BHOPAL, Jan. 31. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s fourth Carbon Flux Tower located in the West Betul forest division of Madhya Pradesh for measurement of carbon dioxide flux from soil and vegetation .

The carbon flux tower, jointly established by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Madhya Pradesh Forest Department in the Sukwan Beat of Tawadi Range in Betul district, was inaugurated through remote control by the chief minister at a special function held at the studio of the Bhopal Doordarshan Kendra on Tuesday afternoon. The programme was also telecast live across the country by Doordarshan.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said: “we have thousands of years of tradition and culture which teaches us not to exploit nature.” There is a symbiotic relationship between human beings and nature and this has to be respected, he said adding unfortunately we have cut our forests, pushed so many species of wild animals on the verge of extinction and allowed reckless mining and wastage of water. The endless exploitation of nature is leading to the greenhouse effect and not only global warming but also global cooling, pointed out Mr. Chouhan. 

The chief minister said that the flux tower in Betul will become an important milestone when it comes to the measurement of carbon dioxide. He congratulated ISRO, state forest department and the local forest committee for the new facility in Madhya Pradesh. State Forest Minister Sartaj Singh said in his speech that the forest area has to be increased and suggested that there should be special focus on afforestation.

National Remote Sensing Centre (Hyderabad) Director V.K. Dadhwal, who also addressed the gathering, said that the challenge of climate change can be addressed by measuring carbon dioxide flux from soil and vegetation. Stressing on the need to monitor net carbon exchange, he said: “we were earlier concerned about how the environment effects the biosphere but it is also important to study how biosphere effects environment.”

Giving details about the joint project with ISRO, state Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Ajit Sonakia said the data received from the flux tower sensors will be correlated by National Remote Sensing Centre for scientific analysis. On completion of all calibrations and correlations, the information will be submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for subsequent incorporation into the national communication to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).