Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha chaired the 4th meeting of Wildlife Board for the UT of J&K, today at Civil Secretariat.The meeting was attended by Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Sh Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary, Forest Department; Sh. A.K. Choudhary, Special DG (Crime) and Sh Roshan Jaggi, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.
The Lt Governor congratulated the officers and other stakeholders on the declaration of Shallabugh and Hygam as Ramsar Sites. With this development, the Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir ranks 4th in the country in terms of largest network of wetlands.
He lauded the efforts to conserve and protect precious wildlife of J&K UT and called for proper utilization of natural resources, promotion of trekking routes, and strategy for effective and efficient mitigation of human-wildlife conflict.
The Lt Governor directed for taking proactive steps to protect wildlife and its habitat.Greater coordination among the stakeholders must be ensured to dismantle the nexus of poachers, he added.
“Integrated development of wildlife habitats should be our top priority. Our efforts must focus on strengthening ecological integrity, and conservation of priceless resources through people's participation,” the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor also appraised the action taken on the directions passed in the previous meeting.Sh. Suresh Gupta, PCCF/ Chief Wildlife Warden gave a detailed overview of the significant achievements made in protection and conservation of wildlife and their habitats.
The Board also discussed the development of city forests in Jammu and Srinagar, and accorded approvals to several agenda points including developing amenities for travelers along Mughal road.A publication on "Hangul Population Monitoring Exercise, 2023" was also released on the occasion.
Dr. Parag Nigam; Dr. Avtar Kaur and Dr. Kumar Ambrish - Representatives of Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun; Zoological Survey of India; Botanical Survey of India; Sh. Nazir Benazir, President National Society on Water Resources, Wetland and Forests, J&K, besides Eminent Conservationists, Ecologists, Environmentalists, and other board members also attended the meeting.