Thiruvananthapuram to Host NALSA Regional Meet on Human-Wildlife Conflict

Speedy Summary

• The National Legal Services authority (NALSA), in collaboration with the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KeLSA), is organizing a regional conference to address human-wildlife conflict.
• Titled ‘Human-Wildlife Conflict and co-existence: Legal and Policy Perspectives,’ the two-day event will be held at the Kerala Legislative Assembly Hall starting Saturday.
• Supreme Court Judge Surya Kant, executive chairman of NALSA, will inaugurate the conference. Other notable attendees include judges from Supreme and High Courts, legal professionals, and government officials such as Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Kerala’s Minister of Law P. Rajeev.
• Delegates from six States and two Union Territories will participate,including legal luminaries from Madras,Telangana,Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka,and Kerala High Courts.
• Union Ministry data highlights alarming statistics regarding human-wildlife conflicts:

– between 2014-15 to 2018-19: over 500 elephant deaths; 2,361 human deaths due to elephant interactions.
– From 2020 to 2021: elephants killed 461 people; tigers caused the death of 31 individuals; incidents of train accidents contributed to wildlife fatalities (93 elephants).

• Key topics discussed at various working sessions include habitat loss due to urbanization; legislative policy evaluation; forest law limitations; tribal community challenges concerning coexistence with wildlife.

indian Opinion Analysis

The organization of this regional conference underscores growing concerns about human-wildlife conflicts which have severe consequences for both ecological sustainability and public safety in India. With heavy participation by high-ranking legal minds alongside state-level authorities across six states and two union territories present at KeLSA’s invitation-this initiative attempts cross-field integration tackling policy introspection

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