German Development Bank (KfW) Review Mission team at Benreu village.
Kohima, April 26 (MExN): German Development Bank (KfW) Review Mission led by Dr Florian Wieneke, Senior Portfolio Manager, KfW Frankfurt along with Sangeeta Agarwal, Senior Sector Specialist NRM, KfW New Delhi Office and Project Management Consultant (PMC) led by Nand Kishor Agrawal, Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) visited Nagaland from April 20 to 27.
According to an update from Project Management Unit (PMU), Kohima, Nagaland, Forest & Biodiversity Management in the Himalaya (Nagaland) Project, officials from Forest Department and NEPED accompanied the visiting team to Khonoma, Benreu and Thenyayan villages under Kohima, Peren and Wokha districts respectively and interacted with the villagers and reviewed the progress of the ongoing activities. The team also interacted with hosts of stakeholders including State Finance Commissioner, PCCF&HOFF, Commissioner & Secretary (Forest), and Nagaland Community Conservation Area Forum, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Nagaland Bio Resource Mission (NBRM) and Nagaland State Biodiversity Board (NSBB).
It may be noted that the German Development Bank supports the ‘Forest and Biodiversity Management in the Himalaya (Nagaland) Project (FBMP) which is jointly implemented by the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (DEFCC) and Nagaland Empowerment of People through Economic Development (NEPED) covering five districts and 70 villages in the state.
Effective & Sustainable Management of Community Conserved Areas (CCA) in selected landscapes for improved connectivity and conservation of biodiversity, while supporting livelihoods is the main project objective.
The FBMP stands as a significant initiative aimed at balancing conservation imperatives with socioeconomic development in Nagaland's unique Himalayan landscape. The collaboration between KfW, DEFCC, and NEPED underscores a shared commitment to environmental sustainability and community empowerment in the state of Nagaland.
During the review, the team studied the progress of ongoing activities under the project and also evaluated the efficacy of conservation efforts and livelihood support mechanisms in the designated areas which are crucial for gauging the project's impact and identifying areas for improvement.
