Human-animal conflict mitigation

It is imperative that each and every species has a definite role to play in the biodiversity nexus and for humans to survive other life forms also have to survive. The mushrooming of human settlements, small tea gardens in North Bengal, cultivations, railways, roads and other necessities of human life have led to the growing incidence of human-wild life conflict throwing a challenge to the age-old concept of co-existence. It is not feasible for a handful of forest officials to single-handedly deal with the problem. HNAF therefore felt an urgent necessity to search for strategies to deal with the problem in an effective and efficient manner along with the Forest Department and Administration. To this end in view HNAF organizes Awareness and Training Camps, Workshops and Seminars and Protests time to time to overcome the situation.

 Awareness: Introspection of the strengths, abilities, qualities, defects, weaknesses and motivational power of ourselves as an organization as a whole and as a person in particular leads us to aware and motivate people towards positivity and a better living condition. As we practice becoming more aware of ourselves throughout the years, we learn many more shades of our society, environment and circumstances to a minute level. Starting from 1992 we carried out several awareness programs on

• Wildlife Conservation (1995 onwards)
• Save River and Water conservation (2016 onward)
• Tree plantation and forestation (1995 onwards)
• Anti Cracker Awareness (2016 onward)
• Beat plastic pollution (2014 onward)
• Air pollution (Time to time)
• Sound Pollution in Siliguri Municipal Area (2009 onward)
• Japanese Encephalitis (2014)
• Dengue (2015)
• Covid (2020-21)

 Protests and Advocacy:  Hundreds of Children and youth of Siliguri along with the HNAF members participated in a rally to protest against deforestation (2014)

A long term Protest movement had been done by our members against cutting down age-old trees to broaden the roads in Siliguri. SJDA responded to it positively and the roads were made wider only trimming the branches as a result in 2001.

The uncountable deaths of leopards, rhinos and elephants due to speedy trains and disturbance caused by them to the other wild mammals, birds and reptiles causes serious threat to wild-life. Starting from 1995 protest movements carried out by HNAF time to time against human-wildlife conflict and widening railway tracks between the forests and elephant corridors.

Unlike from any other protest movement, HNAF organized a Cycle Rally to protest Sankosh Project in the year 1997 which demanded 2574 hectors of land, which was supposed to destroy 342.52 hectors of agricultural land, 150.11 hectors of non-agricultural land and 1144.16 hectors of forest area which included Buxa Tiger Reserve, Taldopara Wild Life sanctuary and Garumara National Park. Later on other environmental organizations moved forward and raised their support for this issue.

HNAF again organized a movement for water conservation in the year 2015 covering Hills and plains of North Bengal.

As HNAF is committed to preserve and protect nature and wild life it advocated for a veterinary hospital for the wild animals on October 2006.

 Being the first ever organization to take the responsibility of non-renewable garbage disposal from Singalila National Park, HNAF advocated for ‘Clean and Green Singalila’ (Cleaning programme from Manebhanjan to Sandakphu) in the year 2002.