Forest Research Institute, Dehradun

Uttarakhand Geography and Environment

Forest Research Institute, Dehradun :

The Forest Research Institute (FRI) 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 among the oldest institutions of its kind. In 1991, it was declared a deemed university by the University Grants Commission.

The Forest Research Institute campus hosts the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), the staff college that trains officers selected for the Indian Forest Service (IFS).

Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehra Dun made a humble beginning as Forest School established in 1878. Initially named as Imperial Forest Research Institute, FRI came into being in 1906. Later renamed as Forest Research Institute and Colleges, with a number of centres located at different places all over the country administering research as well as training of Forest Officers and Forest Rangers. After reorganization of Forestry Research in the country and creation of Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) in 1988, the training and research centres were given an independent status of institutes. Forest Research Institute, now one of the institutes under ICFRE, was conferred the status of Deemed University in December 1991 on the recommendations of the UGC, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

History :

It was founded in 1878 as the British Imperial Forest School by Dietrich Brandis. In 1906, it was reestablished as the Imperial Forest Research Institute, under the British Imperial Forestry Service.

Objectives :

To impart education in such branches of forestry and environment as it may deem fit.
To provide for research and for the advancement of and dissemination of knowledge in the forestry and environment. The disciplines pursued in the Institute are Silviculture, Resource Survey and Management, Social forestry, Minor forest produce, Ecology and conversation, Genetics and tree propagation, Forest protection, Forest Botany, Forest products and Forest Operations. The thrust areas are bio-diversity, tree improvement & quality seed production, non-wood forest products, social forestry & wasteland afforestation, design development of modern forestry tools, etc.
To create consciousness about forest and environment among the people through extension programs.
To do all such other acts and things as may be necessary or desirable to further the safeguarding of environment and protection of forest & wildlife.

Architecture :

Established as Imperial Forest Research Institute in 1906, the Forest Research Institute (FRI) Dehradun, was first situated at Chandhbagh (the present location of the Doon School) on the Mall Road. A much larger campus at the present location was acquired ca 1923. Construction of the new buildings commenced thereafter. Styled in Greeko Roman Architecture by C.G. Blomfield, the main building was inaugurated in 1929 by then Viceroy Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon. It is now a National Heritage site.

Forest Research Institute Dehradun is among 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. Built over 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 building was listed for a time, in the Guinness Book of Records, as the largest purely brick structure in the world. 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. It is the biggest forest based training institute in India. Most of the forest officers are a part of this institute. The FRI's building also houses a Botanical Museum and there are many different kind of trees from around the world .

Location :

FRI and College Area campus is a census town, between Kaulagarh in the north and the Indian Military Academy to the south. The Tons River forms its Western Boundary.

Training facility :

Within its campus, it hosts Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), which is a separate organization of the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). It also hosts the Central Academy for State Forest Services (CASFOS). The Wildlife Institute of India was on campus but now has moved to Chandrabani, and is an independent organization under MoEF. IIFM is an independent autonomous organization of MoEF and has good liaisons with FRI for forestry research and related activities. Presently IIM Kashipur running its executive management course on weekends for working person in this campus. 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 a large number of research scholars every year for Ph.D.

Museum :

FRI also contains a museum on forestry. It is open from 9:30am to 5:00pm daily, which an entry fee of ?40 per person and a nominal entry fee for vehicles. There are six sections in the museum: