ZSI to partner with Army to study edible wildlife in northeast Himalayas

Kolkata: The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) will mark its 110th Foundation Day on June 30, 2025, with a series of events, including the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School under the Indian Army’s Ministry of Defence.

Addressing a Press conference on Thursday, Dhriti Banerjee, director ZSI, said that this collaboration will focus on researching edible animals in the Himalayan regions. She said that a team of ZSI researchers and scientists will visit the remote Army areas in the North East for a survey and will then document the list of edible species which have high nutrition.

ZSI will also sign an MoU with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to bolster global conservation efforts. The celebrations will feature Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, as the chief guest, inaugurating the Animal Taxonomy Summit-2025. On June 30, ZSI will host the grand finale of its 110-Hour Hackathon on Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change, involving 16 regional centers. Out of 205 registered teams, the top five will compete, showcasing innovative solutions to environmental challenges.

Bhupender Yadav will release Animal Discoveries-2024, documenting over 600 new species added to global and Indian faunal databases. Other notable releases include Plant Discoveries-2024 and Faunal Diversity of Eastern Ghats, among others, highlighting ZSI’s extensive research. Additionally, version 2.0 of the ‘Checklist of Fauna of India’ will be unveiled, cataloguing 105,244 species and subspecies, led by Dhriti Banerjee and 185 experts.

This updated checklist, covering life forms from protists to mammals, emphasises insects like beetles and moths, with plans for an online catalogue to enhance accessibility.

The Animal Taxonomy Summit-2025, from July 1 to July 3, will host over 500 delegates from countries, including the US, UK and Ghana, discussing taxonomy, systematics and conservation. The summit will feature 22 lead lectures and 170 poster presentations, concluding with recommendations to the Government of India.

A cultural programme will follow, engaging the public on conservation issues, reinforcing ZSI’s mission to protect India’s rich biodiversity.