Dimapur: Nagaland’s Forest and Biodiversity Management in the Himalayas (Nagaland) Project (FBMP) has called for greater community participation, the use of traditional knowledge and stronger customary institutions to strengthen forest and biodiversity conservation across the state.
The project organised a two-day workshop titled “Community Conservation: Celebrating Success and Charting the Future” at the Cathedral compound in Kohima from Tuesday to discuss the progress, challenges and future of community-based conservation in Nagaland.
More than 250 government officials, conservation practitioners, community representatives and other stakeholders attended the first day of the workshop, held under the theme “Understanding Conservation in Nagaland: Context, Challenges and Governance”.
Nagaland Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister a CL John attended the inaugural programme as the special guest. He urged all 64 project villages to participate actively in conservation activities and ensure that project funds were used judiciously to support development within their respective community conserved areas (CCAs).
John also called on communities to take the lead in biodiversity conservation and strengthen measures to mitigate human-elephant conflict through effective use of the newly launched helpline.
He urged villages, particularly the 29 project villages in Tuensang district, to integrate traditional knowledge and practices with modern conservation approaches.
Chief Conservator of Forests and FBMP Project Director Sidramappa Chalkapure outlined the achievements of the project, also known as the KfW Project, which is being implemented across 64 villages in six districts of Nagaland.
He said the project had supported biodiversity conservation, livelihood improvement, community infrastructure development and the strengthening of local institutions. Its interventions included conservation measures across 41,000 hectares of community forests, human-elephant conflict mitigation, and the restoration of spring-sheds and stream-scapes.
During the programme, John launched FBMP project documents, the project’s website and a toll-free helpline for human-elephant conflict-related assistance. The helpline can be reached at 1800-2020-878.
Three villages received the FBMP Nagaland Conservation Award in different categories. Langa village in Tuensang district was recognised for community infrastructure, Thenhayan village in Wokha district for sustainable livelihood, and Mmhayan village, also in Wokha, for community-led conservation.