ITANAGAR, 11 Jun: The district-level consultations for preparing the Arunachal Pradesh State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (APSBSAP) were organised in Longding, Khonsa (Tirap), Changlang, Namsai, and Tezu (Lohit) from 5 to 9 June.
The consultations, which had begun in Lower Subansiri HQ Ziro on 10 March, were organised by WWF-India and the State Biodiversity Board. Dr Priya Gupta, Aparna Koodathingal and Ranju Dodum from WWF-India and Ngilyang Tangu from the State Biodiversity Board were part of the team that organised the consultations.
Diverse stakeholders like ZPMs, GPMs, GBs, officers of the line departments, staffers of the forest department, and members of women’s groups, youth groups and NGOs participated in the deliberations and provided inputs.
The consultations highlighted the need for conserving
nature by engaging local communities and villages; protecting river stretches and catchment areas for water conservation; providing irrigation support for farming in water-scarce areas; introducing alternatives for jhum cultivation and making it nature-friendly; providing nature-based livelihood generation and diversification options; and establishing effective waste management mechanisms.
