Shinkiari: IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) through GEF-UNDP funded Sustainable Forest Management Project organized a training for the Forest Department staff on Forest Fire Control and Management and also Inaugurated the First Forest Fire Control and Management Centre in Shinkiari, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 4-5, 2018.
The participants of the training included: 40 Forest Guards, Foresters and Sub-Divisional Forest Officers and Wildlife staff from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest Department. The training session was inaugurated by Chief Conservator Forest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr. Mohammad Siddique Khan who encouraged the participants to avail this opportunity for learning and strengthening the skill of forest fire control and prevention. He appreciated IUCN and the Sustainable Forest Management project of MoCC and GEF-UNDP in making it possible for the staff to get this training and the most needed Forest Fire Control Centre. He acknowledged the value of the forest fire-fighting equipment and human safety apparatus. He was joined by Conservator Forest, Mr. Azhar Ali Khan who highlighted the importance of the training on forest fire control. The session was closed with remarks from the Chief Conservator Forest KP, Mr. Javed Arshad who also distributed training certificates to the participants. He thanked IUCN, MoCC, Sustainable Forest Management Project, UNDP and GEF for this very timely initiative. He also advised the concerned DFOs to take initiatives in replicating the fire fighting equipment.
The training covered: the importance of fire, impacts of forest fire, ways and means of forest fire control ensuring human safety and security, preparedness for forest fire control, establishing fire lines and their maintenance.
The Chief Conservator Forest, Mohammad Siddique Khan inaugurated the Fire Control Centre in Shinkiari and guided the staff for operation and maintenance of the centre based at the Office of the Sub-Divisional Forest Officer in Shinkiari. This is the first such centre that is established in a highly fire prone area of forest. This is in the most accessible location for a large area of forest to serve the purpose.
About IUCN
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges.
IUCN’s work focuses on valuing and conserving nature, ensuring effective and equitable governance of its use, and deploying nature-based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and development. IUCN supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world, and brings governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.
IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,326 government and NGO members and over 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries.
IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 45 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world.
IUCN Website: www.iucn.org
About SFM
SFM is joint venture of Government of Pakistan, Global Environment Fund (GEF), United Nations Development Programme which aims at promoting SFM in Pakistan`s Western Himalayan Temperate Coniferous, Sub-Tropical Broadleaved Evergreen (Scrub) and Riverine forests for biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and securing of forests ecosystem services. The five years project started in 2017 is funded by GEF/UNDP and implemented by Ministry of Climate Change and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) through Forests and Wildlife departments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.