Noida, 27 February 2020: Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and its partner IFAW recently conducted three regional workshops with local NGOs to build capacity on disaster management for animals. The Society for Protecting Ophiofauna & Animal Rights (SPOAR) in Jalpaiguri West Bengal, Animal Warriors Conservation Society (AWCS) in Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh and ResQ Charitable Trust in Pune, Maharashtra – organisations that work locally and extend urgent reach rescuing animals in distress.

Each of these three day workshops tackled the frequent challenges faced by veterinarians during disasters and the vulnerable animal groups affected by them. The workshop had veterinarians sharing their experiences in a disaster response and also had brainstorming sessions on formulating best management practices for Disaster Response and Risk Reduction (DRRR). Group discussions on the veterinary protocols to be adopted and standardized in the different aspects (prevention, preparedness, response, recovery) of a disaster response were also conducted during the workshops.

The West Bengal workshop had rescuers and veterinarians invited from the north-eastern region of the country, a region prone to flooding and earthquakes. The Andhra Pradesh workshop had participants from the eastern coast of the country to brainstorm on the management of animals during cyclones that are so frequent there. The region has recently faced quite a few cases of animal related emergencies such as the death of hundreds of open billed stork deaths in Telunkunchi after cyclone Titli hit Andhra coast. The region also has a history of zoonotic diseases. In Maharashtra, the participants came from regions of the country that are susceptible to urban flooding. Participants shared experiences from the recent floods in Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat among others. Insights from the flood responses were shared, following a discussion on the gaps.

The latest National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in November 2019 has incorporated animal safety for the first time accentuating the need to build grassroot capacity to make the NDMP effective.

IFAW-  WTI have been running the Emergency Relief Network ensuring rescue and relief of distressed animals since 2004 that now has more than 600 members across the country.

Write to ern@wti.org.in to know more or to join the network.