Himachal ropes in WII-SACON for rapid assessment of human-wildlife conflict

Shimla, September 19 (UNI) A team from the Wildlife Institute of India-Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (WII-SACON), Coimbatore, will undertake a rapid assessment of human-wildlife conflict in Himachal Pradesh and prepare area-specific action plans for mitigating conflicts involving bears and leopards, officials said on Saturday. A meeting in this regard was held at the Forest Headquarters here between the WII-SACON team and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Alok Prem Nagar during which various aspects of the proposed study were discussed. Ten forest divisions have initially been selected for the assessment, particularly areas reporting a higher incidence…