BHALUKPONG, 19 Dec: The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), in collaboration with the Khellong forest division, and with support from the World Land Trust and David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, conducted a workshop on ‘Human-wildlife conflict mitigation’ at the conference hall of the circuit house here in West Kameng district on Wednesday and Thursday.
The programme saw the participation of 36 frontline staffers from five ranges of the Khellong forest division.
The primary objective of the workshop was to enhance the capacity of forest personnel to effectively manage human-wildlife conflicts, particularly involving elephants and big cats. The inaugural ceremony was presided over by Khellong DFO Aduk Paron, in the presence of Bhalukpong EAC Arbin Pangin.
The sessions were conducted by experienced trainers from the WTI, namely, WTI Training Cell Head Rudra Prasanna Mahapatra, and Sundarban Tiger Project Head Prosenjit Sheel.
The participants received training in essential aspects of human-wildlife conflict and its mitigation strategies, including the levels and types of conflict, causes and drivers, mitigation measures (preventive, reactive, pre-emptive), stakeholder analysis, and principles of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.
“This type of training must be extended to other parts of Arunachal Pradesh to provide frontline staffers and
primary stakeholders with greater technical knowledge and expertise, helping to minimise human-wildlife conflicts,” said the DFO.
WTI Manager Dr Panjit Basumatary said, “This workshop aims to build the capacity of forest staffers to handle conflict situations more efficiently in the future. We are grateful to the department of environment, forest & climate change, Arunachal Pradesh, the World Land Trust and David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation for their invaluable support in facilitating this training programme.”
