BHUBANESWAR: With the Similipal experiment proving a big success, the state government has decided to expand the artificial intelligence (AI) surveillance system to Satkosia and Debrigarh wildlife sanctuaries this year at an investment of around Rs 150 crore.
Forest officials said the AI camera-based surveillance in Similipal Tiger Reserve has added teeth to the forest monitoring and wildlife protection measures while a similar exercise in Rourkela has proved effective in mitigating human-elephant conflict in the region. This has prompted the government to expand the system to other sanctuaries and forest reserves.
The Al-based fire monitoring and protection surveillance towers will be installed in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the Satkosia landscape covering Dhenkanal, Angul, Satkosia and Mahanadi wildlife divisions this year. “A provision of Rs 150 crore has been made by the government and the project will most likely be taken up from the start of the 2025-26 financial year,”said an official.
He said the department is planning to deploy five AI-enabled camera towers in both Satkosia and Debrigarh as these protected areas with rich biodiversity continue to face constant threats from wildfire and other environmental challenges.
“Introduction of advanced camera towers may prove to be a significant step toward preserving the vital ecosystems of the two sanctuaries, where the government is planning to take up tiger supplementation programme in the near future,” the officer said.
Equipped with state-of-the-art AI technology, the camera towers will continuously monitor vast areas, quickly detecting signs of fire, unauthorised human activities and wildlife movement. The realtime monitoring capability will also allow faster response time, minimising the damage caused by fires and other threats, the officials said.
Apart from the existing towers, officials said more AI-integrated trail guard cameras will be installed in the Similipal Tiger Reserve to strengthen the surveillance in the tiger habitat. The department is also working out an action plan for the ‘Ama Similipal Yojana’, a new scheme in which the state government will spend Rs 50 crore for overall upkeep and development of the national biosphere reserve spread over 5,569 sq km.
Despite its ecological significance, Similipal faces threat from deforestation, poaching and forest fires, necessitating improved conservation efforts. Under the new scheme which was announced in the recent budget, multiple initiatives including livelihood programmes involving local communities of Similipal fringe villages will be taken up from the new financial year to reduce their dependency on forest and mitigate conflict, officials said.