Nagaland Forest Management Project holds review meeting in Mokokchung

Dr. Sentitula along with district advisory committee members and participants after an annual review meeting on NFMP in Mokokchung town on Tuesday.

MOKOKCHUNG — The Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP), supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), held its annual review meeting with the district advisory committee at Whispering Wind in Mokokchung town on Tuesday.

The meeting brought together key stakeholders to assess the project’s progress and chart future strategies for forest conservation and livelihood enhancement across the region.

Lanutoshi Aier, president of the Ao Students’ Conference (AKM), delivered a compelling address, voicing alarm over the declining forest cover in Nagaland. He urged the divisional forest officer (DFO) and joint forest management committees (JFMC) to ramp up conservation efforts through targeted programmes.

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Aier lighted AKM’s innovative tree plantation initiative, executed through Ariju centres and village councils, where students and individuals plant saplings tagged with their names—a symbol of ownership and responsibility.

He praised JICA’s sponsorship, which has empowered 18 villages in Mokokchung district to launch diverse projects, while also pressing the DFO to tackle rising air pollution through inspections and enforcement of permissible limits.

Aier lauded the JFMCs for their transparent fund utilisation and effective activity management.

The special guest and deputy commissioner (DC) of Mokokchung, Thsuvusie Phoji, underscored the pivotal role of community participation in forest conservation. Reflecting on recent fire incidents in the district, which he attributed to human error, Phoji challenged the JFMCs to sustain their efforts beyond JICA’s 10-year funding window, which was set to end in 2027.

“Will village councils mobilise resources to keep these initiatives alive after funding ceases?” he asked urging self-sustainability.

He envisioned Mokokchung as a hub of conservation excellence, encouraging JFMCs to collaborate with other departments.

“A synthetic forest can’t absorb CO2 or produce oxygen—only nature can. Let’s actively protect it,” Phoji implored.

The meeting featured detailed reports from JFMC representatives across various batches, showcasing their achievements.

Dr. Sentitula, DFO-cum-DMU head of Mokokchung, delivered the keynote address, emphasising NFMP’s dual goals of ecological restoration and livelihood uplift, while Moamongba, ACF-cum-RFO Tuli range, closed the event with a vote of thanks.

JFMC initiatives included constructing retaining walls at accident-prone sites, water ponds, roads and community halls alongside distributing indigenous fruit saplings, installing water supply systems, establishing nurseries, empowering women through entrepreneurial activities and building water harvesting structures and sprinklers.

It may be mentioned that Nagaland Forest Management Project was launched with an amount of INR 533 crore investment. It is a decade-long initiative spanning 185 villages across 11 forest divisions in Nagaland. Backed by JICA, it aims to rehabilitate jhum cultivation areas, promote biodiversity conservation and enhance livelihoods through community-driven efforts, fostering a sustainable future for the state’s forests and people.