Kohima: The revision of Nagaland’s State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NSBSAP) is being positioned as more than a documentation exercise, with stakeholders calling for actions grounded in scientific research, field data and the state’s ecological realities.
The emphasis came during a stakeholder consultation workshop organised by the Nagaland State Biodiversity Board (NSBB) in association with The Nature Conservancy Centre (TNCC) and Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) at Hotel Japfu, Kohima, on Thursday.
The consultation is part of the ongoing process to revise Nagaland’s biodiversity action plan in line with India’s updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).
Addressing the workshop, Vedpal Singh, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force, stressed that the revised plan should be based on scientifically and research-backed actions, supported by field data and responsive to Nagaland’s ecological conditions.
Nagaland prepared its first NSBSAP in 2005 and revised it in May 2022 with 12 targets.
The present revision seeks to align the state-level plan with the global biodiversity framework, which has 23 global targets.
The process also follows a consultation held on September 23 with line departments and community-based organisations, reflecting the need for inputs from different stakeholders in shaping the revised action plan.
Technical discussions during Thursday’s workshop covered Targets 1–6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 20, 21 and 23 of the KMGBF. The sessions were moderated by Dr Sayan Banerjee, Sanjay Sharma, Yaranajit Deka and Sunpreet Kaur.
Dr Ishwar Narayanan, Executive Director of TNCC, and Sanjay Sharma, General Manager of FES, reiterated their organisations’ continued support to Nagaland in the biodiversity planning process.
The workshop was chaired by Sidramappa M Chalkapure, IFS, CCF and Member Secretary of the NSBB. Supongnukshi, IFS, APCCF, delivered the keynote address.
The consultation concluded with a vote of thanks by Savinuo Kikhi, RFO, in-charge of Chiephobozou Range and NSBB.