National Conference for Forest Solutions

As mentioned in a pervious post, I was invited to attend and speak at the National Conference for Forest Solutions in the state of Himachal Pradesh (HP). The Conference was a 3 day event attended by a few ‘international academic experts’ like myself, as well as members of the Gov’t of India, India Forest Service, HP State Gov’t, and NGOs. Organized by the HP Forest Service, the level of service and accommodations provided to me beyond what I expected, and it is safe to say that the Oberoi Cecil that they put me up in was by far the best hotel that I have ever stayed at. The talk I gave on the potential for global forests to mitigate climate change went quite well, and I actually think that most in the audience understood what I was talking about. After my presentation, I was even interviewed by a journalist from the Tribune, and some of what I said was published in next day’s paper.

Because the event was well attended by a number of government officials and politicians ranging from the Additional Director General of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Honorable Minister of Forests for Himachal Pradesh, and I was somehow considered a ‘distinguished guest’, I got to witness a lot of the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the daily routine of being someone important in India (driving around in big white Ambassadors, garlands, bouquets, huge feasts, etc.).

Arguably the most exciting part of being brought into the world of an important person was on the night of the conference banquet when the HP Government – who we must remember was sponsoring the event – requested that the event be dry. Instead of politely adhering to the rules though, those in the Federal Government did what I am sure they did every time something like this came up and discretely moved their party to a private room away from the main dining area. All of us ‘international experts’ were also pooled into that group and urged (i.e., forced) to come with them for some pre-dinner drinks until the Honorable Minister arrived. Of course, we all acted as any respectable guest would and went along with them to room ‘Private Secret 214’ where we were given a nice selection of whisky, wine, and beer along with several tasty appetizers. Within 30 minutes or so, the minister arrived and we had to go out to greet him. This did not mean that the bar at P.S. 214 was closed for the evening though. If we ever needed to go back and ‘get a recharge,’ we simply had to excuse ourselves from the dinner table and kindly announce that we ‘had to use the toilet.’ Thankfully, this was merely a voluntary option for the rest of the night and all of us from abroad made it through dinner without having to use the toilet again ;).

All in all, I had a good time at the conference and am pretty sure that I will not get to relive some of these experiences anytime soon.