India, Oct. 4 -- 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 challengi...