In continuation of its efforts to reach out to multitude of stakeholders to create awareness about the solutions offered by FSC for responsible forest management, FSC India reached out to the community forest owners of the north-eastern state of Meghalaya.
About 76% of the state is under forest cover and more than 90% of them belong to the communities including individuals and clans. Workshop to deliberate upon the possibilities of forest certification of community forests in Meghalaya was held at Shillong on 14 December 2023 which was well attended by a large number of community forests representatives, apart from state government functionaries.
The talk delivered by Dr Suresh Gairola, FSC India country director was well received by the participants. It was agreed that the communities will have internal discussions about certification with ecosystems services procedure and action will be initiated for early approval of the working schemes/plans, demarcation of the community forest areas, networking with prospective sponsors and mobilizing group entities. The centre of excellence for NRM&LI, government of Meghalaya coordinated the workshop. The workshop was followed by a visit to Nongblai Pynursla community forests in East Khasi Hills district and interaction with the community.