Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Forest Minister Shibu Baby John on Friday convened a joint meeting of ministers from key departments to improve coordination and speed up measures to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.

Ministers K A Thulasi, A P Anil Kumar and T Siddique attended the meeting, which was also participated by senior officials from various departnents, an official statement said.

The meeting decided to promote cultivation patterns in forest border areas that are less likely to attract wild animals with the support of the Agriculture Department.

The Agriculture Department will be entrusted with assessing crop losses caused by wild animal attacks.

It will also be consulted to ensure insurance coverage and compensation for damage to crops such as coconut and cocoa caused by monkeys and giant squirrels, it said.

The forest minister urged the Revenue Department to complete a digital survey at the earliest to accurately demarcate the boundaries of human habitations adjoining forest areas.

Revenue Minister Anil Kumar said revenue officials would participate in special adalats planned in August under the government's 100-day programme to facilitate issuance of various no-objection certificates (NOCs) for residents of forest fringe areas, as well as in adalats related to human-wildlife conflict.