In a bid to strengthen biodiversity governance with a focus on the grassroots level, the Centre, on Sunday, launched a five-year project aimed at empowering local communities and institutions for conservation. The project, titled ‘Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Securing Biodiversity Conservation Commitments,’ was launched by the The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), in partnership with the National Biodiversity Authority.
It is a joint initiative of the Government of India, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with a grant of $4.88 million from 2025-30, the Centre said in a release.
Two landscapes in focus
The programme will be implemented across two ecologically significant regions.
In Tamil Nadu, it will cover the Sathyamangalam landscape, located at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats, including the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve. In Meghalaya’s Garo Hills, it will cover the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Balpakram National Park and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary. Together, they form a 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 Centre said in a release.
Key objectives
Among the key objectives are mainstreaming biodiversity in local developmental plans to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions and Biodiversity Management Committees. On top of that, the objective also includes building landscape-level multi-stakeholder platforms that bring together forest departments, elected representatives, revenue authorities, and the civil society in order to produce community-owned, funded biodiversity plans.
Another key objective is promoting innovative financing mechanisms by activating Access and Benefit Sharing, or ACS, arrangements, CSR co-financing and green micro-enterprises.
Another objective is knowledge management and capacity building, with a focus on advancing the economic and governance roles of women, scheduled caste and tribal communities.
The project will focus on a bottom-up governance structure with the Panchayati Raj institutions playing a key managerial role.