Kerala Forest Department launches technology-driven initiatives for wildlife management and forest offence tracking

Key facts

• The Kerala Forest Department launched a 24/7 Forest Call Centre using the toll-free number 1800-425-4733 to provide information and report wild animal sightings.
• An online monitoring portal was introduced to record real-time data on the maintenance, repairs, and inspection status of solar fences across Kerala.
• The department integrated the Hostile Activity Watch Kernel (HAWK) platform with the District Court Management System (DCMS) for the online submission of forest offence records.
• The HAWK platform provides modules for wildlife mortality monitoring, geospatial analysis, crime management, and command-and-control monitoring.
• The WildWatch mobile application is used to relay wildlife-related reports from the call centre to the Division Forest Emergency Operation Centre (DFEOC) and Rapid Response Team (RRT).