Pulwama, 26 August: The Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Protection Department, in collaboration with SOS Wildlife, organized an awareness workshop at Satoora Aripal in Tral to address the growing issue of human-wildlife conflict.
The workshop was attended by officers and employees of the Wildlife Department, local residents and wildlife experts, including Wildlife Warden Shopian-Pulwama Sohail Ahmad Wagay and Aaliya Mir from SOS Wildlife.
During the programme, department employees and local people were sensitized about effective ways to deal with and prevent situations arising from human-wildlife conflict.
Speaking to the media, Wildlife Warden Shopian-Pulwama Sohail Ahmad Wagay said incidents of human-wildlife conflict are being reported from different parts of the country. He said the department has been directed to reach out to villages and fringe areas located close to forests and wildlife habitats, understand the issues faced by affected communities and work out solutions at the ground level.
Sohail Ahmad Wagay said the department has started an awareness campaign in areas witnessing such incidents and that the initiative will be carried forward on a continuous basis.
He said the department plans to visit villages and other fringe areas to interact with local residents, understand the reasons behind the increasing human-wildlife conflict and formulate measures to minimize such incidents.
He emphasized that the objective is to ensure the safety of both people and wildlife, adding that awareness programmes will continue to be organized across vulnerable areas in the future.
