Two foreign-aided projects for forest conservation in Nagaland

Eastern Mirror Desk

Dimapur, Feb. 18 (EMN): Two externally-aided projects are currently being implemented as part of forest plantation programmes in Nagaland. The department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change stated this in its annual administrative report 2019-20.

Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP)

NFMP has been initiated in the state in order to improve forest ecosystem and support income generation by rehabilitation of jhum area and provision of livelihood support; thereby contributing to sustainable forest and environmental conservation and livelihood improvement in the target villages in the state.

The project has three components:

•             Forestry interventions and biodiversity conservation

•             Livelihood improvement and community development

•             Institutional strengthening         

A loan agreement was signed between the government of India and the government of Japan on March 31, 2017 while the minutes of discussion on NFMP was signed between Japan International Cooperation Agency and the department at New Delhi on January 30, 2017. NFMP aims to cover 185 villages in 11 districts of the state. The project duration is 10 years i.e April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2027. The entire project period has been divided into three phases, namely: preparatory phase (two years), implementation phase (six years) and consolidation phase (two years), it stated.

Progress during 2019-20

The preparatory phase is over and the project has moved into implementation phase from April 1, 2019. The project covered construction of 68 buildings, most of which are nearing completion, it informed.

‘Thirty-eight vehicles and 22 two-wheelers’ have also been purchased for mobility, it added.

The project is currently running in 31 villages (batch-1), where around 10,87,000 tree saplings are being raised.

Twenty-four support staff from Project Management Unit (PMU) office and 75 support staff for 11 Delivery Monitory Unit (DMU) have been recruited, who are now working for NFMP. One High Power Committee and two governing body meetings have been conducted so far.

A meeting on security aspects related to NFMP and project management consultants has also been organised in the presence of Inspector General of Police (Range), security advisor of NFMP. NR Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd. was selected as Project Management Consultant, and has started functioning in Kohima since November 3, 2019.

KfW Project Nagaland

This project is an Indo-German financial cooperation, biodiversity conservation programme entitled, ‘Biodiversity and community conserved area management in Himalayas-Nagaland.’

The Nagaland State Biodiversity Board supported by a project management consultancy will be the Project Executing Agency and its implementation partners—project implementation agencies—will be the state Forest department and the Nagaland Empowerment of People for Economic Development (Neped).

The project areas are Peren, Mokokchung, Kohima, Phek, Wokha and Zunheboto; for a period of eight years.

PMU consists of two officers, one each from the department of Forest in the rank of CCF and from Neped, five supporting staff including finance, accounts, general administration, DDO and GIS expert. Six officers have also been placed with Neped to closely supervise the project activities in CCAs of six districts.

CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow (CSIR-NBRI) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have been providing technical support.