Vivek Menon, ED & CEO, WTI, with SS Srivastava, Chief Wildlife Warden, Odisha

Bhubaneswar, December 11, 2015: Odisha Government signed MoU with Wildlife Trust of India for preparation of a Comprehensive Wildlife Management Plan for the whole state. The MoU between State Forest and Environment Department and WTI was signed on December 11, 2015, and as per the agreement, management plans will be prepared for protected areas as well as areas outside it along with a state level overarching thematic plan.

Sri Bikram Kehsari Arukha, Minister Forest & Environment, and Parliamentary Affairs, represented the State Government while Vivek Menon, ED & CEO, represented the WTI. Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Principal Secretary, Odisha; JD Sharma, PCCF, Odisha; SS Srivastava, PCCF (Wildlife); Dr Jagdish Kishwan, Chief Advisor to ED & CEO, WTI; and Rudra Prasanna Mahapatra, Assistant Manager, WTI were also present during the MoU signing ceremony. The plan includes mapping key biological resources and their connectivity. Moreover, the plan will suggest ways and means to the State Government to enable and restore degraded and fragmented habitats which are crucial for the movement and sustenance of wildlife in Odisha.

Vivek Menon, ED & CEO, WTI, signing the MoU

The other major objective of the MoU will be to mitigate human-wildlife conflict by identifying key conflict areas in the State. Poaching and train hits will also be mapped and addressed by the WTI as part of the comprehensive plan.

“This comprehensive Wildlife Management Plan for the whole of Odisha is going to be the first of its kind anywhere in the country. It is going to be a challenging task for the WTI team, but the final product is going to be unique and unprecedented,” said Dr Kishwan. SS Srivastava, Chief Wildlife Warden, Odisha, signed the MoU with Vivek Menon, ED & CEO, WTI.

The plan will also suggest how conservation can be taken to the grassroots level across the landscape, and specify additional infrastructure requirement for the same. Altogether, WTI will have 12 months to complete field work and another three months to finish the plan.