The Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change met in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, with Union Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh and Members of Parliament in attendance. The meeting focused on strengthening human-wildlife conflict mitigation through technology, community participation, and coordinated national action.
The Committee reviewed follow-up actions from the previous meeting held on December 18, 2025, including state consultations with MPs from conflict-affected areas. The Ministry highlighted varying conflict patterns across landscapes, with human-elephant conflict being predominant in several states, while conflicts involving tigers, leopards, bears, rhinoceroses, wild boars, gaurs, and primates require location-specific management approaches.
Key institutional developments include the establishment of the Centre of Excellence on Human-Wildlife Conflict at SACON, WII South Centre in Coimbatore, announced by the Prime Minister during the 7th National Board for Wildlife meeting. This center serves as a national institution for scientific research, technological innovation, policy support, capacity building, and community-centered approaches. The National Human-Wildlife Conflict Portal was launched on July 10, 2026, as a unified digital platform for recording conflict incidents, data management, knowledge sharing, and decision support. The Regional Action Plan on Elephant Conservation for South India has been approved.
Six states presented their conflict mitigation strategies: Assam presented a landscape-based strategy involving elephants, tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, wild buffalo, and wild boar, with Zonal Human-Wildlife Conflict Risk Reduction Committees preparing region-specific action plans. Karnataka showcased a six-pillar model featuring engineering interventions, AI-enabled surveillance, command centers, rapid response teams, community volunteer networks, and e-Parihara digital compensation systems, suggesting a National Human-Wildlife Conflict Mission. Kerala declared human-wildlife conflict as a State-Specific Disaster, deploying Rapid Response Teams and Primary Response Teams across 273 conflict-affected Panchayats with community initiatives like Jana Jagaratha Samitis and SARPA volunteer programme.
Madhya Pradesh presented a 'Prevention First' model integrating AI surveillance, GPS tracking, drones, Gajrakshak, rapid response teams, species-specific Standard Operating Procedures, time-bound compensation, and community participation through Bagh Mitra, Hathi Mitra, and Eco-Development Committees. Uttarakhand outlined its strategic roadmap featuring an Integrated Command and Control Centre, 24×7 Helpline (1926), e-surveillance, GPS tracking, habitat restoration, bio-fencing, and village-based volunteer networks. Uttar Pradesh highlighted leopard-related incidents as predominant, particularly in the Terai Arc Landscape, with strategies including Rapid Response Teams, four rescue centers, solar fencing, early warning systems, and community volunteer programmes.
The discussions emphasized the need for an integrated approach combining ecological conservation with protection of human lives and livelihoods, utilizing modern technologies including GIS, artificial intelligence, drones, radio telemetry, and predictive analytics. Union Minister Yadav stressed the importance of balanced approach combining scientific management, institutional coordination, technology-enabled monitoring, and active community involvement. Minister of State Singh suggested conducting habitat-based scientific studies on carrying capacity to determine if ecosystems have sufficient resources to sustain wildlife populations.