Forest Department-TERI to host workshop on Feb 21

RAIPUR,INDIA: A workshop on evaluating forest ecosystem services and their contribution to the state’s Green GDP will be held on February 21 at Dandakaranya Auditorium, Aranya Bhawan, Nava Raipur. The initiative, jointly organized by the Chhattisgarh Forest Department and The Energy Research Institute (TERI), New Delhi, aims to integrate environmental wealth into economic planning.

The workshop will be conducted under the direction of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests  V. Srinivasa Rao and Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Land Forest) Sunil Kumar Mishra. Chhattisgarh is pioneering this effort, making it the first state in India to incorporate forest ecosystem valuation into its economic framework.

Prominent experts, including retired PCCF Dr. R.K.K. Singh, Dr. K. Subramaniam (Member, Chhattisgarh State Planning Commission), and Dr. J.V. Sharma (Senior Director, Land Resources Division, TERI), will discuss policy and scientific approaches to ecosystem service evaluation.

The technical session will feature presentations from leading experts. Jagdish Rao, CEO of Living Landscapes, Hyderabad, will share his experiences, while Dr. Madhu Verma, Senior Economic Advisor at IORA, New Delhi, will discuss the significance and future potential of ecosystem service valuation. Anirudh Soni, Fellow at TERI’s Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem, will present on the SEEA Framework, linking forest-based ecosystem services to state GDP. Additionally, Pranjal Chauhan, Associate Fellow at TERI, will outline a roadmap for implementing ecosystem service valuation in Chhattisgarh’s forests.

The workshop marks a crucial step in positioning Chhattisgarh as a leader in sustainable development by systematically integrating environmental assets into economic policies.