Wildlife Habitats Development Scheme

Context

The Union Cabinet has recently approved the continuation of the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH) scheme for the 15th Finance Commission cycle, with an overall outlay of ₹2,602.98 crore. This centrally sponsored scheme, launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, aims to boost technological interventions and strengthen existing components to ensure the holistic development of wildlife habitats across India.

Components of IDWH

The IDWH scheme comprises three critical components:

1. 1. Project Tiger
   2. Project Elephant
   3. Development of Wildlife Habitat

• Project Tiger: Project Tiger was initiated in 1973, its special aim was tiger conservation. The scheme at the moment employs the use of current technology for the day to day management practices for example the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers, Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) mobile application. Further, the ISTR supports the All-India Tiger Estimation exercise that widely uses camera traps and applies Artificial Intelligence techniques to identify species. Conservation genetics has also applied impressively in establishing the tiger abundance in low density landscapes as is the case with evaluating their food niche.

• Project Elephant: Project Elephant was initiated in 1992 with an aim to conserve elephants, their habitat and passages, resolve Human Elephant Conflict and improve the status of elephants in captivity. This scheme is being implemented in 22 Elephant Range states/UTs.
• Development of Wildlife Habitat: This component encompasses the recently introduced Project Dolphin as well as Project Lion. Equipping Project Dolphin with the aid of equipment including the Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and enumeration of the dolphins using passive acoustics to evaluate the dolphins’ habitats. Project Lion will be strengthened as per the activities envisaged in the “Lion @ 2047: The information groomed in this vision for Amrut Kaal” document.

Technological Interventions

The IDWH scheme envisages boosting technological interventions in different thematic areas over the current and next financial year in tiger and other wildlife habitats. These interventions include:

• Extensive use of camera traps and AI for species identification
• Deployment of ROVs and passive acoustic monitoring devices for dolphin enumeration
• Leveraging information and communication technology to address human-elephant conflict

Beneficiaries and Impact

• The further development of the IDWH scheme will be useful for 55 tiger reserves, 33 elephant reserves, and 718 PAs and their zones of influence. It paves way for protection of the nation’s forests from the vagaries of Climate change and conversely safeguard water security for the nation.
• The scheme is expected to create more than 50 lakh man-days of self-employment, giving direct business in conjunction with indirect engagement options through eco-tourism and allied businesses. It will support keystone species including tigers, elephants, cheetah, snow leopards, and lions since they represent the state of these ecosystems.

Conclusion

The approval of the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme for the 15th Finance Commission cycle is a vindication of the government’s intent on tiger and wildlife conservation. To achieve these objectives, the defined components are extended and supported together with the introduction of the technological factor to guarantee the sustainable development of wildlife habitats for the purpose of revealing economical opportunities and preserving the balance of ecosystems.

 Source: The Hindustan Times