Preventing the death of wildlife from Electrocution

The standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) headed by the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar has made the following recommendations to prevent the death of elephants and other wildlife from electrocution:

• Developing a nationwide strategy for long-term planning of electricity grid networks.
• Burying transmission lines underground.
• Setting up reinforced electric poles fitted with spikes to prevent elephants from rubbing against them.
• Lifting sagging overhead power lines.
• Dismantling of defunct solar-powered fences to protect the animals from coming in contact with these potential sources of electrocution.

Deaths of Wild Animals due to Electrocution

Elephants and tigers were the worst affected due to electrocution. Data shows that since 2009, around 50 elephants are killed by electrocution, annually. In 2015-16 and 2017-18, around 178 elephants were killed by electrocution, across the country.

Electrocution, along with poaching, was responsible for 31.5 per cent (207) of the 656 tiger deaths between 2012 and 2018.

National Board for Wildlife

National Board for Wildlife is a statutory organization established under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It is an advisory body and advises the Central Government on framing policies and measures for conservation of wildlife in the country.

The National Board for Wildlife is chaired by Prime Minister and the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the vice-chairman.