SHILLONG, June 6: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday said the state government would come up with a unique programme to cover almost 50,000 hectares of land under the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES).
The PES aims to manage natural resources and ecosystem stewardship, wherein the users recompense the conservators for the ecosystem services.
Speaking at an official function to celebrate World Environment Day, the chief minister said the government is working with different agencies in order to get the carbon credits.
Sangma also said he distributed many cheques to the community forest areas and the community that provided 125 hectares of forestland would receive Rs 25 lakh from the government to sustain the forest. This would work out to Rs 1.25 crore in five years for ploughing into economic activities for sustaining livelihoods, he said.
The chief minister said the government has been trying to bring about a change in the environmental sector by collaborating with different departments and getting the community involved.
“Today’s programme is another step towards ensuring that we work together for achieving the goals we have laid before us,” he said, insisting that such goals cannot be achieved by the government without community participation at the grassroots level.
Coming down heavily on the suppliers of single-use plastic, Sangma said the government would ensure that the violators of the ban on single-use plastic are dealt with firmly. But he admitted making people stop using single-use plastic without providing them alternatives is not so easy. “The easiest way of stopping single-use plastic is to choke the supply,” he said.
Sangma also warned of a crackdown on the suppliers of single-use plastic.
He said a better, cleaner environment would impact tourism and agriculture positively. “While there is a huge potential for creating economic activities, we want our youth to be a part of sustainable and conscious tourism, and agriculture,” he added.
The Chief Minister announced the Chief Minister’s Solar Mission, to be launched on Wednesday.
Under the Scheme, each household will be given the provision to install solar units. This will help address the power demand problem in the state. The solar units will also provide the facility for households to send unused power to the main grid.
Chief Secretary DP Wahlang outlined the progress and rejuvenation of the Wah Umkhrah and other rivers in Shillong and emphasized the need for simple steps that can be adopted for absorption.
Other highlights of the programme included the distribution of prizes to the winners of different competitions held to commemorate World Environment Day, the felicitation of the Dorbar Shnongs and civil society groups involved in cleaning the rivers, the Meghalaya Excellence Award on Environment Protection, the release of NRM mascots and the release of Natural Resource Management Anthem, the distribution of the PES cheques, and a number of documentaries on mission life, etc.
The chief minister also launched the tree plantation drive and seed ball dispersal at SICPAC, New Shillong Township.
The seed ball initiative for greening Meghalaya entails dispersing seeds of different plants embedded in a dried ball of soil mixed with compost, biochar, and paddy straw.
Seed ball broadcasting is a low-cost widespread method of enhancing green cover. Broadcasting of seed balls can be done by simply throwing them manually or by using catapults. Drones are also used for dispersing in remote areas.
About 3.5 million seed balls were dispersed by school children during the World Environment Day and about 75,000 children took part in the seed ball initiative in June.
Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary of Community & Rural Development Departmentand the Chief Executive Officer of the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority, delivered the keynote address.
He highlighted the various initiatives undertaken by Meghalaya for protection of the environment, and to address the challenge of climate change. In particular, he gave credit to the PES, launched in June, 2022 for addressing livelihood concerns along with conservation. Under the Scheme, communities and individuals are paid to conserve forests. He informed that 17,000 hectares of forests have been conserved under the scheme so far, and the plan is to conserve around 50,000 hectares of forests over the next five years. This will help generate 100 million carbon credits, which could be marketed to boost the state’s economy.
An important highlight of the event was the introduction of the state Natural Resource Management (NRM) Mascots: Mai Mai, the hill mynah, and Pakhnai, a clouded leopard.
