Key Points

This initiative is the first-of-its-kind in the country to exclusively focus on endangered and critically endangered species.

The fund, which was sanctioned early last year with an initial allocation of Rs 5 crore, was envisioned to support focused conservation of rare and vanishing flora and fauna. Despite its ambitious goals, the fund remained largely unutilised due to bureaucratic missteps.

Initially routed to the Tamil Nadu Development Society -- which is now defunct -- and later to the Mudumalai Tiger Foundation, the fund lacked a concrete action plan, stalling progress on the ground.

According to official sources, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has now taken steps to correct course by assigning the state-run AIWC to take charge of the fund.

The Institute will be tasked with designing and executing species-specific recovery programmes that address the conservation needs of some of the most threatened species in the state.

The proposal to transfer the fund is currently in the final stages of approval by the state finance department.

The AIWC, located near Vandalur in Chennai, has recently been registered as a society -- an administrative upgrade that now enables it to directly receive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds from private and public enterprises.

This registration also opens doors for collaboration with both national and international conservation institutions, which is expected to enhance both the autonomy and operational capacity of the Institute.

The move is seen as a major policy shift, putting long-ignored endangered species at the centre of Tamil Nadu’s conservation strategy.

Species such as the Indian Pangolin, Red Panda, and several lesser-known orchids and endemic amphibians, which have long remained outside the limelight of flagship conservation efforts, are likely to benefit from the renewed focus.

Officials say that by streamlining fund usage and leveraging CSR and institutional partnerships, the AIWC will be better positioned to implement recovery programmes with scientific rigour and financial sustainability.

- IANS