Kerala Forest Research Institute

Established in 1975, Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) envisions it as a Centre of Excellence in Tropical Forestry to provide scientific support for decision making on matters related to forestry, with particular emphasis on conservation, sustainable utilization and scientific management of natural resources. KFRI became a part of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) along with five other R&D Centres of the State, when the KSCSTE was constituted in 2002.

The Institute has a well maintained state of the art instrumentation centre besides specialised laboratories for research in Tissue-culture, Clonal Multiplication, Physiology, Wildlife Biology, Soil Science, Biotechnology, Wood Sciences, Biochemistry, Mycology, Entomology, Sylviculture, GIS and RS.

Research Departments in KFRI

KFRI has 17 research departments grouped under 9 Programme Divisions as below in addition to special facilities such Research Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (RME-Unit) , Central Instrumentation Unit (CIU) and Kerala Forest Seed Centre (KFSC)

Sustainable Forest Management

Sillviculture
Tree Physiology
Soil Science

Forest Genetics and Biotechnology

Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding
Biotechnology

Forest Ecology & Biodiversity Conservation

Forest Ecology
Forest Botany
Non-Timber Forest Produces
Wildlife Biology

Forest Protection

Forest Entomology
Forest Pathology

Wood Science and Technology

Wood Science and Technology

Forestry and Human Dimension

Forest Economics
Sociology

Forest Management Information System

Forest Statistics
GIS & Remote Sensing

Extension and Training

Extension
Training

Library and Information

Services of Kerala Forest Research Institute

KFRI Offers following services:

Conducts research on problem subjects in forestry and environment suggested by various agencies including State Government departments
Undertakes research on long-term research agenda
Imparts training to Staff of the Forest Departments from Kerala and other States
Performs Environmental Impact Assessment of development projects
Collates, organise, analyse and present updated databases on forest resources
Provides expert opinion on disputed ecological issues to the Judiciary
Investigates problematic forestry/environmental issues for the Kerala Forest Department
Assists the State Government/Government Departments for framing forestry related developmental projects and programmes
Explores and documents new plant, animal and microbial species
Conducts Seminars/Symposia/Conferences and brings out the collated information
Facilitates conduct of scientific and science-oriented meetings/conferences
Offers specialized lectures on various topics on environment, conservation and forestry
Organizes, maintains and makes available live collections of native plants of various groups such as palms, bamboos, orchids, trees, medicinal plants, threatened plants, etc.