State revises biodiversity strategy to align with global framework

SHILLONG, Feb 7: The Meghalaya State Biodiversity Board has initiated the revision of the Meghalaya Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (MBSAP) by organising a one-day Stakeholder Consultation Workshop here on Friday.
According to a statement, the workshop was held in collaboration with the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) and was commissioned by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, which is currently implementing the Protection and Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources in the North Eastern Himalayan Region of India (NERAQ). The initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) under the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
A total of 43 representatives from government departments, academia, NGOs and research institutions such as the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Botanical Survey of India (BSI) participated in the workshop. The objective of the workshop was to align the Meghalaya Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan with the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which includes four goals and 23 targets.
During the workshop, discussions focused on ensuring alignment with national biodiversity targets.
Additional PCCF, D Sathiyan, who chaired the workshop, stressed the need to integrate the State Climate Change Action Plan with the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.
He also highlighted the importance of aligning biodiversity efforts with the State Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure effective planning and benchmarking of conservation indicators.
Similarly, other speakers emphasised the urgency of a multisectoral approach to biodiversity conservation, prioritising the protection of threatened and endemic species in Meghalaya.
“A fruitful discussion provided the foundation for identifying the key action points in each target of the KMGBF,” the statement said.