New Delhi [India], October 6: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), and Forest Research Institute (FRI), organised the Wildlife Week 2025 celebrations at the historic Hari Singh Auditorium, IGNFA, FRI Campus, Dehradun, on Monday, said the release.
The event was graced by Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav. Senior officers from the Ministry, representatives from State Forest Departments, scientists, academicians, students, and conservation professionals participated in the celebrations.
The Wildlife Week Celebrations highlighted the synergy among WII, ICFRE, IGNFA, and FRI, demonstrating a holistic, inter-institutional approach to wildlife conservation, research, and policy integration. This year's theme is 'Human-Wildlife Coexistence,' considering the increasing incidents of close human-wildlife interfaces over the years and aiming to gather community support to facilitate a shift from conflict to coexistence.
In his address, taking reference to the various nationally significant announcements made by the Prime Minister during the 7th National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) meeting, the Minister emphasised the Ministry's commitment to conserving its biodiversity while ensuring coexistence between people and wildlife. He also highlighted the growing need for innovative, technology-driven, and community-centric approaches to wildlife management.
As per the release, the Minister urged all stakeholders to strengthen partnerships for conservation and emphasised that "Wildlife protection is not just a duty, but a shared responsibility for ensuring harmony between nature and people".
During the event, the Minister launched five national-level projects for species conservation and conflict management, advancing the vision and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as discussed during the 7th Meeting of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) regarding the conservation management of species.
The projects include the implementation of the Action Plan for Project Dolphin (Phase II), which aims to strengthen conservation measures for river and marine cetaceans across India.
Project Sloth Bear was launched, accompanied by the release of a national implementation framework for the conservation of the Sloth Bear, along with the project brochure.
Similarly, Project Gharial saw the launch of its implementation action plan for Gharial conservation, along with the release of the project brochure.
The Centre of Excellence for Human-Wildlife Conflict Management (CoE-HWC) at SACON was also established as a dedicated national centre to support policy, research, and field-based mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts in India, with an information booklet released during the event.
Additionally, the Tigers Outside Tiger Reserve initiative was introduced to redress conflicts outside protected areas using a landscape approach, technological interventions, capacity building, and community support.
The release stated that the Minister also unveiled four national-level action plans and field guides for species population assessments and monitoring programmes.
This included the Second Cycle of population estimation for river dolphins and other cetaceans, accompanied by the release of a brochure and field guide. The All India Tiger Estimation Cycle-6 was launched, accompanied by the release of the field guide in eight regional languages. The Action Plan for the Second Cycle of Snow Leopard Population Estimation was also unveiled, along with the progress report on the population estimation of the Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican.
The event also included the online inauguration of the SFS Officers' Mess at CASFoS, Coimbatore.
A key highlight of the evening was the concluding session of the National Hackathon on Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) Coexistence, which brought together young innovators, students, and technology developers from across India. The Hackathon encouraged creative solutions to mitigate conflicts, promote coexistence and enhance real-time decision-making using advanced tools such as AI, spatial analytics and community engagement models.
A total of 120 teams, comprising 420 youths from 75 institutions across 20 States/UTs, participated in the event over the last three weeks. Following the preliminary rounds, the finale was held in Dehradun as part of the event, with the top 6 finalists making presentations in the presence of the Minister and Expert Juries, along with a large number of participants of the celebrations.
The top three finalists received a cash prize along with a certificate, while all other finalists received an appreciation prize from the Minister. He also gave away prizes to the winners of the quiz competition conducted by IGNFA.