RANCHI: Amid the rise in the number of elephant attacks, claiming at least 25 lives in the past eleven days across the state, Jharkhand government is preparing a 10-year vision and climate plan to mitigate man-animal conflicts and restore the forest cover, officials said on Sunday.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Sanjeev Kumar said the ‘vision plan’ seeks to balance ecological conservation with community well-being, offering hope for more harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife. “If everything goes as per the plan, the vision document will be finalised by March 31 and will be implemented from the next financial year,” Kumar added.
The comprehensive plan, which deals with a 30-point agenda, aims to address such a problem, improve wildlife habitats, regenerate degraded forests, and promote forest-based livelihoods for local communities, the officials said.
“The 10-year vision plan deals with 30 issues such as regenerating forests, creating forest-based livelihood for local communities, protecting and digitising forest boundaries, improving habitats of animals such as tiger, leopard and bear in the state, rehabilitating mined out areas so that pollution impact could be reduced and drafting a micro plan to improve local climate,” he added.
A ‘rogue’ tusker took the lives of 20 people in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district. The department planned to set up a rescue centre for the ‘rogue’ elephants, like the one that created trouble in Chaibasa. “For this, we need a land of 5-10 hectares. We are planning to set up the centre in Ranchi, and search for land has already been initiated,” Kumar added.
The PCCF said fragmentation of elephant routes has been a concern. “But, we have also observed a change in their food habits, which has become a major reason for conflicts in recent years. The jumbos, which eat Sal leaves, bamboo and ‘mahua’, are now becoming fond of paddy and potatoes. They are entering farm fields and attacking houses,” he said.
Kumar added that all these changes have been observed in the past 25 years. The forest department is contemplating various aspects to deal with elephants’ food behavioural change too, he said. “Convincing farmers in elephant-affected areas to change crops for a certain period could be an option, the PCCF said. He said that the elephant corridor identification exercise is also underway in the state. “The exercise will be completed very soon. Thereafter, planning will be made to improve them,” Kumar said.