Bhubaneswar: Healthy forests function as lungs mitigating climate change and protecting soil. The efforts in this regard should be done through community participation, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on the occasion of International Day of Forests, Thursday. To mark the day, state Forest, Environment and Climate Change department and Orissa Environmental Society (OES) organised an event here. Taking to social media, CM Naveen Patnaik said, “Healthy forests act as lungs of our planet, mitigate climate change, protect soil, cleanse water and air as well as sustain livelihood.
On International Day of Forests, reiterate commitment to continue expanding our forest and mangrove cover through community participation for a healthy future for mankind. #GreenOdisha.” Orissa Environmental Society (OES) organised an event at Saraswati Sishu Vidyamandir, Sijua, on this year’s theme ‘Forests and innovation: New solutions for a better world’. Presiding over the event, OES president Sundara Narayana Patro said, “Forests are such precious gifts of nature that fulfill the human needs in longterm if managed sustainably”. Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Bijay Ketan Patnaik emphasised protecting wildlife and the need for maintaining the balance of forest ecosystems. “The forests as precious sources of innumerable goods and services and as being habitats for over two-thirds of terrestrial wild animals and plants bear great significance. However, increasing threats to the forests in the form of deforestation and depletion of their rich biodiversity not only deteriorates the overall health of our planet but also puts a question mark on the future survival of land-based organisms”, he added.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP