Centre adopts LiDAR technology to reduce man-animal conflict

In a first of its kind in the country, the Union ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has adopted Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology for reducing the rising incidents of man-animal conflicts along the periphery of the forest areas.

“The LiDAR technology will help in mapping the entire forest patches with remote sensing technology and we will get to know what is available in these areas. Depending on the requirement or density of animals, we can initiate steps to ensure sufficient food and water to animals within the forest areas,” said Union Minister for MoEF&CC Prakash Javadekar.

He was speaking at International Forests Day and ‘Forest to Farm—the way forward’ event in Bengaluru on Sunday organised as part of the Isha Foundation’s Cauvery Calling campaign.

The minister said that every year about 500 people were losing lives in man-elephant conflict and about 100 elephants were dying due to these problems.

Javadekar also emphasised the need for conservation of water. “We must preserve every drop of water that rain brings in and none of us have any right to abuse water,” he added.

Echoing similar opinion Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said that the state government had set aside Rs 2,945 crore in the budget for conservation of forest areas. A special project would be taken up to map the forest resources and forest areas with advanced technology.

The CM also said that Karnataka has developed 1,025 sqkm of forest area, the highest for any state in India. He disclosed that the state government was paying an incentive of Rs 125 per tree to farmers to promote agro-forestry.

Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that coexistence was the fundamental principle of ecology.

Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev said that despite the challenges posted by the pandemic, the volunteers had distributed about 1.1 crore saplings in 189 taluks of Cauvery catchment area with a participation of 33,000 farmers.

"We need to change the perception of forests in people’s minds. In the last 74 years of Independent India, the issue of increasing forest cover has not been addressed with the kind of significance and importance as in the past few years. Putting an end to our reliance on forests, we must cultivate what is required for us ranging from timber to other produces that we extract from forests. This movement from forests to farms will benefit our farmers,” the Sadhguru said.