Study tour to France for bio park lessons

Noida: A team of officials from Gautam Budh Nagar's forest department is leaving for France on Wednesday to study national parks in and around Paris. Officials said the objective of the visit is to acquire knowledge that could be used for developing the Surajpur reserve forest as a bio-diversity park without affecting the local flora and fauna and indigenous habitats.
"We are visiting Paris and with the support of the French Embassy in Delhi, we will study the natural parks in and around Paris and the way they have been developed. We will come back and submit a full report to the state government," Gautam Budh Nagar's district forest officer HV Girish told TOI.
"The UP government is keen on developing the Surajpur reserve forest as a bio-diversity park. But there are some issues at converting such a large area. The objective is to develop the area, yet conserve the ecology so that the development doesn't have any adverse effect. So the visit has been planned to help us gain the required knowledge from French experts," he added.
The five-day trip will include visits in and around Paris, meetings with the French park administration and researchers.
The National Green Tribunal had recently stopped all construction within Surajpur after an environmental group objected to construction work within the reserved forest area.
The Surajpur forest, which spans 339 acres, includes a wet body that is a major habitat for Indian and migratory birds. The forest is being considered for a major green-lung development project — Wetland Biodiversity Park — by the state. It is expected to have a ‘Bird Education Centre', a ‘Bird Museum' and a ‘Butterfly Conservatory'.
"The state government has felt the need for a scientific approach for the development and conservation of natural resources. The government wants to implement an integrated planning for development and conservation of natural areas at landscape level," Girish said.