Wildlife board panel clears 12 key defence projects in Ladakh, Pg12.

Key Highlights:

• The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) panel approved 12 defence projects in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Projects include training facilities, ammunition storage, brigade headquarters, and border outposts near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• Approvals were granted across Changthang Cold Desert Sanctuary and Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The projects aim to enhance operational preparedness due to concerns about the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Detailed Insights:

• The approved projects are intended to improve infrastructure and military readiness following the 2020 Galwan clash with China.
• The Defence Ministry emphasized the necessity of training infrastructure at high altitudes (around 15,000 feet) for realistic troop training.
• The Environment Ministry stressed the need for caution to minimize ecological impacts on the fragile cold desert ecosystem in the Changthang sanctuary.
• The Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary and Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary are habitats for endangered species like the snow leopard, Tibetan wolf, and wild yak.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Line of Actual Control (LAC): The de facto border between India and China.
• Operational Preparedness: The state of readiness of military forces to respond to threats.
• Wildlife Sanctuary: A protected area reserved for the conservation of animals and their habitats.