Proper conservation of forest and its resources is very important for fighting climate change, ensuring nutritional demands coupled with food security, ecological balance and biodiversity in Rajshahi region including its dried Barind tract.Promotion of adequate trees, including fruit, timber and herbal, is also vital for maintaining a solid ecological structure. Some social forestry officials made these observations while addressing a daylong training workshop styled "Forest Resources Measurement System in Social Forestry Activities" here yesterday.Department of Social Forestry (DSF) organized the training in the conference hall of Forestry Science and Technology Institute. Range officer-in-charge, range officers, bit officers and upazila forest officers from Rajshahi, Noagaon, Natore and Chapainawabganj district attended the workshop.The participants were imparted training on measurement of forest resources and fixation of value of those practically. Divisional Social Forest Officer Imran Ahmed, Assistant Conservators of Forest Dr Abdul Awal and Ruhul Amin conducted the training as resource persons.Imran Ahmed narrated the achievements of forestry activities in the region. Significant number of small and marginal farmers attained economic emancipation through the participatory social afforestation programme, he said.He said there is no alternative to planting more saplings to protect the ecological balance, after facing the adverse effect of Farakka barrage in the region.He asked all concerned to put in their best efforts to make the region green by increasing the forest area. The SFD has been executing various lucrative programmes in all 31 upazilas of the four districts to encourage the rural people in planting saplings and nursing of the plants.The profitable afforestation activities encouraged many people for planting adequate saplings of wood, medicinal and fruit- bearing plants at homesteads, roadsides, office premises, embankments, forest areas, religious institutions` premises and other places.Source: BSS