New Project Empowers Villages to Lead Biodiversity Conservation

Titled 'Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Securing Biodiversity Conservation Commitments', the initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change aims to empower local communities and institutions through the greening of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) and innovative financing.

"The project is a joint initiative of the Union government, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with a grant of $4.88 million for the period 2025-2030," a statement said.

The project is rooted in two ecologically significant landscapes.

In Tamil Nadu, the Sathyamangalam landscape at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats, encompassing the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, unites forest-fringe communities who are longstanding stewards of wildlife corridors. Their deep ecological knowledge will be channelled into GPDPs, giving biodiversity conservation a prominent place in local governance.

"In Meghalaya's Garo Hills, the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Balpakram National Park, and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary together form a vibrant mosaic of government forests and Reserve Forests, providing an ideal setting for community-led conservation woven into Village Employment Councils (VECs), an equivalent of gram panchayats," the statement said.

A key objective of the project is mainstreaming biodiversity in local developmental plans to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions and Biodiversity Management Committees 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 objective of the initiative is to promote innovative financing mechanisms by activating Access and Benefit Sharing arrangements, CSR co-financing and green micro-enterprises that create sustainable livelihoods as direct rewards for conservation stewardship.

"The project also focuses on knowledge management and capacity building, systematically capturing innovations from both landscapes for nationwide replication through NBA and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change platforms, with a dedicated focus on advancing the economic and governance roles of women, Scheduled Castes and tribal communities," the statement added.

- IANS