National Mission on Himalayan Studies

Project Title: Community based human-snake conflict mitigation in Kumaon Himalayas of Uttarakhand, India.

Project Details

1. Project Details

Sanction Date:	12-06-2020
SGP Category	MG
Year	2020-2021
SGP Duration	3 Years
BTGs:	BCM
SGP Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered:	Uttarakhand
Organization/ Implementation Agency:	Haldwani Zoo Safari, Uttarakhand Forest Dept. Village Baghjala,DevlaTalla, Pajaya, Golapar, Haldwani, District. Nainital, Uttarakhand
SGP Partners:	S.No.	Name	Roles & Responsibilities
	1.	Haldwani Zoo Safari , Uttarakhand Forest Dept & Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, Uttarakhand	Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun will provide technical expertise and help in assessment of Herpetofauna in the study area. WII will provide guidance in research design and report development at regular interval during the assessment period. It will also provide training module and resource person, if required by implementing agency to conduct snake rescue operations training.
Lead Proponent:	Dr. Tejaswini Arvind Patil Conservator of Forests, South Kumaon Circle Fairy Hall Compound Forest Campus Tallital, Dist: Nainital, Uttarakhand-236002
SGP Brief Description:	Uttarakhand is home to more than 30 species of snakes and most of them are non-venomous. TAL area has high abundance of all these. Their encounter with humans occurs mostly during summers & monsoon months. Four of the most venomous snakes namely, King Cobra, Spectacled Cobra, Russel's Viper & Common Krait are found in abundance here. Human -Snake conflict cases are reported frequently & snake bite death cases are not uncommon. nake conflict is currently the largest man-animal conflict in the country claiming over 10000 human lives annually. Unofficially, it is reported much higher around 45000, almost half of the total global snake bite deaths . As regard to snake mortality we virtually have no record available. 'Big Four' venomous snake species -spectacled cobra (Naja naja), common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), Russell's viper (Daboia russelii) and saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) are responsible for most of the snakebite-related fatalities in India. Snakes are often feared & loathed by humans. In rural India, the current solution for mitigating this snakebite crisis is to indiscriminately kill snakes, including king cobras, which has contributed to the species decline. This will be one of the first detailed study on snakes and its conflict at a landscape level in Uttarakhand and Indian Himalayan Region.
Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders:	Local communities and Forest staff
Activity Chart (For 3years)	Click Here

2. Financial Details

Total Grants (in Rs.)	Rs.99,28,920/- (Rupees Ninety nine lakh twenty eight thousand nine hundred twenty only)
1^st Installment (in Rs.) :	Rs. 45,27,760/- (Rupees Forty Five lakh twenty seven thousand seven hundred sixty only)
2^nd Installment (in Rs.) :	Rs. 35,12,760/- (Rupees Thirty Five lakh twelve thousand seven hundred sixty only)
3^rd Installment (in Rs.) :	Rs. 18,88,400/- (Rupees Eighteen Lakh Eighty Eight Thousand Four Hundred only)

3. State Govt. Project Objectives, Deliverables and Monitoring Indicators

Project Objectives	Quantifiable Deliverables	Monitoring Indicators
• Assessment of diversity and occupancy pattern of snakes in general and venomous snakes in particular in the landscape and compilation of division wise baseline data. • Assessing status of Human-Snake conflict division wise and species wise, its mitigation measures currently employed, status of compensatory measures and public opinion regarding this. • Strengthening of infrastructure and Quick Response Team of forest department/field staff for mitigation and handling of Human-snake conflict cases. • Capacity building and education of frontline forest staff regarding snakes, their role in ecology and mitigation activities. • Awareness campaigns and workshops in villages to sensitize the local communities towards conservation of snakes. The project will strive to train 3 persons from each high-risk village for snake rescue and rehabilitation	• Database of venomous and non-venomous snakes (06 Forest Divisions wise and species wise). • Inventory of human-snake conflict with all the details regarding species involved, mitigation and compensation (06 Forest Divisions). • Formation of dedicated and trained Quick Response Team (QRT) for snake rescue and mitigation measures (for all 6 divisions) • Trained local community people from high-risk villages in the study area for snake rescue (750 persons from 250 villages; 3 persons from each village). • Development of landscape map with hotspots of human-snake conflict (Nos.) • Develop field identification booklet of snakes with its identifying characteristics and description found in the landscape (01 No.) • Develop a policy framework for herpetofauna conservation along with large mammalian conservation action plan (01 No.)	• Database developed (Nos.) • Number of conflict cases (Nos.) • Best practices for mitigation measures (Nos.) • Number of QTRs developed (Nos.) • Number of local people trained (Nos.) • Map developed (Nos.) • Number of state and national level workshop/capacity building conducted (Nos./total beneficiaries) • No. of Reports/Research articles/Policy documents prepared and published (Nos.)

S.No.	Name (Sanctioned)	Salary (Sanctioned)
1.	01 JRF	@31000 for first two years with 9% HRA & @35000/- for third year with 9% HRA

S.No.	Name of Equipment (Sanctioned)	Cost (in INR)
1.	: Laptop (01 Nos. @ Rs.100000/-), Camera @Rs.90000/-(2Nos.), All-in-one Printer (01 Nos.Rs. 20000/-), ( 01 nos. Plasma Freezer Rs.110000/-), (01 No Vaccine Freezer Rs.50000/-), (1 Nos Centrifuge Rs.10000/-), (01 Nos. Blood Analyzer Rs.450000/-), (01 Nos. Blood Biochemistry Analyzer Rs.500000)	16,40,000/-

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Last Update: 06.06.2025

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