SHILLONG, May 13: Meghalaya is seeing a shift in how its natural resources are managed, with local communities playing a central role in restoring degraded landscapes. Through a state-wide initiative supported by the World Bank, communities are working towards reviving forests, recharging springs, and building sustainable livelihoods.
The World Bank-supported Meghalaya Community-Led Landscape Management Project (MCLLMP) has been implemented across 400 village communities throughout Meghalaya. The project adopts a landscape-based approach to natural resource management, combining traditional knowledge with scientific methods to address deforestation, water scarcity, and soil degradation.
One such community-restored pond in East Khasi Hills now supplies water throughout the year.
This is one of the hundreds of water bodies and springs revived by villagers under the World Bank-supported Meghalaya Community Led Landscape Management Project.
The state government took up the project in 2018 to address water scarcity, deforestation and land degradation. Altogether 400 villages were involved to manage forests, water sources, and farmlands, using a combination of traditional knowledge and scientific methods.
Despite receiving high rainfall, Meghalaya has seen a steady decline in its groundwater and surface water availability. More than a half of its 55,000 documented springs have either dried up or got reduced in flow. The project supported the creation of village-level landscape plans, helped communities build check dams and water storage systems, and led large-scale tree plantation efforts.
According to a report by the World Bank, 141 households are now self-sufficient in water in the Mawteibah village.
The project also created alternative sources of income. Women and men received support to start poultry farms, goat and pig-rearing, nurseries, and composting units.
Bamutlangki Pariat of the Moodymmai village used Rs 25,000 from the project to start a poultry unit. “I earn from this and don’t need to go outside for work anymore,” Pariat said.
Overall, these nature-based activities helped generate Rs 1.3 crore in additional income for the participating villages. The initiative also addressed the issue of environmental impact of mining. Rat-hole mining, which was banned by the National Green Tribunal in 2014, had damaged large areas.
Through the plantation of aromatic grasses like citronella and lemongrass, 672 hectares of mine-spoiled land was brought under productive use. In the Mynthlu village, a coal depot has been converted into a citronella plantation.
To build a long-term capacity, over 13,000 people, including more than 4,000 women, were trained in GIS mapping, environmental planning, financial management, and procurement. Youth were involved in mapping natural resources and planning restoration activities.
Based on the results, the state government has scaled up this model through its ‘Green Meghalaya’ initiative. Similar approaches are being made in other Northeastern states.
