Introduction

GSDP - Background:

Green skills contribute to preserving or restoring environmental quality for sustainable future and include jobs that protect ecosystems and biodiversity, reduce energy and minimize waste and pollution. In line with the Skill India Mission of Hon’ble Prime Minister, utilising the vast network and expertise of ENVIS Hubs/RPs, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has taken up an initiative for skill development in the environment and forest sector to enable India's youth to get gainful employment and/or self-employment, popularly known as the Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP). The programme endeavours to develop green skilled workers having technical knowledge and commitment to sustainable development, which will help in the attainment of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), National Biodiversity Targets (NBTs), as well as Waste Management Rules, GoI (2016).

Forest ecosystems are critical habitats for diverse biological diversity and perform array of ecological services that provide food, water, shelter, aesthetic beauty, etc. Valuation of the services and goods provided by the forest ecosystem would aid in the micro level policy design for the conservation and sustainable management of ecosystems. Main objective of the course is to value the ecosystems goods and services. This involves assessment of total economic value (TEV) of the ecosystem considering provisioning, regulating, supporting and information services provided by the ecosystem.

Course Outline and Objectives:

The course provides an understanding of
• the principles of ecosystem valuation with case studies
• improved knowledge of the activities covered in the course and their implications on environment
• characteristics of factors that influence the environment and their adverse effects on environment
• use of monitoring techniques and data processing in the affected environment
• the need to protect the environment from pollution and possible remedial techniques