Greens question expertise of members on Keralam’s human-wildlife conflict panel

The constitution of a seven-member State-level Advisory Committee on human-wildlife conflict mitigation by the Keralam government has drawn criticism from environmental groups, which have questioned the inclusion of members who lack specialist expertise in the field.

The committee, constituted as proposed by the State Forest and Wildlife department, includes conservationist M.K. Ranjitsinh, along with a hospitality-sector professional, a horticulture entrepreneur and Baiju Paul Mathews, who has reportedly been associated with the Kerala Independent Farmers Association (KIFA), which had been aggressively campaigning for farmers’ rights. Mr. Mathews had previously filed complaints concerning the actions of Forest department officers.

Environmental groups questioned the composition of the advisory committee, stating that it lacked adequate representation from Adivasi communities or traditional forest-dwelling farmers who regularly face wildlife-related problems; conservationists; scientists; biologists; animal behaviour experts; and NGOs with experience in addressing human-wildlife conflict.