Thu Sep 25 15:26:41 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text, followed by a news article rewrite:
**Summary:**
The Kerala Forest Department has released a draft policy, “Mission for agricultural revival and human-wildlife conflict mitigation,” to address increasing conflict between humans and wildlife, particularly in the High Range Forest Circle (Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and parts of Ernakulam districts). A one-year action plan is being implemented with support from government departments. Stakeholders in Munnar raised concerns about animal attacks on farms and residential areas, and discussed solutions like stall-feeding cattle, sensor lights, and the removal of barbed wire hindering elephant movement. They also requested monitoring cameras at a waste treatment plant due to frequent elephant presence. A significant number of complaints involve bonnet macaque monkeys, a protected species, creating a nuisance.
**News Article:**
**Kerala Launches “Mission for Agricultural Revival and Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation” Amid Rising Concerns**
**IDUKKI, September 25, 2025** – The Kerala Forest Department has unveiled a draft policy aimed at mitigating escalating human-wildlife conflict across the state. Dubbed “Mission for agricultural revival and human-wildlife conflict mitigation,” the initiative will focus on a one-year action plan targeting identified hotspots within the High Range Forest Circle, encompassing Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and parts of Ernakulam districts.
Assistant Conservator of Forests, Job J. Neriamparambil, emphasized that the plan, already underway, has identified 37 grama panchayats as areas of particular concern. “We’ve received 535 complaints within the High Range Circle alone,” Neriamparambil stated. “While many issues are resolved at the local level, some require state-level intervention.”
Local grievances were aired at a stakeholder meeting in Munnar on Wednesday, with representatives highlighting the increasing difficulty of farming due to wildlife incursions, including attacks on homes and livestock. Proposed solutions included promoting stall feeding for cattle to reduce grazing in vulnerable areas, installing sensor lights as deterrents, and removing barbed wire fences that disrupt elephant migration patterns. Participants also requested the immediate installation of monitoring cameras at the Munnar panchayat’s waste treatment plant in Kallar, a frequent foraging spot for wild elephants.
Munnar Range Officer S. Biju assured residents that the recommended measures would be implemented swiftly.
Beyond larger animals, authorities are also grappling with a surge in complaints regarding the bonnet macaque, a protected primate species, which is causing significant nuisance in the region. The increasing simian populations and their interaction with human settlements is posing further challenges.
First Piper 