Does Nagaland Need a Policy for Community-Conserved Areas? - A Policy Dialogue Workshop Under the GEF-Satoyama Project

TERI, in conjunction with the Nagaland Forest Department organized a policy dialogue in Kohima to launch the GEF-Satoyama-Conservation International, Japan-funded project on 'Mainstreaming Community-Conserved Areas for Biodiversity Conservation in Nagaland'.

In Nagaland, a revival of traditional conservation practices through the creation of Community-Conserved Areas is spearheading the protection of parcels of forest across the State. A study of Nagaland's CCAs conducted by TERI and the Forest Department of Nagaland found that almost one-third of Nagaland's villages have constituted CCAs, and as many as 82% of these 407 CCAs have completely or partially banned tree felling and/or hunting within the CCAs, and enforce various regulations for forest protection.

The workshop entitled, 'Does Nagaland Need a Policy for Community-Conserved Areas' brought together policy makers from the MoEF and CC, Government of Nagaland, Nagaland Forest Department, TERI and community representatives on a common platform to discuss the way forward for community conservation in Nagaland.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr Nicky Kire, Honourable Minister of Forests, Government of Nagaland, and the key note address was delivered by Dr S K Khanduri, IG Forests (Wildlife), MoEF and CC. Shri M Lokeswara Rao, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Shri I Panger Jamir, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Government of Nagaland all reinforced the need for Nagaland to have a policy for CCAs. Shri Neihu Thur, Principal Secretary, Department of Forests, Ecology, Environment and Wildlife emphasized the importance of CCAs and the increasing pressure they face.

Dr J V Sharma, Dr Pia Sethi, and Mr Siddharth Edake from TERI presented a roadmap on how CCAs could be strengthened in the State, and introduced the participants to the objectives of the GEF-Satoyama project. The workshop was followed by a visit to Sukhai village in Zunheboto district, Nagaland to inaugurate the project with the local communities.