By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 5: The state government on Friday said that it has brought nearly one lakh hectares of land under active protection and monitoring through a combination of afforestation programmes and its Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) initiative, marking what it described as a major milestone in the state’s environmental conservation efforts.
The announcement was made during the World Environment Day programme at Mawrah in East Khasi Hills, attended by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
Commissioner and Secretary, Tourism, Vijay Kumar D said the achievement was the result of sustained afforestation and ecosystem protection measures undertaken across the state over the past several years. He said afforestation activities had been carried out across nearly 25,000 hectares during the last five years, with another 14,000 hectares targeted this year, taking the total area under afforestation initiatives to almost 40,000 hectares. The one lakh hectare figure, he said, includes areas covered under both afforestation programmes and the PES scheme.
The announcement coincided with the inauguration of eco-tourism facilities at Mawrah Lake by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, including eco-cottages and a glasshouse restaurant.
The Chief Minister also distributed Green Meghalaya cheques to beneficiaries under the PES initiative and participated in a plantation drive using the Miyawaki method.
Addressing the gathering, Conrad said Mawrah’s transformation from an area once affected by water scarcity and environmental degradation into an emerging tourism destination demonstrated how conservation and livelihood generation could go hand in hand.
He stressed that development projects should ultimately be judged by their impact on people’s lives and called for greater community participation in tourism and environmental stewardship.
