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Time of India
16-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Training for forest school staff to handle snake-human encounters
Guwahati: Assam Forest School, Jalukbari, in collaboration with the Wildlife Areas Development and Welfare Trust, conducted a daylong workshop on 'Snake Identification and Rescue' on Wednesday. The workshop aimed at enhancing the capabilities of Assam forest department's frontline personnel in managing rising human-snake encounters across the state. Senior wildlife warden Jayashree Naiding inaugurated the session, addressing the surge in emergency snake-related calls — often triggered by public fear and misinformation. She stressed the role of forest personnel in accurately identifying species, especially distinguishing venomous from non-venomous snakes, and emphasised responsible, harm-free rescue practices. Cautioning against sensationalism in rescues, she cited species like the Sand Boa, urging restraint when handling non-venomous snakes. Renowned herpetologist Jayaditya Purukayastha discussed widespread snake-related myths, and said, "The mindset problem is one of the biggest challenges in snake conservation." "Snakes are now among the most commonly rescued animals in some regions. Increased awareness has led to more reporting, but also demands better training and public education," he added. He noted the increasing King Cobra encounters in Assam, warning about the potentially fatal consequences of incorrect snake identification.
Time of India
15-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Forest school imparts training in use of geospatial tools
Guwahati: Assam Forest School in Jalukbari has enhanced forester training by incorporating contemporary geospatial tools for daily forest management, officials said on Sunday. Geospatial technologies like GIS and GPS provide forest staff with accurate tools for planning, surveillance, and decision-making. According to experts, these tools assist in developing detailed forest coverage maps, monitoring wildlife movements, evaluating habitat change, and supporting evidence-based conservation. A six-day thematic refresher training on open-source GIS software for forester-I was recently completed at the Assam Forest School, Jalukbari. As many as 20 forester-I trainees and one junior assistant from across 20 forest divisions across the state participated in the programme. The training commenced with Preeti Buragorhain, DCF in charge of conservator of forest, Dr Priyasha Saikia, DFO, Guwahati Social Forestry Division, and Dimpi Bora, director of Assam Forest School, Jalukbari, in attendance. The programme aimed to enhance the technical proficiency of ground-level forest staff through practical training. "Trainees were introduced to GPS and its applications in forestry and wildlife, GPS and mobile app-based data collection methods, the use of Google Earth Pro in mapping with relevant case studies, an overview of GIS data types and sources, digitisation of points, lines, and polygons in Google Earth Pro, and also included the fundamentals of map composition using QGIS software," a organiser said. Aaranyak's resource persons conducted the six-day training sessions. Forest officials highlighted GIS's vital role in their department. With forests facing threats from deforestation, encroachment, and climate change, precise monitoring and management have become crucial, they noted. The closing ceremony was attended by chief guest Dibakar Deb, a silviculturist. Participants pledged to implement their new skills.
