Honorable Director, the Department of Forest and Park Services (DoFPS), Mr. Lobzang Dorji, visited UWICER as part of his familiarization tour on May 16, 2019. A brief update on Institute’s activities, followed by an interactive session, was held at UWICER to familiarize the Director on UWICER’s role as research and training Institute for the DoFPS. In his keynote address, the DoFPS’ Director underscored the need to strengthen the collaboration between the institute, field and functional divisions. While the Director commended on a significant role that UWICER has played for DoPFS, he informed the floor that there is a need to redefine and prioritize the research and training strategies to cater to an emerging needs of the country. As the custodian of natural resources, he also reiterated on a need and importance of scaling up our professionalism and conduct as a forester and environmentalist.

Furthermore, a get together lunch session was hosted by the Director to facilitate an interaction among staff of WCNP, Bumthang TD, PNP and UWICER at UWICER campus. While the session was brief, the message was clear ; the need to work together toward fulfilling collective goals of DoFPS and the nation at large.