Shillong, Oct 2: Meghalaya is taking its Payment for Ecosystem (PES) initiate a step higher, hoping to conserve and protect its forests as much as possible. Making the scheme even more accessible to expand the State’s green cover, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday launched the GREEN Meghalaya plus schemes.

GREEN or Grassroot level Response Towards Ecosystem Enhancement and Nurturing is based on the principle of Payment for Ecosystem (PES), supports villages, communities, clans, or individuals that commit to conserve and protect natural forests for a minimum period of 30 years.

Speaking at the launch, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said, “It is beneficial for the people, the society, and the world that the PES programme should be taken up at the national and the international scale. It is the need of the hour. Let us protect the forests before it is destroyed, not rebuild it after it is destroyed. And that is really what Green Meghalaya is all about and we are really proud of this particular flagship programme. And that’s why we are very keen to go into the ‘Green Meghalaya Plus’, which is the next stage of this very-very important programme.”

One of the most significant changes in the PES 2.0 guidelines is the increased area coverage for participation. Where the earlier scheme required a minimum of 2 hectares of forest, the new guidelines now reduce this to just 1 hectare, allowing smaller landowners and communities to utilize. This ensures that the benefits of the scheme are more widely distributed and that more people can contribute to the conservation of our forest heritage.

“It is not only about the environment that we are talking here. Protection of the forests is very important for us even from the finance commission point of view. During the horizontal devolution of the tax that takes place , which is what the finance commission does, the forest cover plays the most importantly role in terms of the percentage of taxes we get from the direct tax collection that the government of India does. While we are giving money to increase or protect or conserve our forest cover, not only are we environmentally making sure we do this but is also impacting financially. It is a clear benefit and a win-win situation for everyone,” he added.

During the occasion, chief minister also interacted with beneficiaries of GREEN Meghalaya+, CM ELEVATE, and FOCUS. A beneficiary from South West Khasi Hills shared his testimony and expressed gratitude to the Government of Meghalaya for the opportunity to impart awareness about tree planting and environmental conservation through the initiative.

During the programme, cheques and sanction letters were distributed to beneficiaries of FOCUS, CM-Elevate, and GREEN Meghalaya+. Notably, CM-ELEVATE Phases 1 and 2 benefited 2,281 individuals with sanctions totaling Rs 60 crore, while FOCUS’s second tranche supported 3,777 beneficiaries with Rs 17.59 crore.

Read: Meghalaya launches German bank-funded projects for sustainable land management in Umiew

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