In Odisha’s Deogarh Forest Division, IFS officer Rashmi G. is combining technology, scientific habitat management, community participation and emergency wildlife rescue to address human-elephant conflict and strengthen forest governance. As the DFO of Deogarh, Rashmi is overseeing the use of thermal drones for daily elephant monitoring and low-cost AI-enabled solar CCTV cameras for remote surveillance. The division is home to an estimated 120–250 wild elephants throughout the year, with the Riamal Range facing particular challenges because of the concentration of elephants.
The monitoring system helps forest officials locate elephant herds in real time and alert nearby villages through public announcements and early-warning systems. Alongside technology, the division is improving habitats through meadow development, water bodies and soil and moisture conservation, while working with communities on awareness programmes, alternative livelihoods and vocational training.
The department has also responded to wildlife emergencies, including rescuing three elephants from an open well and an elephant calf trapped in a fishing net in January 2026. Rashmi’s approach reflects a broader conservation philosophy in which wildlife protection, community welfare and ecological security are treated as interconnected responsibilities.
Technology For Safer Coexistence
Human-elephant conflict has emerged as a major challenge in Deogarh because the forest division supports a large elephant population throughout the year. According to Rashmi, between 120 and 250 elephants are present in the division, with the Riamal Range witnessing a particularly high concentration. This creates the need for timely information about elephant movement so that forest officials can respond and communities can be warned before potentially dangerous encounters occur. To improve this response, thermal drones are being deployed daily to monitor elephant herds. The drones provide real-time information that helps officials profile herds and identify their locations. This information is then used to alert villagers through miking and other early-warning mechanisms. “In monitoring elephant herds, thermal drones were used on a daily basis to have real-time monitoring.
This further helped us to profile the herds, locate the exact location of the herd and thereby alert villagers about the presence of elephants through miking and early warning systems,” Rashmi said. The division has also introduced low-cost AI-enabled solar CCTV cameras at locations where elephants regularly move. These cameras allow forest personnel to monitor herds remotely without relying entirely on expensive surveillance towers. Rashmi noted that AI towers can cost more than ₹60–70 lakh, making lower-cost alternatives relevant for field-level conservation.
The cameras, powered by solar energy, are intended to strengthen monitoring in locations that experience regular elephant movement. Together, the drones and cameras provide forest officials with additional tools to understand animal movement and communicate potential risks to communities. The technological interventions are supported by habitat management measures, including meadow development, water-body creation and soil and moisture conservation works. The objective is not simply to track elephants but also to improve forest conditions and strengthen the ability of wildlife and people to coexist within the landscape.
Conservation Beyond Elephants
Rashmi’s conservation work in Deogarh extends beyond monitoring and conflict management. Recognising that people living around forests are an important part of long-term conservation, the division has worked with Sneha NGO to conduct awareness meetings in critical villages. These programmes seek to improve understanding of elephants and encourage a more positive attitude towards their protection. The division has simultaneously focused on alternative livelihoods and skill development. In association with SARC NGO, programmes have been undertaken around vegetable cultivation and organic farming, creating additional livelihood opportunities for local communities. Village Forest Protection and Management Committee members, known as VSS members, have also been connected with skill development opportunities through convergence under the Odisha Government’s OMBADC programme.
The training includes skills such as mobile repair and electrical work. Rashmi said, “Further, to empower the VSS community, as part of convergence under the OMBADC programme of the Odisha Government, VSS members were tied up with the Skill Development Department to provide skilling in mobile repair, electrical works, etc.” The division has also implemented an OMBADC–OFSDS livelihood programme involving skill development, agricultural equipment and solar lanterns. More than 60% recovery of revolving funds has been achieved under the programme, according to the article.
Her community-focused approach also has roots in her earlier posting as DFO at Titilagarh. There, Rashmi initiated the Shiksha Samruddhi programme for children of migrant workers involved in tendu leaf collection. Because these families move from place to place during the year, many children were deprived of consistent access to basic education. The Forest Department worked with the Piramal Foundation to provide basic education in English, Odia and mathematics. The initiative reached more than 20 children, with three later shifted to residential schools. For Rashmi, the experience highlighted why forest administration must understand the social realities of forest-dependent communities and respond to their specific needs.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Conservation cannot succeed when wildlife protection and community welfare are treated as separate goals. Deogarh’s approach shows how technology, scientific habitat management and community participation can work together to reduce human-elephant conflict while protecting local livelihoods. Thermal drones and AI-enabled cameras can improve early warnings, but lasting coexistence also depends on informed and empowered communities.
At The Logical Indian, we believe protecting nature requires empathy, dialogue and shared responsibility. When people and wildlife are given space to coexist safely, conservation becomes not just a government responsibility, but a collective effort.
What more can be done to make human-wildlife coexistence safer and more sustainable across India?
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