PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Ramnagar
A joint workshop involving Indian Forest Service officers from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, along with officials from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), was held in Ramnagar on Saturday to discuss wildlife conservation and measures to reduce escalating human-wildlife conflict. The Uttarakhand Forest minister Subodh Uniyal presided over the workshop.
Senior forest officials from the participating states held detailed discussions on wildlife conservation, inter-state coordination and the use of modern technology in forest management.
Addressing the workshop, Uniyal said that new technology-driven policies should be framed for the conservation of tigers, leopards and other wildlife species. He called for the formation of a joint committee among these four states and emphasised working under a common programme to achieve effective and long-term conservation results.
The additional principal chief conservator of forests (APCCF) Vivek Pandey said that the forest landscapes of all these four states are interconnected, making a unified conservation strategy essential. He suggested the forest departments of all these four states adopt a common duty uniform to strengthen coordination during joint operations and field activities.
Pandey also demanded that the Forest department be granted access to CDR (Call Detail Record) powers by the Government of India to effectively curb forest crimes. He emphasised that all these states must work collectively to protect forests and wildlife.
Addressing the workshop, the director, Corbett Tiger Reserve, Saket Badola proposed the concept of an “Inter-State Tiger Reserve” involving all these four states to ensure better conservation of tigers, leopards and other wildlife species.
In workshop, the Forest officers expressed serious concerns over the increasing incidents of human-wildlife conflict arising from the growing population of tigers and leopards in their respective states. They stated that while the rise in big cat populations is a positive sign for biodiversity and ecological balance, it has also led to increased encounters in rural and urban areas.
Detailed discussions were also held regarding core wildlife zones and tourism zones. The wildlife experts stressed the need to maintain a balance between tourism activities and protection of natural wildlife habitats.
