Faced with increasing incidence of man-animal conflicts in forest-fringe settlements, the Forest Department is exploring the option of empowering the populations in the affected areas.
The government is looking at creation of ‘social fences’ as a long-term solution to the challenge posed by wild animals.
The proposal is to form Jana Jagrata Samitis in areas in the peripheries of forests. The panels will be led by the grama panchayat presidents and will have representatives from the three-tier local self-governments as its members, along with field experts and officials including an agriculture officer and a tribal officer.
The proposed panels, first mooted by Forest Minister K. Raju, are different from the existing rapid response teams which have only officials and experts as their members. “Times have changed and you cannot have a single solution to all situations. Individual issues must be considered independently and the panels concerned must brainstorm on possible solutions,” says Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) S.C. Joshi, who is the Head of Forest Force (HoFF).
Pointing out that man-animal conflicts could no longer be addressed without the active participation of the local populace, Dr. Joshi said the department will extend every possible support to the samitis. Yet another initiative on the anvil is an SMS-based alert system, whereby a group of local residents can monitor the movement of wild elephants and alert the department’s control room about possible intrusions into inhabited areas. This would enable the officials concerned to alert the primary response teams and the rapid response teams, if the need arises, through SMSs.
According to Dr. Joshi, a holistic State-level strategy has been evolved to prevent possible incursions by wild animals, due to various factors including forest fires, water scarcity and deforestation, and ensure ‘self-sufficiency’ in the forestlands.
“With an aim of conserving water, a large number of waterbodies will be created for the benefit of animals. For this, check-dams made of bamboo will be made in forest areas. Besides, weeds will be cleared wherever possible to make available grass in sufficient quantity for elephants,” he said.
Crop-raiding wild boars too cause much headache to the forest enforcers with extensive damage and human casualties being reported from various parts. The government is contemplating writing to the Centre for permission to declare wild boar as vermin species to facilitate its culling under certain stipulations. The Centre had granted such a permission once in the past, but with stipulations on culling female wild boars that were deemed impractical.
