New Delhi: Encroachment on animal habitats is among the reasons for growing nature-human-animal conflict and the government has taken several steps to ensure that activities in forest areas do not adversely affect biodiversity, Lok Sabha was informed on August 2.
Responding to supplementaries during Question Hour, Environment Minister Anil Dave said there was a need to avoid conflict between nature, humans and animals. He said the conflict was a "grey area", as owing to the efforts on the government's part, the number of wild animals have increased. At the same time, encroachment around their habitats was also responsible for the situation.
Dave said the government has put in place several measures to ensure that interventions and activities in forest areas do not adversely affect the biodiversity. Agriculture, he pointed out, has increased which attracted animals like hogs and 'neel gai' (blue bull) to the fields in search of food.
The minister, while talking about need to ensure sufficient water in forests for the inhabitants, said this would also ensure that animals do not enter human habitations.
Responding to a supplementary on Western Ghats, he said before the end of the ongoing Monsoon Session, he would meet over 60 MPs from states in the Western Ghat region to discuss issues in the light of Kasturirangan Committee recommendations on declaring certain areas as ecological sensitive areas.
In his written response, Dave said the national afforestation and eco-development board of the ministry promoted afforestation, tree planting, ecological restoration and eco-development activities with special attention to degraded and ecologically fragile areas.
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