Natural Resource Management Training Programme of IRM strives to ensure optimal utilization of available resources at the local level and provision of assistance to reduce dependency upon external resources. This programme aims to develop and strengthen local capabilities for sustainable resource management through prevention of losses in natural resources, productivity enhancement and environmental rehabilitation.

The focus of the programme is to build the capacities of people in:

	Agriculture including Fisheries
	Livestock
	Forestry including sericulture

This helps to ensure sustainable management of resources along with improving production.

At IRM where HRD activities are promoted and valued highly, it is believed that a cadre of activists needs to be trained in various disciplines for the purpose of creating a culture of effective and sustainable management of natural resource at the grassroots level. Every year a large number of participants are trained under NRMTP and the duration of these training events ranges between one day to thirty days. The institute has responded to the issues related to NRM through adopting a comprehensive strategy involving:

 

	Training of master trainers for enabling them to train other community members at the local level
	Introduction and orientation to improved appropriate technologies
	Imparting knowledge and expertise to enable them to benefit from new and appropriate technologies
	Establishing strong and productive linkages for extending outreach of government and other line departments at the local level
	A total of 22,329 participants with 7,712 female and 14,617 male have been trained under the programme till June 2004.

Livestock yield in Pakistan is very low as compared to other developing countries. One of the main reasons that accounts for this fact is the scarcity of trained people in the country who can look after the sector and increase its production.The training events carried out under the programme focus on imparting useful, practical and advanced knowledge about livestock to the community members who are willing to take up challenges for increasing production and reducing livestock losses at initial and preventive level.

In this connection NRSP-IRM has trained a total of 5,606 community activists for livestock production, first aid and disease preventive measures, out of which 4,932 were male and 674 were female community activists.