RAYBURN COLLEGE IN COLLABORATION WITH CHURACHANDPUR FOREST DIVISION ORGANISES “AWARENESS-CUM-CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME ON CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF BIODIVERSITY TODAY”
Today, February 23, 2023 (Thursday) at 1:30 pm Rayburn College in collaboration with Churachandpur Forest Division organized an “Awareness-cum-Capacity Building Program on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity” in the BA 6th Semester Classroom (Ground Floor). Faculty and students of 6th semester of the college participated in the event. The program was co-hosted by Mr. Janglalsem Touthang and Ms. Loukham Jammuankim. Dr. Kh. Thianminlian Vaiphei, Vice Principal of Rayburn College, delivered the welcome address followed by a keynote address by Ms. Esther Laltankim Serto, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, Churachandpur.
In this awareness programme, there were mainly three (3) speakers who spoke about different, very important and relevant topics. The sequence was as follows-
1. Shri K. Shital Meitei, MPS (Retd.), Administration Officer, Manipur Biodiversity Board. Topic on “Role of BMCs in Biodiversity Conservation”. During the programme, he gave a detailed account of activities of council to ensure Biodiversity Conservation in the state and its sustainable utilization. He also highlighted the role of BMCs in Biodiversity Conservation and need to make them aware of their role and responsibilities. He impressed the participants to familiarize themselves with the Biodiversity Conservation issues, and functioning of BMC, so that they can play the role of master trainers to train the large number of trainers including from Forest Department for training of BMC members.
2. Shri H. Doungel, Dy. Director, Nehru Yuva Kendra, Churachandpur. Topic on “Impact of Forest Fire on Biodiversity & Its Mitigation.” In his speech, he stated that Climate change has led to the large-scale burning of our forests, with human, plant, and animal life being directly and indirectly affected. Forest fires are important for proper land management. However, if the fires keep raging for longer durations, encompassing more land and life with them, then they can be detrimental to the safety of our planet. We explore the impact of wildfires on the environment and biodiversity. Many parts of the world have experienced one of the hottest summers on record this year, due to the increased number and intensity of heatwaves. With this rise in temperatures, forests have become more perceptible to wildfires and tend to burn more easily than in the past. Fire has always been a natural part of our ecosystems as it is one of the five elements of nature along with air, water, soil, and space. All are quite important for our survival and to maintain a balance on our planet. However, climate change has contributed to a massive rise in extreme events – especially wildfires – most of which destroy huge areas of forests and wildlife habitats, threatening the survival of hundreds of thousands of animals.
He also highlighted about the causes of wildfire. Hence, he said that, a wildfire starts when there are combustible objects or dry fuel, there is oxygen in the air and a source to create a spark such as lightning, or human activities like campfires, arson, or cigarettes if not properly extinguished. Dry fuel such as grass, leaves, or branches – found in forests in large quantities – make it easier for the fire to grow and spread. Other factors such as dry air and strong winds can increase the chances of a fire occurring or spreading further, hence forest fires are more likely to occur during heatwaves. Sometimes, agricultural activities such as land clearing by fire – also known as slash and burn – can also cause a forest fire. Poor farming practices are quite harmful to forests as they contribute to soil erosion, which creates the perfect conditions for a fire to occur.
Invasive and reckless human activities such as land clearing to facilitate industrial and urban expansion have also been found to be a growing cause of wildfires.
He also narrated that, the Impact of Wildfires: Benefits and Dangers to the Environment. Therefore, he stated that, the regular fires have played a fundamental role in sustaining the biodiversity of a particular region. Certain species of plant and animal life depend on fire and help in the evolution process by creating a disequilibrium that gives them new opportunities to become stronger and more resilient. Hence, fire becomes the disruptor driving the process of natural selection. Many indigenous communities in parts of Australia, North America, and India would start controlled fires to facilitate the development of specific ecosystems. In fact, fires can reduce the accumulation of dry fuel and any other unwanted organic matter and hence prove useful for mitigating the intensity of future, non-planned fires. Controlled fires are also important for recycling nutrients, building up plants’ resilience to fires, and controlling diseases by destroying unwanted insects. Specifically, controlled fires are valuable to woodpeckers and other birds as they get a large supply of dead wood for foraging. Fires promote the production of seeds in some specific plant species whose cones depend on fire to open and release seeds. Such fires prove to be quite important for researchers to better understand our biodiversity and the role of fires and they also provide training to firefighters.
Controlled fires may also give way to the emergence of new plant life with particularly enhanced characteristics that may not be endemic to a specific region. This way, pyro-diversity – the variation in spatio-temporal fire patterns – can be beneficial to biodiversity.
3. Shri N. Sonzalian, IFS, Addl. PCCF & Member Secretary, Manipur Biodiversity Board. Topic on “Biodiversity & Human Being” He stated that the quality of human life on earth depends on ecosystems, which provide services that benefit our day-to-day lives. Some of these ecosystem services pass directly from the environment into human use and include resources such as food, medicine, and housing materials. Other ecosystem services benefit humans more indirectly. Examples of these secondary benefits include protection from tropical storms by coastal dunes, or waste removal by established wetlands. Ecosystem services can also be categorized as ethical or aesthetic services, which provide recreational or inspirational value. He pointed out that, all of these ecosystem services are best provided by healthy ecosystems. One major contributor to an ecosystem’s health is its biodiversity, or the variety of life found in the ecosystem. This variety can be thought of in terms of the genetic diversity in its populations or the species diversity of its communities. The more biodiverse an ecosystem is, the more productive and resilient it is to change.
After all these, Shri Lunkhomang Haokip proposed the vote of thanks and the day’s programme was concluded at this point.
