Guwahati,  Nov 28:  In a major push to Meghalaya’s green development vision, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $77 million loan to promote ecotourism and natural farming in the state, aiming to create sustainable livelihoods while strengthening environmental resilience.

The new initiative—Integrated Ecotourism and Sustainable Agri-Based Livelihood Development in Meghalaya Project—will link nature-based tourism with climate-smart agriculture and community forest conservation. More than 8,000 people, including women and Indigenous communities, are expected to directly benefit from the project.

“The project supports Meghalaya’s Vision 2032 to become a top ecotourism destination while improving farmers’ incomes through sustainable agriculture,” said ADB Country Director for India Mio Oka. She added that by combining conservation, tourism, and rural markets, the model can be replicated in other states.

ADB’s earlier Northeast Economic Corridor study had identified nature-based tourism and value-added agriculture as core drivers of Meghalaya’s future growth—findings that shaped the design of the project.

What the project includes

• Eco-friendly tourism facilities: Visitor centres that double as interpretation hubs and spaces to showcase traditional crafts, skills, and local produce.
• Community forest restoration: Rehabilitation of 25,000 hectares of community forests through performance-based ecosystem service payments.
• Climate-smart farming: Support for farmers to adopt sustainable practices, improve degraded fields, restore fallow land, and upgrade irrigation systems, including drip irrigation.
• Post-harvest and processing infrastructure: Facilities to strengthen rural value chains and improve market access.

ADB will also provide a $1 million technical assistance grant to enhance institutional capacity, build stronger market linkages, and ensure long-term sustainability through mechanisms such as carbon and biodiversity credits.

Boost to local cooperatives and women entrepreneurs

The project will strengthen tourism and agricultural cooperatives, promote public–private partnerships for facility management, and introduce an innovation fund to support tourism enterprises, agribusinesses, forest initiatives, and gender-focused ventures.

Also Read: Rs 2450 Cr boost: Meghalaya seals World Bank deal for roads, logistics

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