Committees shaped to handle Tamil Nadu Endangered Species Conservation Fund

The Tamil Nadu authorities has issued an order constituting a Governing Committee and an Executive Committee to supervise and handle the Tamil Nadu Endangered Species Conservation Fund.

The order was issued by Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department, on November 1.

The fund, established in November 2024 with a corpus of ₹50 crore and an preliminary sanction of ₹5 crore as seed cash, goals to strengthen conservation measures for endangered species throughout the State. Initially managed by the State Forest Development Agency, the federal government has now ordered that or not it’s administered by the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC), Vandalur, to make sure specialised scientific oversight.

The Governing Committee, chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government, will information and steer the fund’s utilisation and augmentation. The Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department, will function Vice-Chairperson. Other members embody the Secretaries to Government of the Finance and Industries Departments; the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force); the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden; the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Director, AIWC; the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Secretary, Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Board; the Chairman, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board; the Director of Environment; the Chairperson of the National Biodiversity Authority or a consultant; the Director, Wildlife Institute of India or a consultant; and the Director, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore.

The committee will meet no less than as soon as each 4 months and could have a tenure of three years.

The Governing Committee additionally consists of a number of consultants and philanthropists as tenurial members, amongst them Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies; Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE); J.K. Patterson Edward, Director, Suganthi Devadasan Marine Research Institute, Thoothukudi; K. Jayakumar, Professor, Madurai Kamaraj University; S. Balachandran, Managing Trustee, Migratory Bird Monitoring Trust and former Deputy Director, Bombay Natural History Society; and Arumugam, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Broadline Technologies.

The Executive Committee, chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department, will handle the fund’s day-to-day operations. Its members embody the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Director, AIWC; the Chairperson, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board; the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife); the Chief Conservator of Forests (Research); and the Director of Environment. The Deputy Director (Administration), AIWC, will function the Member Convener, whereas the Project Leader of every funded mission will likely be co-opted as a particular invitee.

The Executive Committee will supervise the implementation of tasks, monitor conservation actions, mobilise assets and be sure that the fund’s goals of defending and restoring endangered species in Tamil Nadu are successfully achieved.