Kanchan Devi Appointed As First Woman Director General of ICFRE

Kanchan Devi, a 1991 batch Indian Forest Service officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been appointed Director General (DG) of the Indian Council of Forestry Research Education (ICFRE).

• Kanchan is the first woman officer to hold this post of ICFRE under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Career/contribution of Kanchan Devi:

• Kanchan Devi has over 30 years of experience working in various areas of forestry including forest management, forest administration, education, human resource development and research and extension in the State Government of Madhya Pradesh and Government of India.
• He has also served as a faculty member at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun. During his service tenure he has done significant work for the upliftment of rural communities by recommending, implementing, analyzing and updating the existing forest policies.
• He has made significant contributions to the establishment of the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Land Management (CoE-SLM) and the implementation of the World Bank funded Ecosystem Services Improvement Project (ESIP) at ICFRE.

Indian Council of Forestry Research Education (ICFRE):

• Established – 1986
• Headquarters – Dehradun
• It is an autonomous organization.
• It operates under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India.
• It plays an important role in advising on forestry research and technologies to the Government of India, State Governments and various stakeholders including farmers, industries and academia. It explores new issues in the realm of forest conservation.