Tamil Nadu Forest Minister N. Mathiventhan will, on September 26, chair a meeting of the Tamil Nadu State Board for Wild Life (SBWL) to deliberate on various proposals that are crucial to wildlife, including forest diversion and conservation.
The man-animal conflict and the spreading of invasive species in forest habitats are the two major issues to be discussed during the meeting.
Unnatural deaths of wild animals, including elephants and tigers, in the forest area of the state will also come up for discussion. Notably, since August 2023, six tigers have died in the Nilgiris forest division alone. A couple of days ago, a tiger died due to poisoning.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had personally attended the previous SBWL meeting, which had discussed several measures, including putting out in the public domain the post-mortem reports of the wild elephants.
The Elephant Death Audit Framework has been successfully implemented and this has helped the department to properly understand the cause of deaths of wild elephants and nature. This, according to senior forest department officials, has led to making proper decisions in managing the population of wild elephants.
The SBWL meeting will also discuss the presence of invasive species of weeds that are creating problems in Tiger habitats.
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