The Department of Biodiversity & Conservation of Natural Resources under the School of Biodiversity and & Conservation of Natural Resources (School of BCNR) was established in the year 2011-12. Presently the School offers M.Sc. courses in Biodiversity & Conservation of Natural Resources. Research Programme (M.Phil and Ph.D.) was initiated from the academic session 2014-15. Biodiversity Conservation and threats to biodiversity, cultural biodiversity, sustainable development, climate change, marine biodiversity, man-animal conflict, eco-physiology, remote sensing and bioinformatics are thrust areas.

The Department is carrying out research activities in collaboration with different academic institutes, industries and different government bodies.

Vision of the Department :

• To develop the Department into an Advanced Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity and Natural Resources.
• To prepare policy relating to biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources.
• To create scientific manpower for biodiversity assessment and bio-prospecting as well as management of bio-resources.

Mission of the Department :

• Undertaking research on Biodiversity and its conservation aspects.
• Undertaking studies on Biodiversity Assessment and Resource Mapping with reference to the conservation of endangered and endemic species.
• To undertake the carbon sequestration studies of the forests in and around Koraput.
• To undertake studies related to extraction of bioactive substances from the existing flora and fauna and its possible use in the livelihood up-gradation of society at large.
• To undertake the documentation and dissemination of Tradition Related Biodiversity Knowledge System (TRBKS) for the preservation of Natural Resources.

Achievement

Research Projects

Competed Projects :

• Dr. S.K. Palita, Head, DBCNR supervised a minor Project entitled "Study of Biodiversity in Bidaghati preservation plot of Koraput Research Range" during January 2017
• Dr. S.K. Palita, Head, DBCNR supervised a Orissa Biodiversity Board Funded Project entitled "Faunal Diversity Assessment of Invertebrates and Lower Vertebrates of Deomali Hills of Western Ghats, Koraput, Odisha, India" from March, 2015 to February 2016.

Ongoing Projects

• Dr. Kakoli Banerjee, Asst. Professor, DBCNR is supervising a Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India funded Project entitled "Study on carbon cycling in mangrove ecosystem of Bhitarkanika, Odisha" (2016-2019)
• Dr. Kakoli Banerjee, Asst. Professor, DBCNR is supervising a National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad funded Project entitled "Measurement of Vegetation and Biomass parameters under Vegetation Carbon Pool Assessment (VCP)" (A sub project of ISRO Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP)-National Carbon Project (NCP)] (2015-2018)
• Dr. Kakoli Bnaerjee, Asst. Professor, DBCNR is supervising a EUPHRATES PROJECT of University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain as Principal Investigator & Coordinator of the Project for Central University of Orissa (2013-2017)
• Dr. Debabrata Panda Asst. Professor, DBCNR is supervising a Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt. of Odisha funded Project entitled "Molecular characterisation of selected indigenous rice landraces of Jeypore tract of Odisha in relation to drought stress tolerance (2017-2020)

Workshop & Seminar

• Department of BCNR organised a Seminar on "Biodiversity and Conservation Initiatives in Koraput Region" with financial support from Foundation for Ecological Security (Anand, Gujarat) during 28th-29th March, 2015.
• Department of BCNR organised a Ministry of Earth Science, Govt. of India sponsored National Seminar on Climate Change and Biodiversity during 23rd -24th November 2013 at CUO, Koraput.