Tamil Nadu Forest Minister Chairs Meeting to Address Wildlife Concerns

Tamil Nadu’s Forest Minister N. Mathiventhan is set to lead a meeting of the Tamil Nadu State Board for Wild Life (SBWL) on September 26, focusing on crucial wildlife-related proposals, including forest diversion and conservation. The gathering will address pressing issues like the man-animal conflict and the proliferation of invasive species in forest habitats.

Additionally, the meeting will investigate unnatural deaths among wild animals, particularly elephants and tigers, in the state’s forest areas. Of late, the Nilgiris forest division alone has reported six tiger deaths since August 2023, with recent cases including one due to poisoning. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin participated in the previous SBWL meeting, which emphasized measures such as making post-mortem reports of wild elephants publicly available.

The successful implementation of the Elephant Death Audit Framework has improved understanding of the causes of wild elephant deaths and aided decision-making in their population management. The SBWL gathering will also address the presence of invasive weed species causing issues in tiger habitats.