SHILLONG: The Mountain Legislators’ Meet was held in NEC , bringing together legislators from different mountain states to deliberate on and examine key policy measures and highlight issues from the vantage point of the mountain states.
The meet was organised by Integrated Mountain Initiative and hosted by Meghalaya Integrated Mountain Development Initiative (MIMDI) and Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU).
The conference — convened by Member of Parliament from Tura Agatha Sangma, chaired by MP of Shillong Vincent Pala, and co-chaired by former MP of Sikkim (LS) PD Rai — was attended by MPs, MLAs and representatives of Autonomous District Councils from Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Sikkim, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and members of IMI, MIMDI, Swiss Development Corporation, SELCO Foundation and ICIMOD.
The members raised several critical areas of concern with regard to the future of livelihoods and entrepreneurship in terms of climate change.
Member of Parliament from Tura, Agatha Sangma highlighted the importance of knowledge sharing and scaling up of best practices for effectively tacking common issues of the Indian Himalayan Region.
Member of Parliament of Shillong, Vincent Pala also added that legislators can make a huge difference if they empower themselves by upgrading knowledge and finding sustainable solutions through collaborative efforts.
The discussion highlighted the need for sensitisation of general public, bureaucracy and politicians on the issues of climate change and the ways in which legislators can use policy instruments to minimise the impact of climate change.
Acknowledging the need for a sustained, integrated effort to addressing key issues of the region, it was also highlighted that the youth and entrepreneurs will have an active role to play.
The topic of Jhum cultivation and balancing traditional livelihoods with ecology was discussed extensively.
The legislators, during the meet, also held an in-depth discussion on the importance of alternative sustainable livelihoods.
The importance of adding environmental education in the school and college curriculums was also added.
The legislators, during the meet, also acknowledged the importance of data and micro-data in guiding policy and concluded that more needs to be done in this aspect in the Indian Himalayan Region.