Shillong, August 14: The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, North Eastern Regional Centre (Ministry of Rural Development, Govt .of India), Guwahati (NIRD&PR – NERC), Assam and State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD), Nongsder, Meghalaya.
The two states has jointly organized a 3 days regional off-campus training programme on the topic “Strategies for Planning and Implementation of Carbon Neutral Villages” – Batch II, during 09th – 11thAugust, 2023 to address India’s performance on climate action.
Officials representing the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Soil and Water Conservation Department, Rural Development, and Panchayati Raj Institutions drawn from all around Meghalaya had participated in the programme to deliberate on Biodiversity act and its Institutional Mechanism for Implementation, roles and responsibilities of Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) for good governance at local village institution level.
This training module has been developed and designed by Dr. V. Suresh Babu, Associate Professor (NIRD&PR – NERC) to create a pool of employees who can create awareness among the village communities and support the BMC emphasizing on Access and Benefit Sharing Provisions; Preparing People’s Biodiversity Register.
Estimation of carbon emission, sequestration process and sink; Marketing of carbon credits and Enhancement of Biodiversity through holistic approaches of the Rural Development flagship programmes including centrally sponsored line department schemes could enhance the afforestation, biodiversity and livelihood opportunities of tribal rural households.
Smti. S. R. Marak, MCS, Dircetor of SIRD Meghalaya welcomed the esteemed dignitaries, resource persons and the participants to the event.Dr. V. Suresh Babu, Associate Professor and Program Director, NIRDPR-NERC, Guwahati, in his introductory speech, laid focus on the climate change performance Index (CCPI).
India’s performance on climate action that has been rated as ”high” in the GHG emissions, energy use and climate policy categories, ”medium” in renewable energy, and “is already on track to meet its 2030 emissions target aligned to a well-below 2OC scenario”.
India made further progress towards a 1.5OC future at COP26, declaring an intent to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 to achieve five-fold strategy — termed as the panchamrita commitments to reduce shortages of water, food and greater risks to health.
Dr. D. Evanoreen Ann Khongwir, Scientist, Meghalaya Biodiversity Board (MBB) presented an interactive session on People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), a case study of Chyrmang Nein BMC in detail regarding seven PBR formats and Access and Benefit Sharing Provisions, facilitating the village household and village council with economic benefits and respective shares.
Session on Agroforestry models, criteria for selection of agroforestry tree species, types of agroforestry models, merits and demerits were discussed at length.In continuation, participants were also exposed to the National Bamboo Mission under the expertise of Dr. T. C. Bhuyan (Retd. Scientist), NECBDC, for biodiversity conservation with focus on promotion of bamboo in degraded lands, scrub forests to sequester maximum carbon and accelerate the rural livelihood and economy through value addition.
Dr. Sourabh Deb, Asst. Professor, Tripura University delivered a detailed virtual session on concepts of Carbon emission, estimation, sequestration and sink to develop carbon neutral villages.Besides, Dr.Vincent. T. Darlong, Director, delivered a motivational lecture on “Promotion of Common Property Resources for Biodiversity Conservation.
He referred to role of GPDP in holistic planning for CPRs conservation across the country.Dr. ArunJyotiNath, Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University delivered an insightful session on Promotion and Marketing strategies for selling carbon credits.
The programme focused on interactive deliberations inclusive of one days practical exposure. Participants visited the Community Village Forests in NongrumMawphlang, managed by the community with the technical support extended by Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project.
A visit was also made to the MawphlangSacred Groves which is a carbon sink protected with the concept of local indigenous tribal divinity. The programme concluded on the 11th of August 2023, with an interaction with few of the Biodiversity Management Committees under Mawphlang to understand their roles and duties.
A similar programme was conducted for the first batch of participants on the 08th to 12th of May 2023, with a total of 27 participants. The regional training programmeswere coordinated byMr. Nicholas Rynjah and Ms. Elizabeth Thma, Faculties of SIRD Meghalaya and Mr. TamborLyngdoh, Founder Chairman (Synjuk), Chief Community Facilitator cum Project Director, Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project,
