Bhubaneswar: Odisha needs to create more mangrove palm forests and expand wild grasslands to address ecological challenges and promote better coexistence between humans and wildlife, said former PCCF Susanta Nanda at the Earth Again Conference 2026 in Bhubaneswar.

Speaking at a session on ‘Climate Governance’ on the third day of the conference, Nanda said local communities have traditionally understood how to live in harmony with nature and their knowledge should be given greater importance in conservation efforts.

“Ordinary people know how to live in harmony with nature. Otherwise, our forests would have been destroyed long ago,” Nanda said.

He, however, pointed out that human-wildlife coexistence has become increasingly challenging. Referring to elephant conservation, he said local communities often provide valuable inputs on elephant movement and the creation of elephant corridors.

Nanda also highlighted the growing wild boar population and its impact on agriculture, saying that crop damage caused by wild animals has emerged as another challenge.

“We need to create more Hental forests. There is a shortage of space now, but we have to expand them. We also need to increase wild grasslands,” he said.

Need for coordinated climate governance

Nanda said climate change has already emerged as a major crisis and tackling it requires government departments to move beyond their individual administrative boundaries.

He said government departments currently tend to work vertically and independently, whereas climate-related challenges require a coordinated approach involving all departments.

“All departments must be made completely accountable for climate issues. Breaking these departmental boundaries is essential,” Nanda said.

He added that bringing climate-change mitigation and adaptation into the broader governance framework would help create a more climate-sensitive and resilient administration.

As the impact of climate change is now widespread, Nanda said, relying on any single department cannot provide a solution. Coordinated efforts involving all government departments are essential to address the challenge, he added.

Odisha must focus on renewable energy

Former Chief Secretary Bijay Patnaik, who was also part of the session, stressed the need for greater use of non-conventional and renewable energy in Odisha.

He spoke about the state's industrialisation, carbon footprint and renewable energy policies, saying that industrial activity cannot simply be stopped but environmental regulations must be implemented more effectively.

“Odisha has many rules, but they have not been implemented effectively,” Patnaik said.

He identified rapid industrialisation as a major reason for the state's rising carbon footprint, particularly the power plants established using Odisha's abundant coal resources.

Patnaik said Odisha has been ahead in planning but has lagged behind in implementation.

He also called for making every government department accountable for climate change and suggested that each department should have a dedicated climate budget and climate-related policies and regulations.

“The climate challenge has already reached our doorstep,” he said.

Former Chief Secretary Suresh C. Mohapatra was also among the speakers at the session, which was moderated by senior journalist Sandip Mishra of Odisha Bytes.