Bhopal, Feb 28 Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, on Saturday, chaired the 89th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, considering proposals relating to wildlife conservation.
"The Standing Committee also discussed development projects located in and around protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves and eco-sensitive zones in accordance with the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972," the statement said.
The proposals were examined keeping in view ecological sensitivity, statutory requirements and prescribed mitigation measures.
"A total of 58 fresh proposals across sectors such as communication infrastructure, optical fibre cables, power transmission lines, road projects, drinking water supply, thermal power, defence, irrigation and other infrastructure were considered by the Committee," it added.
The Committee also deliberated on important policy matters, including ecological importance of maintaining environmental flows (e-flows) in the Chambal river for conservation of aquatic fauna like dolphins, gharials; status of social, economic and ecological aspects of villages inside the Tiger reserves; importance of grasslands for wildlife management; and strategies to manage current challenges of the human–leopard interface.
The meeting also emphasised involvement of scientific and technical institutions, including the Wildlife Institute of India, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, and the Central Water Commission, to ensure that conservation policies are supported by robust research and inter-sectoral coordination.
"The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife is a statutory body constituted under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and is mandated to advise the Union government on matters relating to conservation and protection of wildlife and forests, while ensuring that development activities in and around protected areas are undertaken in a sustainable and balanced manner," the statement said.
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