The State Cabinet on March 6 (Wednesday) declared human-wildlife life conflict a State-specific disaster. The decision comes in the wake of increasing deaths, injuries, and crop and property loss caused by recurrent and seemingly unstoppable wildlife incursions into human habitations abutting forests in the State.
The Cabinet’s declaration has opened the door for the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) to play a vital role in mitigating such conflicts.
The Cabinet also created a committee headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to alleviate the threat of marauding wildlife to humans, especially plantation workers and members of tribal communities. A panel comprising the Chief Secretary would work out the modalities.
Forest, Revenue, Local Self-Governments, and SC/ST Welfare Ministers will be members of the CM’s committee. The State-level committee will also include secretaries of these departments.
The government will replicate the apex committee at the district level. The Minister in charge of the district would head the committee. District Collectors and heads of various departments, including the KSDMA, will be roped in as members.
The government also decided to form neighbourhood watch groups to increase grassroots vigilance in localities plagued by wildlife ingress.
The groups will work in tandem with government officials and elected representatives to mitigate the problem and also give advance warnings, including through WhatsApp groups and public announcements, about the presence and movement of wildlife in human habitations.
The government has also recruited volunteer groups, wildlife enthusiasts, and environmentalists to help contain human-wildlife conflicts before they spiral out of control.
The Cabinet also appointed the Chief Wildlife Warden as the nodal office for preventing human-wildlife conflicts. The nodal officer would direct the operation of a 24/7 control room
The Cabinet also decided to recruit more forest watchers to enhance the State’s wildlife movement surveillance net.
It instructed plantation managers to remove undergrowth to improve the visibility and tracking of wild animals. The Cabinet has roped them in as stakeholders in its latest venture.
The Cabinet has ordered the Forest department to raise more rapid response teams with the necessary equipment, including firearms, surveillance devices, aerial drones, tranquiliser guns, animal ambulances, radio collars, advance warning systems and camera traps.
It also ordered the Forest department to provide sufficient fodder and water inside protected reserves to prevent wildlife from raiding human habitats for forage and livestock.
The Cabinet also expedited the disbursal of compensation for victims of wildlife attacks. It has exempted such ex-gratia payments from prevalent treasury restrictions.
It also ordered KIFFB to raise ₹210 crore from the open financial market to protect human habitats from wildlife intrusions by erecting fences, digging moats, and establishing surveillance and early warning equipment in neighbourhoods abutting forests.
The Cabinet also announced an inter-State coordination committee involving Karnataka and Tamil Nadu forest officials to police the forests contiguous to the three States.
