in the last few decades the world has woken up to the threats to the very survival of mankind due to environmental degradation, depletion in forest cover and global warming leading to climate change. That is why environment has emerged as the prime agenda for the 21st century of which forests are an integral part," the statement said.
"To address adverse impacts arising out of climate change, it is essential that countries come together to address this issue in a collective manner," Mukherjee said.
The President said the management of forests and its governance is a challenging task and this can be made citizen-friendly through extensive use of technology.
He urged the probationers to keep abreast with the changing international and domestic forest management issues and adopt the best practices in their profession.
The IFS probationers are presently undergoing training at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy in Dehradun and are in Delhi to participate in an appreciation course in Parliamentary processes and procedures at Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training.
