S.D. O. Mishra who is part of the Forest Department addresses the villagers
Vidya Venkatesh, Director LWF addressing the villagers
Talking to the village head
The village sarpanch addresses the villagers
Rapt attention
Puspendra Dwivedi, Field co ordinator LWF addressing the villagers
Last Wilderness Foundation in association with the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve Management has initiated a project for community engagement to mitigate negative human-wildlife interactions in Beohari, an important corridor connecting two crucial tiger reserves, Bandhavgarh and Sanjay. This initiative has been undertaken to address the cases of conflict which were on the rise in the belt since the past year with attacks on community members by the existing wildlife and vice versa. The idea was to start a dialogue with the community members in the affected belt to understand the challenges faced by them and for the Forest Department to provide solutions to the same in the best possible manner.
These interactions have also been instrumental understanding the relationship on ground between the villagers and the Forest Department which is one of the key factors to tackle such situations. With the help of the Forest Department staff, these meetings have also created sensitisation amongst the community members on the precautionary measures to be taken while living in close proximity to large mammals like tigers, leopards and elephants. As of now, almost 900 community members have been met and interacted with, from the villages of Kona, Nagadol, Dala, Chuhira, Bocharo, Tatiyajhar, Naudiya and Tikuri situated in the buffer zone of Sanjay Tiger Reserve.
This initiative is being supported by Madhya Pradesh Tiger Foundation Society and KCT group.
To know more about the project, click here.
