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Dr. G.M. Devagiri
Dean Message
Welcome to the College of Forestry!
As the Dean, I am honoured to be part of a College committed to sustainable practices, ground-breaking research, and transformative education in forestry and natural resources.
Dean College of Forestry
- +91 94808 38963
- deanponnampet@uahs.edu.in
Education
M. Sc. (Hort.), Ph. D(Hort.)
Area of Specialization: Fruit Science
College of Forestry is an academic institution that explores the knowledge of forest ecosystem, facilitates the development of innovative technologies for environmental conservation and acquaints the learners with the inter-weaving connection between forests, water bodies, wildlife and human communities.
College of Forestry, Ponnampet is one of the branches of Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural & Horticultural Sciences, a University acclaimed for its holistic education par excellence. The college is ranked with A++ grade; and has been recognised as one of the top 5 forestry colleges among the 21 forestry colleges in India by Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun. The college is also approved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in New Delhi.
The Department of Forestry, College of Agriculture, GKVK, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, introduced the Bachelors programme in Forestry (B.Sc. Forestry) in 1985. It was then moved to Ponnampet, Kodagu, and upgraded to the college level in 1995. In 2013, College of Forestry was affiliated with University of Agriculture and Horticultural University, Shivamogga. This Institution of Excellence has been serving for more than two and a half decades for the cause of Forestry Education, Research and Extension. The College provides conducive environment and necessary infrastructure for the delivery of high-quality instruction and promotion of research in sustainable natural resource management
The faculty members of our College dedicate their service to promote innovative sustainable practices thereby joining hands in the conservation of forests and natural resources. Students gain hands-on experience, engage in community reach-out activities, participate in research and arrive at meaningful solutions to the environmental challenges, human-wildlife conflict and various other issues.
Our programs and courses are designed not only to equip students with technical skills but also to foster critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and a profound respect for the environment. The academic tenure at our college is constructively planned and utilised to create forest professionals who would shoulder the responsibility of conserving forests and ensure ecological balance. Our students are prepared to be pioneers in sustainable land management, biodiversity conservation, and resource resilience.
I invite you to explore our college, meet our dedicated faculty, and discover the impact we are making in forestry, wildlife conservation, and beyond. Together, we are striving to create a sustainable future, one rooted in knowledge, innovation, and a deep commitment to our natural world.
Genesis/History
College of Forestry, Ponnampet is one of the highly ranked forestry education institutions in the country affiliated to the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga. College of Forestry is blessed to be located in the district of Kodagu falling within Western Ghats, a Biodiversity hot spot and UNESCO‟s World heritage site. Kodagu has 80 per cent of its geographical area under tree cover ranging from tropical evergreen forests to dry deciduous forests, enfolding a vast area of coffee based agro forestry systems with scattered biodiversity rich sacred forests and offers a wonderful opportunity for teaching, research and outreach activities for both within and outside the campus.
University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (parent university of College of Forestry, Ponnmapet) in the year 1976 was one of the first farm universities to offer a course in farm forestry on the recommendations of ICAR and later was one among the first State Agricultural Universities to start a four year professional course in forestry education during 1985-86. In 1995, as per the guidelines of Government of Karnataka under the realization of agricultural education relocated the Forestry programme which lead to the formation of College of Forestry, Ponnampet in Kodagu district (Fig. 1).
Growth of the Institution
The college has proudly completed 25 years of forestry education from Ponnampet campus making it the most sought after professional college of the state attracting highly merited and motivated rural students. During the beginning years of B.Sc. (Forestry) programme in 1985, senior faculty members with diverse agricultural specialization were recruited and deputed to USA and UK for higher training in forestry. The then recruited faculty members were trained by the senior serving and retired forest officers of Karnataka Forest Department in the first four years until the return of the deputed faculty members with specialized skills in the field of Forestry. Participation of senior forest officers in teaching helped to train faculty members and students in ensuring reservations for B.Sc.(Hons.) Forestry graduates to the positions of Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) and Range Forest Officers (RFO) for the first time in the country. This gesture was an important policy support by the Karnataka State Government in providing placement to forestry graduates in the forest department. The outstanding performance of our graduates mainly as ambassadors of sustainable forest management further encouraged reservations for RFOs from 25 per cent to 75 per cent and creation of a new post named Deputy Range Forest Officers with a 50 per cent reservation for forestry graduates. Placement of our graduates with forest department and other sectors has made B.Sc. (Forestry) the most sort after UG course which is reflected in the increase in intake of students from 20 to 85 over the years through the State and National level competitive examinations and also under the NRI quota with higher fee structure.
As the college strengthened its teaching, research and extension activities, postgraduate programme was initiated in the year 2001 and currently the college is offering PG programme in three subjects. During 2019-20 Ph. D programme in Silviculture and Agroforestry was approved by the university and currently UG, PG and Doctoral programmes are being offered at the campus as per ICAR syllabus and guidelines (Plate 1).
The pioneering and successful journey over the past 35 years of forestry education through teaching, research and extensions activities have been rewarded with A** accreditation by ICFRE (Plate 2 and Plate 3). It also helped our university to get accredited by ICAR as one of the youngest farm universities in the year 2015 within two years of its establishment. The college is grateful to ICAR, ICFRE, State government and other stakeholders who supported us through our journey and intend to be an institution of international repute in tropical forestry education, research and outreach.
Schematic representation of institutional growth through annual rings
- 1985: Inception of the four years Forestry degree programme at UAS, Bangalore .
- 1995: Establishment of College of Forestry at Ponnampet, Kodagu .
- 2001: Starting of post-graduate programme under Silviculture and Forest Biology.
- 2013: Starting of second master’s programme with specialization in Forest Biology and Tree Improvement.
- 2016: Change of nomenclature from B. Sc.(Forestry) to Sc.(Hons.) Forestry
- 2020: Starting of doctoral programme in Silviculture and Agroforestry and third master’s programme in Natural Resource
- 2024: Starting of post-graduate programme under Forest Product & Utilization
- 2024 Starting of doctoral programme in Forest Resource Management
Location
The college is located in the town Ponnampet in Kodagu district which is one of the highly wooded district in the country with 80% of the geographical area under tree cover. This strategic location in the Central Western Ghats ,one of the UNSECO World Heritage sites offers diverse government managed natural tropical forest , privately managed agro forests and community managed sacred forests for undertaking teaching, research and outreach activities. The world famous Nagarahole National Park (Rajiv Gandhi NP) and three wildlife sanctuaries namely Bramhagiri, Pushpagiri and Talacauvery offers one the largest evergreen tropical forests which hosts diverse and endemic biodiversity. The region is renowned for native traditional and tribal communities who manage sacred forests called Devarakadus. Kodagu district is the largest coffee growing region in India and the multistoried agro forests have been identified as one of the most diverse crop production systems in the world.
The Karnataka Forest Department with its Territorial, Wildlife, Social forestry and Research divisions is an active partner in man power training and research. The Guard Training school at Kushalnagar, elephant training camps at Dubare and Anechowkur are used by our students to enrich their learning. The Karnataka Veterinary Dairy and Fisheries University has its Postgraduate programme in Wildlife studies at Kushalnagar. A large number of national and international research organizations and nongovernmental organizations are also working in partnership with College of Forestry in the region providing the much needed research and outreach support to the college. The only Model forest programme in the country is facilitated through a public private partnership hosted by the college. Hence the strategic location of the college, qualified faculty and partnerships with stakeholders involved in natural resources management offers one of the best on and off campus learning environment in tropical forestry.
College Campus
The college is located in the town Ponnampet in Kodagu district which is one of the highly wooded district in the country with 80% of the geographical area under tree cover. This strategic location in the Central Western Ghats ,one of the UNSECO World Heritage sites offers diverse government managed natural tropical forest , privately managed agro forests and community managed sacred forests for undertaking teaching, research and outreach activities. The world famous Nagarahole National Park (Rajiv Gandhi NP) and three wildlife sanctuaries namely Bramhagiri, Pushpagiri and Talacauvery offers one the largest evergreen tropical forests which hosts diverse and endemic biodiversity. The region is renowned for native traditional and tribal communities who manage sacred forests called Devarakadus. Kodagu district is the largest coffee growing region in India and the multistoried agro forests have been identified as one of the most diverse crop production systems in the world.
Co-curricular Activities
Aims and Objectives
The College has been giving equal importance to curricular and co-curricular activities aiming to have an all round development of students curricular activities provide opportunities for students to build quality human resources to meet the future needs of forestry and agriculture sectors in the country, while co-curricular activities available in the college helps the students to become good citizens of the country.
National Service Scheme (NSS):
College of Forestry, Ponnampet has been in the forefront of NSS activities. The NSS unit had anaverage strength of 108 volunteersin the last five years. The impetus is to give the students best educational experience in order to make them responsible, productive and conscious citizens of the country. Many social and environment oriented programmes have been undertaken to help the local communities.
. Sl. No. | Year | Student Volunteers in Degree programme | Total |
1. | 2018-19 | I & II B.Sc.(Forestry ) – 72+80 | 152 |
2. | 2019-20 | I & II B.Sc.(Forestry) – 80+83 | 163 |
3. | 2020-21 | I & II B.Sc.(Forestry ) – 75+82 | 157 |
4. | 2021-22 | I & II B.Sc.(Forestry) – 67+70 | 137 |
5. | 2022-23 | I & II B.Sc.(Forestry) – 78 +67 | 145 |
6. | 2023-24 | I & II B.Sc.(Forestry) – 54 + 78 | 132 |
Year | Date | NSS Special Camp | Activities |
2016-17 | 15-05-2016 to 21-05-2016 | Government Higher Primary School in Kutta, Virajpet Taluk, Kodagu District. | · Blood donation camp · Dental check up camp · Pet vaccination camp · Planting in villages · Awareness campaign about forest and forest fireVillage cleaning |
2017-18 | 05-01-2018 to 10-01-2018 | Government Beekeeping training centre, Bhagamandala, Madikeri Taluk, Kodagu District. | |
2018-19 | 02.08.2018 to 08.08.2018 | Kodava Samaj,T. Shettigeri village, Virajpet Taluk, Kodagu District | |
2019-20 | 29.07.2019 To 04.08.2019 | Kodava Samaj, Hudikeri village, Virajpet Taluk, Kodagu District |
Awards and Prizes to NSS Programme officer and NSS Unit :
- Mr. Darshan, H. M. received “BEST NSS VOLUNTEER” in National Integration Camp Organized by University of Agriculture, GKVK, Bangalore held at College of Agriculture, Karekere, Hassan from 27.02.2017 to 05.03.2017
- Ms. Swetha, S, represented India in Youth Exchange Programme, held in China from 02.07.2019 to 09.07.2019.
National Service Scheme Programmes (NSS)-2022-23:
Sl. No. | Date | No. of participants | Place of NSS camp Conducted |
1 | 18.07.2022 to 22.07.2022 | 70 | Hudikeri |
2 | 13.12.2022 to 18.12.2022 | 77 | Srimangala |
Cultural activities:
The College of Forestry has a cultural group “SPANDANA”. The student members of this group showcase the rich traditional and modern cultural heritage of the country. Spandana provides a platform to exchange the cultures and customs among the students from different states and backgrounds. Cultural unit is equipped with required instruments to promote and encourage the students to perform in various cultural activities during ccollege day, hostel days, inter campus, inter university cultural meet and other occasions.
Cultural Activities (Inter-Collegiate Youth Festival :2022-23):
Sl. No. | Youth Festival | Date | Venue | Champions / Runner up |
1 | CoF, Ponnampet | 5-9th Jan 2023 | CoH, Hiryur | – |
2 | CoF, Ponnampet | 21-09-2022 | Dasara cultural events, Mysore | Group dance |
Participation of students in other than ICAR sponsored events – 2022-23
(unifest /Sports /any other) :
Event | Name of the Students |
1. One act play 2. Mime 3. Skit 4. Dance
| Ms. Chinmayi K Ms. Geetha, S Mr. Shreyas, T Mr. Harshith M V |
Cultural Activities (Inter-Collegiate Youth Festival :2023-24):
Sl. No. | Youth Festival | Date | Venue | Champions / Runner up |
1. | 9th Inter Collegiate Youth Festival | 18-20 January 2024 | College of Forestry, Ponnampet | Overall Champions |
Participation of students in ICAR sponsored events (Agri-unifest) –
Event | Name of the Student | Place secured |
Group Dance Folk |
| Fourth |
Participation of students in other than ICAR sponsored events – (unifest /Sports /any other) :
Event | Name of the Students | Place secured |
Mime in 36th Inter University South East Zone Youth Festival 2023 |
| 1st Place |
COF Ponampet
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