The National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) 2017-35 mandates each territorial division to develop and implement a Human-Wildlife Conflict Management Action Plan (HWC-MAP), for systematically addressing human-wildlife conflict mitigation.

HWC-MAP facilitates bottom-up feedback to the State and National level strategies and action plans, on good practices in HWC mitigation. This integration of field knowledge and experiences into the National and State level plans will ensure that the approach taken by the National and State Governments is reflected in the local level planning and implementation.

To operationalize the holistic and participatory approach, and to integrate the processes and protocols of the National HWC Mitigation Strategy and Action Plan and species-specific guidelines, it is necessary that an anchoring plan – HWC Management Action Plan – is developed at the Division level.

Since all operational planning related to wildlife management is done at the Division level, it is critical to integrate HWC mitigation into the same plans. However, since most of the large wildlife species-in-conflict use large areas at the landscape level, it is important that the plans take into consideration factors related to conflict at the landscape level. The HWC-MAP also provides anchoring points and instruments for cooperative planning and implementation between different Forest Divisions in the same landscape.

This plan provides the Divisional Forest Officer with a holistic approach and required instruments towards implementing HWC mitigation measures in a consolidated manner, which will facilitate in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of HWC mitigation measures being implemented in the Division.

The Divisions, which develop and implement the HWC-MAP on a pilot basis, will serve as model Divisions for efficient and effective HWC mitigation for the other Divisions in the State as well as in other States in India.

Access the Common framework for developing Division level HWC Management Action Plans, here