Shillong, April 26: Meghalaya’s globally significant forest landscapes will be at the centre of a new five-year biodiversity initiative launched by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the National Biodiversity Authority, aimed at strengthening grassroots conservation through local governance.
The project—rolled out with support from the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Programme with a grant of USD 4.88 million (over ₹40 crore), focusing on empowering communities to integrate biodiversity into local development planning. The other area where it will be implemented is in Tamil Nadu.
In Meghalaya, the programme will focus on the Garo Hills landscape, covering ecologically rich sites such as Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Balpakram National Park and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary. These areas form a mosaic of forests and community-managed lands, making them ideal for conservation models led by local institutions.
Unlike mainland India, where Gram Panchayats play a central role, Meghalaya’s traditional governance systems will drive implementation through Village Employment Councils (VECs), which will function as the local planning bodies.
The project aims to “green” local development plans by embedding biodiversity priorities into them, ensuring that conservation becomes part of everyday governance. Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and local institutions will be strengthened to prepare and implement community-owned conservation plans.
A key focus will also be on creating livelihood opportunities linked to conservation. This includes promoting green micro-enterprises, activating Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanisms, and leveraging CSR funding—ensuring that communities directly benefit from protecting natural resources.
The initiative also places strong emphasis on inclusion, with targeted efforts to enhance the role of women, tribal communities, and other marginalised groups in biodiversity governance and local decision-making.
Officials said the project aligns with national and global commitments, including India’s updated biodiversity strategy (NBSAP 2024–2030), climate targets under the Paris Agreement, and the global “30×30” goal of conserving 30% of land and sea areas by 2030.
A key objective of the project is mainstreaming biodiversity in local developmental plans to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and to build landscape-level multi-stakeholder platforms that bring together forest departments, revenue authorities, elected representatives and civil society to produce community-owned, funded biodiversity plans.
Another major objective is to promote innovative financing mechanisms by activating Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) arrangements, CSR co-financing and green micro-enterprises that create sustainable livelihoods as direct rewards for conservation stewardship. The third objective focuses on knowledge management and capacity building, systematically capturing innovations from both landscapes for nationwide replication through NBA and MoEFCC platforms, with a dedicated focus on advancing the economic and governance roles of women, Scheduled Castes and tribal communities.
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