The Himachal Pradesh Forest Department and the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, have signed an agreement for the transfer of technology for the utilisation of pine needles as a source of natural fibers.
Ajay Srivstava, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), signed the agreement on behalf of the state Forest Department while Arun Singh Rawat, Director-General of the Indian Council
of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun, represented the FRI.
The Forest Department organised a workshop on the occasion in collaboration with the FRI where scientists elaborated upon the technology.
In Himachal, about 1,25,885 hectares are estimated to be covered with Chil pine forests. About 1.2 tonnes of needles are shed per hectare of pine forest annually between April and June