Parliamentary Consultative Committee Meeting held

The Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change met today in New Delhi, under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav. The agenda of the meeting was to deliberate on the issue of Human–Wildlife Conflict (HWC) and the measures required for strengthening prevention, mitigation and long-term coexistence between people and wildlife. Dignitaries in attendance included Union Minister of State (EFCC), Kirti Vardhan Singh, along with Members of Parliament as part of the Committee, besides senior officers of the Ministry, PCCFs and Chief Wild Life Wardens of participating States.

Presentations were made by the States of Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, highlighting their conflict scenarios, mitigation measures, community participation initiatives, use of technology, institutional mechanisms and recommendations for strengthening national efforts. The experiences presented underscored the importance of landscape-specific planning, rapid response systems, habitat improvement, protection of wildlife corridors, scientific monitoring, early warning systems, community engagement and inter-State coordination.

The meeting concluded with a detailed discussion among Members of Parliament on measures required to strengthen national and State-level efforts for reducing human–wildlife conflict while ensuring long-term conservation of India’s rich wildlife heritag