There are 33 elephant reserves and 150 elephant corridors in the country, he said | Photo: PTI
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said that if elephants are saved, forests will flourish as tusks serve to protect them and called for measures to reduce human-elephant conflicts in the country.
Elephants have been an integral part of religious and cultural traditions in India, Yadav said Monday.
Speaking at an event in Raipur on the occasion of World Elephant Day, the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change highlighted the efforts being made by the government for the conservation of the elephant through a series of participatory initiatives.
“In India, elephants have been part of religious and cultural traditions. If we save elephants, forests will thrive as elephants are true guardians of forests and help protect them,” he said.
Yadav stressed the need to reduce human-elephant conflicts, a problem that is also prevalent in parts of Chhattisgarh in the country.
There are 33 elephant reserves and 150 elephant corridors in the country, he said.
The minister lauded the Chhattisgarh forest department’s innovative programme that uses radio to alert people about the movement of wild elephants, enabling villagers to take preventive measures to avoid loss of life and minimise damage to crops.
He also said the Centre was committed to promoting natural farming to address the problem of land degradation.
The Union Minister noted that land desertification (a form of degradation whereby fertile land turns into desert) has become a major cause of concern and hence the Centre has included natural farming in the budget.
Biodiversity conservation is also a major challenge and all countries should actively participate in this direction, Yadav added.
Prime Minister Vishnu Deo Sai was also present at the function.
Earlier in the day, Sai and Union Minister Yadav inaugurated an e-auction system of the state forest department, officials said.
The e-auction system will bring competition and transparency in the auction of timber at various timber depots of the forest department, they said.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 13, 2024 | 8:59 a.m. IS
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.