Comm Secy Forest reviews implementation of ‘Secure Himalaya’ project in JK

SRINAGAR:  Commissioner Secretary Forest, Environment & Ecology, Saurabh Bhagat, Friday chaired a meeting with a team from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to review the implementation of ‘Secure Himalaya’ in the State.

Chief Wildlife Warden Ravi Kumar Kesar was also present in the meeting.

The meeting aimed to look into the details of various components of the ‘Secure Himalaya’ project commenced by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), GoI, in collaboration with the UNDP and consider incorporating those activity inputs which could be commissioned immediately, at the start of the programme in the State.

Programme Manager, Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management, UNDP, Dr Ruchi Pant, briefed the meeting about the details of the project.

Operational matters, including finalization of fund flow mechanism, the formation of state steering committee and designation of nodal officers for at landscape level for smooth implementation of project activities, were also discussed in the meeting.

The meeting also finalized the arrangements for the inception workshop for launching the project and introducing members of the project management unit.

Pertinently, the ‘Secure Himalaya’ project is aimed at supporting the Government of India and concerned State governments to effectively promote sustainable land and forest management in alpine pastures and forests in high range Indian Himalayan ecosystems. It is aimed at securing sustainable livelihoods and ensuring conservation of globally significant biodiversity and threatened species.

The project envisages expenditure of Rs 15 crores to be spent over a period of five years and adopting a landscape approach by involving various stakeholders. J&K Department of Wildlife Protection will be the nodal department for implementation of the project in the State. Convergence of various stakeholders including all government departments operating at the landscape level will be a key feature of the project.

The GEF-funded project would be implemented in the high altitude trans-Himalayan region including in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.