President Pranab Mukherjee has emphasized the need for striking a suitable balance between conservation of forests and development. He was addressing the convocation of Indian Forest Service probationers at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy in Dehradun today. He expressed the hope that the training imparted to them by the academy would go a long way in facing the challenges in their future career.<br/> <br/>President Pranab Mukherjee called upon the forestry community to meet the challenges posed by climate change across the world. He asked the young officers to work as natural resource managers by using scientific means to conserve and increase the productivity of the forests on the one hand and meet the forest related requirements of people on the other side. <br/><br/>Expressing his concern over the drying lakes and water sources, the President said that we should look at development and environmental conservation as complementary to each other and not as opponents. As many as 45 IFS probationers of India and 2 foreign trainee officers from Bhutan passed out at the convocation today. President Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to visit Badrinath tomorrow, where he will have Darshan and Pooja of Lord Vishnu on the re-opening of the temple portals for devotees.