Overview
- The five-year programme, launched Sunday, carries a $4.88 million grant for 2025–2030 from the Global Environment Facility and UNDP.
- Work starts in Tamil Nadu’s Sathyamangalam landscape and in Meghalaya’s Garo Hills, covering Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam tiger reserves as well as the Nokrek, Balpakram and Siju protected areas.
- Officials will fold conservation into Gram Panchayat Development Plans, the village budgets, with Village Employment Councils filling that role in Meghalaya.
- The project strengthens local bodies and Biodiversity Management Committees and creates forums that bring forest staff, revenue officials, elected leaders and civil society together, with a push to include women, Scheduled Castes and tribal communities.
- Financing tools will link conservation to incomes through Access and Benefit Sharing deals, corporate social responsibility funds and small green enterprises, with lessons captured by the NBA and the Environment Ministry for later scale-up.