The Forest Research Institute is an institute of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and is a premier institution in the field of forestry research in India. It is located at Dehradun in Uttarakhand, and is one of the oldest institutions of its kind. In 1991, it was declared a deemed university by the University Grants Commission.[1]
The Forest Research Institute campus hosts the IGNFA (Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy), the staff college that trains officers selected for the Indian Forest Service (IFS).
History[edit]
Founded in 1878 British Imperial Forest School,[2] by Dietrich Brandis.[3]
In 1906, reestablished as the 'Imperial Forest Research Institute', under the British Imperial Forestry Service (IFS).[2]
The 'Indian Forest College' was established in 1938; officers recruited to the Superior Forest Service by the states and provinces were trained there.
Architecture[edit]
Established as Imperial Forest Research Institute in 1906, Forest Research Institute (FRI) Dehradun, is a premier institution under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE). Styled in Greeko Roman Architecture by C.G. Blomfield, the main building is a National Heritage which was inaugurated in 1929.
FRI Dehradun is one of the oldest institutions of its kind and acclaimed the world over. The Institute’s history is virtually synonymous with the evolution and development of scientific forestry, not only in India, but over the entire sub-continent. Set in a lush green estate spread over 450 hectares, with the outer Himalaya forming its back drop, the institute’s main building is an impressive edifice, marrying Greco-Roman and Colonial styles of architecture, with a plinth area of 2.5 hectares. The Institute has a developed infrastructure of all equipped laboratories, library, herbarium, arboreta, printing press and experimental field areas for conducting forestry research, quite in keeping with the best of its kind anywhere in the world. It is 7 km from Clock Tower, on the Dehradun-Chakrata motorable road and is of the biggest forest based training institute in India. Most of the forest officers are a product of this institute. The F.R.I. with its majestic building also houses a Botanical Museum for the attraction of tourists[4]
Location[edit]
FRI and College Area campus is a census town, between kashmir in the north and the Indian Military Academy to the south. The Tons River forms its Western Boundary.
Training facility[edit]
Within its campus it hosts IGNFA (Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy), which is a separate organisation of the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). It also hosts the Central Academy for State Forest Services (CASFOS). The Wildlife Institute of Indiapreviously was on campus but now has shifted to Chandrabani, and is now an independent organisation under MoEF. IIFM is an independent autonomous organisation of MoEF and has good liasoning with FRI for forestry research and related activities. The deemed university of FRI runs four MSc courses viz. Cellulose & Paper Technology, Environment Management, Forestry Management, Wood Science Technology and two P.G.Diploma courses in Natural Resource Management and Aroma Technology. It also enrolls large number of research scholars every year for PhD.
Museum[edit]
FRI also contains a museum on forestry. It is open from 9:30am to 5:00pm daily, which an entry fee of Rs 25 per person and a nominal entry fee for vehicles. There are six sections in the museum:
- Pathology Museum
- Social Forestry Museum
- Silviculture Museum
- Timber Museum
- Non-Wood Forest Products Museum
- Entomology Museum
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