“Himalaya Conclave” organized

29th January 2022, Dehradun

The ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Dehradun and Sparsh Himalaya, Dehradun, Uttarakhand jointly organized the “Himalaya Conclave” today.

Dr. M. Madhu, Director, ICAR-IISWC, Dehradun highlighted the significance of the Himalayas, Himalayan Ecosystems, people and the Himalaya Conclave being organized at the Institute.

Shri Ashok Kumar, DGP, Uttarakhand Police informed the participants that the rural development should become part of the development of the Upper Himalayas including education, healthcare and sanitation besides horticulture and ecotourism based interventions.

Dr. Lakshmi Kant, Director, ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora, Uttarakhand underlined the Institute’s working on the improvement of quality and quantity of crop production through hybrids and improving genetic productivity of crops.

Smt. Poonam Chand, Additional Director, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, Government of Uttarakhand highlighted the Board’s Promotional Programmes and Schemes including Ecotourism, Nature-based Tourism, Revival of Traditional Tracks of Char-Dhams and Home-Stay Provisions.

Underlining the vulnerability of the Himalayas, Padma Bhushan, Dr. Anil Joshi, Director, HESCO, Dehradun urged for integrated management of the Himalayas and Himalayan resources.

Padma Shri, Shri Kalyan Singh Rawat, Maiti, Social Worker emphasized on the systematic protection of the Grassland (Bugyal) Ecosystems of the Upper Himalayas above 3,000 M AMSL, which he termed as biodiversity hotspots of the Himalayas. These help in maintaining the purity of the Ganga and the other Rivers of the region.

Dr. Kalachand Sain, Director, WIHG, Dehradun stressed on the need of integrated approaches involving the multi-disciplinary experts, multi-parametric analysis and domain knowledge to tackle the natural calamities experienced in the Himalayas frequently.

Dr. J.P. Pachuri, Professor, Himalaya University emphasized on the understanding of the social issues confronting the Himalayan sustainability.

Dr. D.R. Purhohit, HNB Garhwal University urged for checking the migration of farming communities and technological interventions to retain the youths and farmers in the Himalayan Villages.

The Conclave aimed at discussing the success stories of the different Research Institutes and Organizations functioning in Uttarakhand Himalayas registered participation by around 120 Scientists, Technocrats, Professors and Stakeholders.

(Source: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand)