Forest Department trains frontline staff to identify rare, endangered, threatened plants
The Hindu
Tamil Nadu Forest Department trains staff to protect rare plants, prioritizing 25 RET species for immediate conservation measures.
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has started training its staff to identify and protect rare, endangered, and threatened (RET) plants, which it has prioritised for immediate conservation measures.
The department, under its Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Conservation and Greening Project for Climate Change Resilience (TBGPCCR), and the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore, came out with a list of 25 prioritised RET plant species in 2023. Of these, eight species were shortlisted in 2024 for immediate conservation measures.
I. Anwardeen, Principal Conservator of Forests and Chief Project Director of TBGPCCR, told The Hindu that the department, along with scientists from IFGTB, were training the frontline staff to identify these RET plants and conserve them.
He said that a training for the forest staff of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) was given at the Advanced Wildlife Management Training Centre, Attakatti, on Tuesday.
“Out of the list of eight shorlisted RET plants that are at risk of extinction, four are found within the Pollachi division of ATR. The frontline staff were given booklets on identifying these plants, besides taking them to the field to identify them. Experts also trained the staff on the conservation strategies for these species,” said Mr. Anwardeen.
Antistrophe serratifolia, Phyllanthus anamalayanus, Psychotria anamallayana, Dipterocarpus bourdillonii are the four RET species found in the Pollachi division of ATR.
Mr. Anwardeen added that the department, under the TBGPCCR, had prepared a detailed report on the 25 RET plants and categorised them based on their population across different forest regions in the State. Out of the 25 species, 10 plants were “critically endangered”, 10 others “endangered” and four “vulnerable” while data for one was insufficient.
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