Environment Ministry, NBA to launch project; strengthen grassroots biodiversity governance in TN, Meghalaya

NEW DELHI: The Environment Ministry and the National Biodiversity Authority have launched a five-year project in Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya to strengthen grassroots biodiversity governance, officials said on Sunday.

This will be done by empowering local communities and institutions through the greening of Gram Panchayat Development Plans and innovative financing.

"A key objective of the project is mainstreaming biodiversity in local development plans to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions and Biodiversity Management Committees," an official said.

The project aims to build landscape-level multi-stakeholder platforms that bring together forest departments, revenue authorities, elected representatives and civil society to produce community-owned, funded biodiversity plans.

Another objective is to promote financing mechanisms by activating access and benefit sharing arrangements, CSR co-financing, and green micro-enterprises that create sustainable livelihoods as direct rewards for conservation stewardship.

The project will commence in Tamil Nadu's Sathyamangalam landscape, located at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats, and Meghalaya's Garo Hills.

"It is a joint initiative of the Centre, the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Programme, with a grant of $4.88 million for the period 2025-2030," the official said.