The National Award of Excellence for Outstanding Research in Forestry for the year 2019 has been awarded to Kannan C S Warrier, by Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE)

Excellent study material for all civil services aspirants - begin learning - Kar ke dikhayenge!

  The National Award of Excellence for Outstanding Research in Forestry for the year 2019 has been awarded to Kannan C S Warrier, by Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE)

---

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

---

Key point -  

• Kannan C S Warrier (a scientist at Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding - IFGTB) worked on releasing three salt-tolerant productive clones of Casuarina that are suitable for salt-affected soils, for the first time in the country. Warrier has also done extensive work on the conservation of endangered sacred groves in Alappuzha district of Kerala.

Significance - 

• India has 6.73 mn hectares of salt affected land and is also the largest producer of Casuarina in the world.

Casuarinaor - 

• Casuarinaor or kattadi and savukku, is a plant genus with over 17 species with Casuarina equisetifolia being introduced in India in the 19th century. They have a role in nitrogen fixation in symbiotic association with bacteria Frankia. They provide fuel wood, pulp for paper making, is a preferred choice for biomass-based power generation, used at construction sites for scaffolding, used as shelterbelts in coastal areas and windbreaks for protecting agricultural crops and banana plantations, play a key role in reclaiming mined areas and afforesting nutrient-poor sites.

Sacred Groves - 

1. Sacred groves are communally protected forests which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community. 
2. In India, there are over a lakh sacred groves across different states called by different names like Kaavu in Malayalam, Koyil kaadu in Tamil, Orans in Rajasthan, Devara kaadu in Karnataka, and Sernas in Madhya Pradesh.
3. Many rare and endemic species, and species having medicinal and economic value can be found here. They are often associated with religious beliefs and felling of trees in sacred groves is considered taboo.
4. Sacred groves have been legally protected under ‘community reserves’ in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002.
5. Disappearance of the traditional belief systems, the transformation of the primitive forms of nature worship into formal temple worship, rapid urbanization and developmental interventions such as roads, railways tracks, dams including commercial forestry, invasion by exotic weeds, pressures due to increasing livestock and fuelwood collection, are some common threats to Sacred Groves.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

Join UPSC Self Prep course | Online Course (PT Gurukul)  | Covid Special Course | Join PT courses

* Content sourced from free internet sources (publications, PIB site, international sites, etc.). Take your own subscriptions. Copyrights acknowledged.