AI Harnessed To Manage Human-Wildlife Conflict
The Gudalur Forest Division represented one of the most complex and conflict-prone landscapes in Tamil Nadu: Report
CHENNAI: An AI-powered Command and Control Centre for Human–Wildlife Conflict Management was launched in the Gudalur Forest Division of the Nilgiris District, marking a transformative step in the State’s approach towards managing human–wildlife conflict through scientific, technology-enabled and community-oriented interventions.
Inaugurated in the presence of A Raja, MP representing Nilgiris Constituency, and Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forest Department, the Rs 6 crore control centre has been designed as a 24×7 centralised operational hub integrating real-time monitoring, early warning systems, rapid response coordination, scientific data analysis and community engagement to enable proactive and preventive management of human–wildlife conflict.
The Gudalur Forest Division represented one of the most complex and conflict-prone landscapes in Tamil Nadu as the region comprises fragmented reserve forests interspersed with tea, coffee and spice plantations, private landholdings and dense human habitations, while also forming part of historical elephant movement corridors, an official press release said on Saturday.
Increasing habitat fragmentation, degradation of natural ecosystems and disruption of traditional migration routes had resulted in a sustained rise in human–elephant interactions in recent years, leading to human casualties, injuries, livestock loss, crop depredation and damage to property, it said.
In such a dynamic and fragmented landscape, conventional mitigation measures such as trenches and solar fencing had proved to be only locally effective, underscoring the need for a coordinated, predictive and technology-driven conflict mitigation system, it added.
