National Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Strategy and Action Plan Released during Wildlife Week Celebrations

08 Oct, 2021

India's National Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Strategy and Action Plan (HWC-NAP) and 4 supplementary frameworks developed under Indo-German partnership were released by Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Mr Ashwini Kumar Choubey along with Mr Soumitra Dasgupta Additional Director General of Forest (Wildlife) as part of the closing ceremony of India’s Wildlife Week 2021.

HWC-NAP is developed using a participatory approach under the bilateral Indo-German project on ‘Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation in India’, over a four-year period, to bring a common understanding and consensus among key actors, on the key approaches and possible solutions for mitigating HWC in India. It takes the approach of harmonious coexistence by ensuring that both – humans and wildlife – are protected from conflicts. It is supported by four supplementary frameworks, including a common framework for developing state level HWC Mitigation strategies and action plans. As a next step, to facilitate effective and efficient implementation of the HWC-NAP, a separate “Implementer’s Toolkit” is being developed.

GIZ India, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and National Zoological Park New Delhi also organised a poster making competition under the Indo-German project on “Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation (HWC)” in India from 7 - 8 October 2021.

The first round of poster making competition was organised on 7 October where 45 students from 20 different schools from Delhi NCR participated out of which 15 were selected for the final round on 8 October.

The second day started with poster making competition with 15 students making their posters on the theme “Zoo & Wildlife”. Hon’ble Minister of State, MoEFCC, Mr Ashwini Kumar Choubey interacted with the children and felicitated the winners of poster making competition. A small skit was also performed by students from Manzil Theatre Group on behalf of GIZ. The programmes were aimed at facilitating school children in reflective process on wildlife conservation, and HWC Mitigation in India.

The posters on ecology and behaviour of animals in conflict and 'Do’s & Don’ts' were displayed during the ceremony, these posters were developed under the Indo-German project on HWC Mitigation in India.

The participants were awarded a certificate of appreciation by Mr Mohamed El-Khawad, Programme Director and Cluster Coordinator of the Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resource Management, GIZ India; Mr Ravindra Singh, Programme Director, Indo-German Biodiversity Programme and Dr Neeraj Khera, Indo-German Project on HWC Mitigation, GIZ India. Centre for Environment Communication (CEC) supported in implementation of the event.

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About the project

The Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation (HWC) project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and State Forest Departments of Karnataka, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. The project aims at providing technical support at the national level, and effective implementation of HWC mitigation measures in selected states of India. The project pilot sites are Haridwar Forest Division and adjoining landscape including Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand, Gorumara Wildlife Division in West Bengal, and Kodagu Forest Circle in Karnataka.

The main objective of the project is that the rural population in project areas, where agreed guidelines and tools are applied to mitigate human-wildlife conflict, is better protected against it. The project takes the approach of harmonious coexistence, by ensuring that both—humans and wildlife—are protected from conflict. Read More

For more information contact: biodiv.india@giz.de