BHUBANESWAR: India should explore inclusion of wood-based construction and buildings into the national building code to achieve optimal outcomes for climate change and the economy, opined experts at the 14th ‘National Workshop of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Assisted Forestry Projects’ here on Thursday.
The three-day workshop which began on Wednesday has been organised by the Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project, Phase-II (OFSDP-II) under the state Forest, Environment and Climate Change department, in collaboration with JICA. It lays stress on strengthening sustainable wood supply systems, promoting forest certification and expanding agroforestry to meet both domestic and global demands.
Odisha Forestry Sector Development Society (OFSDS) officials said while the National Building Code of India (NBC) advocates bamboo for use in construction under part-6, Section-3 ‘Timber and Bamboo’, international experts at the workshop opined that production and use of wood-based and other natural construction materials can also be explored to reduce dependence on carbon-intensive materials further and encourage sustainable forestry.
The stakeholders in the workshop agreed on enhancing the role of the private sector in improving the forestry and wood-based industry in India through partnerships and collaborations, including those with Japan along with supporting certification processes.
Forest, Environment and Climate Change department principal secretary Bhaskar Jyoti Sharma said the workshop demonstrated how collaboration between states and international partners like JICA can accelerate India’s journey toward a climate-resilient forestry sector. He also interacted with community members from Vana Surakshya Samiti (VSS) and SHGs.
PCCF K Murugesan, senior representative of JICA India Wakamatsu Eiji and development specialist of JICA India Siddharth Parameswaran also spoke. OFSDP project director G Rajesh and other officials were present.