Workshop underscores community leadership in conservation

A two day learning and experience sharing workshop on Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) was held on March 11 and 12 at Hotel Acacia, Dimapur, bringing together community leaders, conservation practitioners and government representatives to deliberate on community led forest and biodiversity conservation initiatives across Nagaland.
Jointly organised by Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Nagaland State Biodiversity Board (NSBB), Forest and Biodiversity Management in the Himalaya Nagaland Project (FBMP) and The Nature Conservancy Centre (TNCC), the workshop saw participation of around 60 delegates. Those included representatives from 13 cluster CCAs, members of the Nagaland Community Conserved Areas Forum (NCCAF), project partners such as Nagaland Empowerment of People through Energy Development (NEPeD), Department of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (DEFCC), and facilitating agencies.
Delivering the keynote address, NSBB member secretary and FBMP project director, Sidramappa M. Chalkapure, stressed the importance of coexistence between humans and wildlife. He reminded that biodiversity conservation transcends jurisdictional boundaries and urged communities to document their natural resources through the People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR). He also emphasized safeguarding wildlife corridors to ensure safe movement of species across landscapes.
Earlier, FES regional head, Sanjay Sharma, set the context of the workshop, noting that the sessions would capture and document community learnings and experiences.
Interactive sessions allowed CCA representatives to share their practices in forest and biodiversity management over the past five years, discuss challenges, and identify strategies that have strengthened community led governance systems.
The workshop concluded with a synthesis session, outlining key learnings and charting future directions for strengthening CCAs across Nagaland.