ITANAGAR, 7 Oct: A two-day national workshop on "Orchids of Arunachal Pradesh - Taxonomy, Micropropagation, Conservation, Distribution, Ex-situ Breeding and Emerging Opportunities" commenced at DK Convention Hall here in ICR on Wednesday, with active participation from faculty members and students of Himalayan University in Itanagar. The workshop is being organised by the State Forest Research Institute (SFRI), in collaboration with the Arunachal Pradesh Biodiversity Board (APBB), Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Regional Centre in Itanagar, and G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment (NIHE).

Representing Himalayan University, Dy. Dean Academics, Dr. Raja Husain attended the programme along with HoD of Botany Dr. Pyonim Lungphi and faculty of department of Botany Dr. Hage Yanka, and 20 students of the department of Botany, HU.

During the event, a special session on "Orchid Diversity of Arunachal Pradesh" was delivered by BSI Itanagar regional centre HOO Dr. Krishna Chowlu. This was followed by addresses by Arunachal Pradesh Biodiversity Board chairman Hawa Bagang, and PCCF & HoFF Santosh Kumar.

The first technical session of the workshop featured expert presentations on the export and import potential of orchids in Arunachal Pradesh by SFRI Scientist Dr. R.K. Tai, "Orchid research, commercialization and sustainable cultivation" by prof. (Dr.) Promila Pathak from department of Botany, Punjab University, Chandigarh and "Emerging opportunities for orchids in national and world markets" by President Awardee teacher & social worker, Ashish Roy from Siliguri in West Bengal.

The second technical session covered several important areas related to orchid propagation and commercial development.

SFRI senior scientist, Dr. G. Murtem spoke on "Commercial Orchids of Arunachal Pradesh," while SFRI senior scientist, Dr. Ona Apang addressed "Ex-situ Breeding of Orchids and Opportunities in Arunachal Pradesh." SFRI senior scientist Dr. Jambey Tsering delivered a session on "Tissue Culture Technology of Orchids."

A special session on "Creation of Knowledge Products," covering communication of meeting reports, technology status reports/booklets, and capacity building through livelihood missions involving orchids, was delivered by Scientist-F Dr. Paramita Ghosh from G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment.

The participation of 20 Botany students from Himalayan University, along with their faculty members, provided the students with valuable academic exposure to the taxonomy, diversity, conservation, micropropagation, tissue culture, ex-situ breeding, commercialization and sustainable utilization of orchids.

The workshop is particularly significant for students of Botany as it connects classroom learning with the rich orchid diversity and conservation practices of Arunachal Pradesh, while also highlighting emerging opportunities in research, entrepreneurship, sustainable cultivation and livelihood generation.