Bhubaneswar, Sept. 19: The College of Forestry under Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) has recently introduced post-graduate level programmes in forestry and environment.

Apart from the usual four-year graduate programme in forestry, the college has announced PG programmes in agro-forestry, forest products, environment management, plant genetic improvement and forest business management for the current academic year 2010-11.

Each course has six seats with four reserved for candidates from Orissa.

Two seats would be offered to students from other states and abroad.

The new courses will open up opportunities for students wanting to pursue work in forest-related fields. Addressing mediapersons here today, Prof Rabindra Kumar Patnaik said: “With the launch of these PG programmes, more students will get opportunities to work in sectors such as afforestation drives, reclamation of land after mining, research positions in forestry. The demand for such students is quite good outside India.”

The College of Forestry, which started its first batch of graduation course back in 1987, has become the 16th institute in the country to have PG programmes on the subject.

“It has also faculties for five departments like silviculture and agro-forestry, forest products and utilisation, forest biology and tree improvement, natural resource management and forest policy and law,’’ he said.

“Apart from academics and creating quality human resources in forestry, this newly-opened College of Forestry will address many research issues on forestry, livelihood, natural resource management (NRM), tree improvement and problems of climate change. It will also address many policy issues on forestry and environment,’’ he added.

“There are plenty of opportunities in the field of forestry, environment and NRM in the state. This will be a unique institution no other a PG programme in forestry is not offered anywhere else in the eastern part of India,” he said.

The department, in future, will definitely attract foreign students, believes Patnaik.

“This year for PG studies in other departments at OUAT we got two African nationals under the Indo-African Academic Exchange Programme and one Afghan national under Indo-Afghan Academic Exchange Programme,” said Patnaik.

“With recommendations from Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education and Indian Council of Agricultural Research, we hope many more foreign nationals will come here to study PG courses in forestry,” said dean, PG Studies, Prof Hrushikesh Senapati.