Union Environment Minister launches 5 national-level projects for species conservation and conflict management
Four national-level action plans and field guides also launched for species population assessments and monitoring programme
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Union minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav launched five national-level projects for species conservation and conflict management along with four national-level action plans and field guides for species population assessments and monitoring programme. The minister launched these initiatives at a function held at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) campus by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) and FRI as part of the Wildlife Week 2025 here on Monday.
Addressing the gathering, taking reference from the various nationally significant announcements made by the Prime Minister during 7th National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), the minister emphasised the ministry’s commitment to conserving its biodiversity while ensuring coexistence between people and wildlife. He also laid emphasis on the growing need for innovative, technology-driven and community-centric approaches to wildlife management. Yadav also urged all stakeholders to strengthen partnerships for conservation and emphasized that “Wildlife protection is not just a duty, but a shared responsibility for ensuring harmony between nature and people”.
During the event, the minister launched five national-level projects for species conservation and conflict management. These projects were taking forward the vision and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed during the 7th Meeting of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) regarding conservation management of species. The projects launched include the implementawtion of the action plan for Project Dolphin (Phase II) to strengthen conservation measures for river and marine cetaceans across India, the the national implementation framework for the conservation of the sloth bea, the implementation action plan for the conservation of Gharials, launch of the centre of excellence for Human-Wildlife Conflict Management at SACON and the establishment of a dedicated national centre to support policy, research and field-based mitigation of human–wildlife conflicts in India. The minister also unveiled four national-level action plans and field guides for species population assessments and monitoring programmes including the second cycle of population estimation of river dolphins and other cetaceans, all-India tiger estimation cycle–6 (release of the field guide in eight regional languages), action plan for the second cycle of snow leopard population estimation and progress report on the population estimation of Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican.
A key highlight of the evening was the concluding session of the National Hackathon on Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) Co-existence, bringing together young innovators, students and technology developers from across India. The Hackathon encouraged creative solutions to mitigate conflicts, promote coexistence and enhance real-time decision-making using advanced tools such as AI, spatial analytics and community engagement models. A total of 120 teams consisting of 420 youths from 75 institutions across 20 States/UTs participated in the event over the last three weeks. Following the preliminary rounds, the finale was held in Dehradun as part of the event, with top 6 finalists making presentations in the presence of the minister and expert juries, along with a large number of participants of the celebrations. The top three finalists were given a cash prize along with a certificate, while all other finalists were given an appreciation prize by the Minister. He also gave away prizes for winners of the quiz competition conducted by IGNFA.
