Gandhinagar, Jan 21 (IANS) The 26th meeting of the State Wildlife Board was held in Gandhinagar under the chairmanship of Bhupendra Patel, with key discussions centred on wildlife conservation, habitat protection and eco-tourism management in Gujarat’s protected forest areas.

The meeting was attended by Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia and Minister of State for Forests Pravin Mali.

Officials informed the board that the Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary has been included in the National Sloth Bear Conservation Programme by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.

It was also reported that the presence of a tiger has been recorded in the Ratanmahal Sloth Bear Sanctuary, with strong possibilities of the animal settling permanently in the region.

In this context, discussions were held on initiating community participation training programmes for tiger conservation in collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority, aimed at involving local communities in protection efforts.

The Chief Minister stressed the need to ensure that the increasing number of visitors to protected forest areas does not disturb wildlife habitats. He directed the Forest Department to accelerate eco-tourism initiatives while simultaneously framing visitor policy guidelines to balance tourism with conservation.

The meeting also discussed Gujarat’s growing leopard population and future planning for dedicated sanctuary spaces for rescued and rehabilitated leopards.

Several proposals related to infrastructure development within sanctuaries and national parks – including roads, water supply, optical fibre connectivity, renewable energy installations and power transmission lines – were placed before the board, with around 18 proposals considered for approval.

Legislators, including Mahesh Kaswala, Deva Malam and Malti Maheshwari, shared suggestions focused on strengthening wildlife conservation measures.

The meeting was conducted by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Jaypal Singh. Senior officials present included Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest and Environment Department Vinod Rao, Head of Forest Force A.P. Singh, other Principal Chief Conservators of Forests, and senior officers from the Forest Department.

–IANS

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