**Executive Summary**
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) have launched a five-year project (2025–2030) to strengthen grassroots biodiversity governance in Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya. Supported by a USD 4.88 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNDP, the initiative aims to empower local institutions and mainstream biodiversity into developmental plans. Key objectives include implementing innovative financing and aligning with national and global biodiversity targets through a bottom-up approach.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Project Overview and Funding**
* **Title:** ‘Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Securing Biodiversity Conservation Commitments’.
* **Duration:** Five-year period spanning 2025 to 2030.
* **Partnership:** A joint initiative between the Government of India, GEF, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
* **Budget:** Funded by a grant of USD 4.88 million.
**Geographic Focus and Landscapes**
* **Tamil Nadu:** Focuses on the Sathyamangalam landscape, including the Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserves.
* **Meghalaya:** Focuses on the Garo Hills, encompassing Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Balpakram National Park, and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary.
**Institutional and Governance Framework**
* **Mainstreaming Biodiversity:** Integration of biodiversity conservation into Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) and Village Employment Councils (VECs).
* **Institutional Strengthening:** Building the capacity of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs).
* **Multi-Stakeholder Platforms:** Establishing landscape-level platforms involving forest departments, revenue authorities, elected representatives, and civil society.
* **Governance Model:** Utilizes a "Whole-of-Government" and "Whole-of-Society" bottom-up approach, with PRIs serving a key managerial role.
**Financial and Economic Objectives**
* **Innovative Financing:** Activating Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) arrangements and CSR co-financing.
* **Livelihood Support:** Promoting green micro-enterprises that provide direct rewards for conservation stewardship.
**Strategic Alignment and Knowledge Management**
* **Policy Implementation:** Supports India’s Updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP 2024–2030), the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30x30 target, and India’s NDCs under the Paris Agreement.
* **Regional Goals:** Aligns with Tamil Nadu Vision 2030 and Meghalaya Vision 2030.
* **Capacity Building:** Systematically capturing innovations for nationwide replication via NBA and MoEFCC platforms.
**Impact Analysis**
**Local Communities (including women, Scheduled Castes, and tribal communities)**
**Impact**
Communities are empowered as stewards of wildlife corridors and conservation. They gain economic opportunities through green micro-enterprises and sustainable livelihoods as rewards for conservation.
**Action Required**
Participate in the formulation of community-owned biodiversity plans and engage in governance and economic roles within the project framework.
**Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Village Employment Councils (VECs)**
**Impact**
These institutions are placed at the center of the governance architecture with a key managerial role in local developmental planning.
**Action Required**
Incorporate biodiversity conservation into Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) and manage local biodiversity initiatives.
**National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and MoEFCC**
**Impact**
These bodies will facilitate the implementation of national and international biodiversity commitments and capture local innovations for broader use.
**Action Required**
Systematically capture and replicate successful local innovations across nationwide platforms.
**State Forest and Revenue Departments**
**Impact**
Enhanced collaboration with local representatives and civil society through multi-stakeholder platforms.
**Action Required**
Collaborate with local institutions to produce and support funded, community-owned biodiversity plans.
Key Entities Referenced
Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Securing Biodiversity Conservation Commitments: A five-year joint project launched by MoEFCC and NBA to enhance grassroots biodiversity governance through local community empowerment and innovative financing.
National Biodiversity Authority (NBA): The primary statutory body responsible for implementing the biodiversity project and facilitating Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) arrangements.
Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya: The two primary states where the project is implemented, focusing on the Sathyamangalam and Garo Hills landscapes.
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP 2024–2030): The core national policy framework that this project aims to advance and implement at the grassroots level.
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs): Local governance bodies, including Gram Panchayats and Village Employment Councils, that play a key managerial role in mainstreaming biodiversity into development plans.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
MoEFCC and NBA launch five-year project to
strengthen Grassroots Biodiversity Governance
in Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya
Posted On: 26 APR 2026 8:48AM by PIB Delhi
To strengthen grassroots biodiversity governance by empowering local communities and institutions
through the greening of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) and innovative financing, the
Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the National Biodiversity
Authority (NBA) have launched a landmark five-year project titled ‘Strengthening Institutional Capacities
for Securing Biodiversity Conservation Commitments’. The project is a joint initiative of the Government
of India, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), with a grant of USD 4.88 million for the period 2025–2030.
The project is rooted in two ecologically significant landscapes. In Tamil Nadu, the Sathyamangalam
landscape at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats, encompassing the Mudumalai Tiger
Reserve and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, unites forest-fringe communities who are longstanding
stewards of wildlife corridors. Their deep ecological knowledge will be channelled into GPDPs, giving
biodiversity conservation a prominent place in local governance. In Garo Hills, Meghalaya, the Nokrek
Biosphere Reserve, Balpakram National Park, and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary together form a vibrant mosaic
of government forests and Reserve Forests, providing an ideal setting for community-led conservation
woven into Village Employment Councils (VECs), an equivalent of gram panchayats.
A key objective of the project is mainstreaming biodiversity in local developmental plans to strengthen
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and to build
landscape-level multi-stakeholder platforms that bring together forest departments, revenue authorities,
elected representatives and civil society to produce community-owned, funded biodiversity plans.
Another major objective is to promote innovative financing mechanisms by activating Access and Benefit
Sharing (ABS) arrangements, CSR co-financing and green micro-enterprises that create sustainable
livelihoods as direct rewards for conservation stewardship. The third objective focuses on knowledge
management and capacity building, systematically capturing innovations from both landscapes for
nationwide replication through NBA and MoEFCC platforms, with a dedicated focus on advancing the
economic and governance roles of women, Scheduled Castes and tribal communities.
The governance architecture is based on a bottom-up approach, with Panchayati Raj Institutions playing a
key managerial role. The project advances the implementation of India’s Updated National Biodiversity
Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP 2024–2030), the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s
landmark 30x30 target, India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement
and the goals of Tamil Nadu Vision 2030 and Meghalaya Vision 2030. It adopts a ‘Whole-of-Government’
and ‘Whole-of-Society’ approach to ensure participation across sectors and communities.
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