COIMBATORE: N Venkatesh Prabhu, District Forest Officer (DFO) of the Coimbatore Forest Division, received the DFO Award from Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday for implementing various initiatives under the human-wildlife conflict management category during his tenure in the Gudalur forest division in Nilgiris district.
For two years (2024 to 2026), the officer has served in a conflict-prone area. One of the notable initiatives was establishing an AI-powered command and control centre at a cost of Rs 6 crore at Genepool Garden in Naadukani forest range, along with wireless communication facilities for field staff and thermal drones to monitor wild elephants.
After receiving alerts about elephants approaching human habitations and farmland through 34 AI-enabled cameras and 12 advanced AI-based monitoring systems installed at 46 locations in conflict-prone areas of Gudalur division, staff visit the spots and drive elephants away.
"Cellphone connectivity is a significant hurdle inside the forest as it hinders smooth mitigation measures of human-animal conflict. Due to the implementation of wireless communication among staff through walkie-talkies, effective communication is possible. Animals can be driven away using thermal drone cameras even at night," said Venkatesh Prabhu.
Apart from this integrated method, the team led by the then Gudalur DFO restored 800 hectares of forest by removing invasive species and 168 hectares of grasslands, and also made 27 km of Elephant Proof Trench (EPT) to prevent wild elephants from entering the Gudalur division from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).
Similarly, the then Nilgiris District Forest Officer S Gowtham, received an award for Sustainable Forest Management, Vismiju Viswanathan, DFO Chennai, under the Forest Rights Act, and S Ganesalingam of Pudukottai division under the Green Tamil Nadu Mission from the CM.