Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday said his government is targeting to preserve 2 lakh hectares of forest across the state by rewarding communities and individuals involved in preserving and protecting them under the Green Meghalaya Mission.
The state boasts of the presence of about 100 sacred groves spanning over 10,000 hectares and more than 150 community owned reserved forests covering over 2,500 hectares preserved by the communities with utmost reverence, he said.
“To acknowledge this, the government has initiated the Green Meghalaya mission through which the communities are rewarded in cash for preserving and protecting the natural cover and the government targeted to preserve 2 lakh hectares of forest cover over the next 5 years, through this programme,” the chief minister said, addressing a T20 meeting under India’s G20 presidency.
“Our government has initiated Green Meghalaya, one of its unique kind, through which the communities are rewarded for preserving and protecting the natural cover,” he said.
According to the chief minister, the government aims to preserve 2 lakh hectares of forest cover over the next 5 years under the programme.
Stating that the government is “working relentlessly” to improve and maintain the serenity of the state, the CM said, “Meghalaya is Heaven and we call it home.”
He also said that the government is working on a comprehensive action plan to tackle climate change ‘State Action Plan on Climate Change 2.0’ which is aimed at identifying the key problems by analysing data derived from scientific studies, vulnerability assessment and providing corresponding action plans to mitigate them.
Reiterating that governments and societies should realise that climate change is real, he said, “We have to find ways to adapt and mitigate the problem.”
“There is a need to balance economic growth with green sustainable policies. We need to provide alternatives for livelihood and create parallel economies,” he said.
Citing examples of how the state government could have resolved the power crisis by investing in thermal power plants considering that it has huge coal reserves, the chief minister said the state opted to find solutions through renewable resources.
He also highlighted how his government is contemplating to invest Rs 80-100 crore every year for the next 5 years in solar plants by taking the people as the stakeholders into consideration under the upcoming CM solar mission of the state government.
The chief minister also announced that the state is setting up a Centre of Excellence for Climate Change here where the Government is contemplating to create awareness among school and college students.
Meghalaya Chief Secretary DP Wahlang in his address cited two examples that showed signs of climate change.
Narrating these, he said that about 40 years ago, oranges were abundant in his village close to the Indo-Bangladesh border. However, lately, due to changes in soil as well as climate, local harvests were impacted and oranges were no longer available in plenty.
The chief secretary also stated the replacement of Duli’ (wooden cupboards) with refrigerators and the presence of fans and ACs in homes and offices in Meghalaya at present.
“We earlier did not have fans at the office. Now we do. A lot of it has changed,” he said.
Joint Secretary (G20) at the Ministry of External Affairs Eenam Gambhir in her address highlighted the various initiatives and dialogues adopted as part of the G20 presidency.
“India’s priority on LiFE epitomized the theme of Indian Presidency ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ like no other concept and was also an urgent call to action,” she said.
Think20 (T20) is an official Engagement Group of the G20. It serves as an “idea bank” for the G20 by bringing together think tanks and high-level experts to discuss policy issues relevant to the G20.
T20 recommendations are synthesised into policy briefs and presented to G20 working groups, ministerial meetings, and leaders’ summit to help the G20 deliver concrete policy measures, she said.
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The T20 conference was attended by policymakers, academicians, bureaucrats, and experts from multilateral agencies representing 14 G20 countries, including ADB, World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, and TIPS.
With over 60 speakers from various countries, the conference is expected to generate discussions and recommendations that will contribute to the finalization of the “Meghalaya Manifesto,” a policy framework for Nature-Positive solutions to combat climate change.
Also read | Meghalaya hosts climate change conclave as part of G20 summit