Committees formed to manage Tamil Nadu Endangered Species Conservation Fund

The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order constituting a Governing Committee and an Executive Committee to oversee and manage 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 initial sanction of ₹5 crore as seed money, aims to strengthen conservation measures for endangered species across the State. Initially managed through the State Forest Development Agency, the government has now ordered that it be administered through the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC), Vandalur, to ensure specialised scientific oversight.

The Governing Committee, chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government, will guide and steer the fund’s utilisation and augmentation. The Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department, will serve as Vice-Chairperson. Other members include 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 representative; the Director, Wildlife Institute of India or a representative; and the Director, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore.

The committee will meet at least once every four months and will have a tenure of three years.

The Governing Committee also includes several experts and philanthropists as tenurial members, among 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 manage the fund’s day-to-day operations. Its members include 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 serve as the Member Convener, while the Project Leader of each funded project will be co-opted as a special invitee.

The Executive Committee will supervise the implementation of projects, monitor conservation activities, mobilise resources and ensure that the fund’s objectives of protecting and restoring endangered species in Tamil Nadu are effectively achieved.