Bhopal, April 18 (IANS) Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, on Friday, chaired the 40th annual general meeting of the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) society in Bhopal to review the progress on ‘Project Cheetah’.
During the meeting, the Union Minister reviewed the academic researches, training system and infrastructure development of IIFM.
He announced that the new MBA (Master of Business Administration) programmes will be rolled out in the institution for 2025-26 academic year.
Meanwhile, he inaugurated a 500-seater auditorium and a 60-room hostel at IIFM.
Yadav, who was on a day-long visit to Bhopal and attended several programmes, said, “We remain committed to developing infrastructure and capacity building of instructions to develop a conducive environment for research and awareness around conservation of the ecosystem.”
Later, Union Minister Yadav along with the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav chaired a meeting of senior officials to review the progress on ‘Project Cheetah’.
A detailed discussion was held regarding conservation of cheetahs in the meeting, the Union Minister said.
Union Minister Yadav also inaugurated the two-day national workshop focusing on key issues such as forest restoration, climate change, and community-based livelihoods at Noronha Administrative Academy in Bhopal.
Addressing the inaugural session of the workshop, the Minister said that collective efforts are needed to protect the forest and environment.
Pointing towards challenges in the future, he asserted that the government or any particular community alone cannot protect the environment and the forest.
He said that excessive plastic use has become a dangerous trend, which may lead to a disaster one day.
“Due to modern lifestyle, carbon emissions in both rural and urban areas have increased. But we should know that if we keep destroying nature, then nature will destroy us. Therefore, we need to make collective efforts to protect the environment,” the Union Minister said.
He asserted that the rights of communities living in forests or close to nature should be protected, but the “time has come when we need to adjust also”.
“We need to work on building capacity for adjustment, and it needs collective efforts from each individual,” he added.
At the two-day workshop, Union Minister Yadav noted that the Centre has adopted the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
–IANS
pd/khz
