“Securing a sustainable future for elephants in some Protected Areas of North Bengal”

With reference to the research project “Securing a sustainable future for elephants in some Protected Areas of North Bengal” a number of Initiation Workshops were held for the forest personnel of Kurseong and Baikunthapur Forest Divisions and Mahananda WLS. During the month of April 2023, three of these Workshops were held for six ranges of Kurseong Forest Division. The last four of these Initiation Workshops were held between the 6th to 9th of May 2023 in Mahananda WLS and in Baikunthapur Division. The forest personnels of Sukna, West, North, South

Ranges & Sukna Wildlife Squad of Mahananda WLS; and Dabgram, Sarugarah, Apalchand, Targhera, Belacoba, Aambari Ranges of Baikunthapur, comprising an average of eighteen forest officials and a few from the local community attended these Workshops which included the Rangers, Beat Officers, Forest Guards and JFMC members. The PowerPoint Presentation made for the earlier workshops was used. These Workshops initiated a lot of enthusiasm and the discussions that took

place helped a great deal for the project implementation. A field guide on “Identification of Elephants in the Wild”, for easy marking of the crop-raiding

elephants, prepared by NEWS, was shared with the forest officials of the Divisions who attended. These Initiation Workshops were conducted by the joint team of NEWS & NWA