5 EKH communities come forward for biocentric restoration project

SHILLONG, July 29: A total of five communities in East Khasi Hills, viz. Dewlieh, Nongwah, Umsawwar, Ladmawphlang and Nongtraw have collaborated with NESFAS and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) for a biocentric restoration project in Meghalaya.
According to a statement, a two-day participatory workshop on the project ‘Implementation of the Indigenous People’s Biocentric Restoration in Meghalaya’ concluded on Friday at Ladmawphlang, East Khasi Hills, which was facilitated by NESFAS in the presence of Senior Consultant for Research, Innovation for Climate Change & Training Dr Dhrupad Choudhury, board member of NESFAS Amba Jamir and representatives of five communities, who, with assistance from NESFAS and UNFAO, were engaged in restoration of degraded lands.
“Following the global efforts framed on the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, these communities have been hard at work, collating exhaustive lists of the flora and fauna in the area, creating community nurseries and fostering saplings and gradually working up to actual execution of the plan,” the statement said.
During the workshop, the community executives and field experts conferred about the challenges faced by the former, and the solutions for the same.
It may be mentioned that the prime objective of the project is to restore degraded land in the territories of indigenous people through ancestral knowledge, territorial management, and the values and relations of the indigenous people with the territory.
“This project focuses on the importance of the local biodiversity, indigenous people’s knowledge and then reviving that knowledge,” the statement said.
Executive Director of NESFAS Puis Ranee has accentuated the need to protect and preserve the rich ecosystem, especially in rural areas. “We need to put this resolution forward to the Village Dorbar so that they can disseminate the information and pass the resolution easily,” Ranee said.
“The five communities that have been selected for this initiative are strong partner communities of NESFAS; some have been our stakeholders for a decade now, and these five practice either jhum cultivation or bund, and this project will address the steps to restore, especially the fallow lands in these food production systems and forest areas,” Ranee added.
It may be mentioned that some of the ideas put forth during the workshop include use of bioinoculants, traditional forms of mulching, vermicomposting, youth involvement, etc.
“The aim of this workshop was to fortify FAO and NESFAS’ collaboration and transparently review and scrutinise all the activities that will be conducted under its banner. The workshop was a platform for the community executives to clarify all their perspectives and also air out their concerns, giving way to the successful and gainful execution of the project,” the statement said.