Pilibhit, 25 July 2024: The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), conducted a four-day basic training program on “Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation” for 50 frontline staff of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and Pilibhit Social Forestry from 22nd to 25th July 2024.

The inaugural ceremony was presided over by Chief guest, Shri Avinash Pandey, Superintendent of Police, Pilibhit. While addressing the participants, he emphasised the need to bolster the capacity of the frontline forest staff, fostering local community cooperation and comprehensive collaboration between multiple departments and agencies.

The inaugural ceremony was presided over by Chief Guest, Shri Avinash Pandey, Superintendent of Police, Pilibhit | Photo by Sreenanth K

The comprehensive capacity-building program was divided into two batches and aimed at equipping 50 frontline staff members of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and Pilibhit Social Forestry with essential skills and knowledge on various aspects of Human-Wildlife conflict and appropriate conflict mitigation strategies. WTI extended its support by distributing basic utility kits to the trainees, comprising a backpack, cap, diary, pen, and mosquito net, essential for fieldwork.

50 frontline forest staff from Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and Pilibhit Social Forestry are participating in the workshop | Photo by Sreenanth K

The training included highly interactive and hands-on sessions covering human-wildlife conflict mapping in forest divisions/ranges, identification of causes and drivers of conflict, stakeholder analysis, crowd management, local community engagement, and public sensitisation.

Additionally, there were sessions on modern wildlife monitoring technologies such as camera traps, drones, and AI-enabled surveillance systems. Pre and post-training evaluation tests were also conducted to assess the trainees’ knowledge enhancement before and after the training. The expert panel from WTI included Dr Samir Sinha, Chief Ecologist, Dr NVK Ashraf, Chief Veterinarian, Rudra Mahapatra, Project Head, MVS Odisha and Dr Abhishek Ghoshal, Head, Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Division.

Team WTI imparting training on operating drones for aerial monitoring in the field | Photo by Sreenanth K

Dr. Abhishek Ghoshal expressed that such workshops aim to build the capacity of forest staff to handle conflict situations independently and more efficiently.

WTI is grateful to the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, especially Shri. Manish Singh, DFO, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve; US Fish & Wildlife Services, and Chester Zoo for their invaluable support in facilitating this training program.