Thiruvananthapuram: Forest department is planning to set up a dashboard of smart solar fences meant to prevent wildlife, especially elephant, intrusions to detect and assess voltage drop and damage, said forest minister Shibu Baby John.There is a plan to allow panchayats also to access the dashboard so that they can check if a stretch of fence is working or if there is a voltage drop at any time and maintain the fences, he said, while recently interacting with representatives of panchayats that border forest areas.Forest department wants panchayats to monitor and maintain the fence, strengthen vigilance committees and cooperate with forest staff to prevent human-wildlife conflict. Seven people died due to wild elephants in 2026-27.The dashboard is expected to help the villages handle the conflict in a better manner.“This year, forest department plans to install 250km of solar fences in 100 days. Around 2,000km have been fenced but they aren’t maintained well. I want the panchayats to maintain them,” John said.John said there was a voltage drop at these fences and elephants have become adept at realising it. “We saw an elephant waiting near a fence around 3am and tapping it with its foot to check whether the voltage dropped. When it did, the animal pulled down the fence and entered. It appears that elephants have learnt where the voltage is likely to be low,” he said.Creepers covering the fence impact voltage. This has to be cleared periodically but forest department is unable to do it and wants panchayats’ help. But many representatives raised the issue of govt funds given to local bodies.Forest department has installed different types of fences like conventional solar-powered electric fences, hanging solar fences, sensor-based AI fence that can alert approaching elephants, and walls and rail fences at conflict-prone areas, including in Palakkad, Wayanad and Kannur districts.As part of a three-tier method to prevent wildlife incursions, forest department will use AI-led light and sound solutions, hanging fences, large walls and trenches wherever necessary at extreme hotspots.Twelve landscapes have been identified, wherein nine panchayats are classified as very high and 21 as high-conflict areas.John said that natural solutions would also be explored, especially to prevent elephants from entering human habitations.“We are studying the reasons for wildlife entering villages and are checking if it’s because of loss of habitat, grasslands or lack of water and resources, etc,” he said.Forest department will also set up response teams at panchayat level, train them and also post a liaison officer at each conflict-prone panchayat to manage wildlife intrusions.
