The Government of Meghalaya today hosted a conference titled “Scaling Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Himalayan Resilience” at Shillong. The conference was jointly organised by the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), bringing together policymakers, development practitioners, researchers, community leaders, private sector representatives, youth groups, and international development partners from across India and the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.
The conference aimed to strengthen regional dialogue on integrating Nature-based Solutions into development planning to enhance climate resilience, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable livelihoods in fragile mountain landscapes. Meghalaya provided a strong setting for this dialogue, having established an integrated institutional framework for natural resource and landscape management through MBDA.
Through various flagship programs, Meghalaya has operationalised NbS at scale via coordinated interventions such as afforestation and soil and water conservation, springshed revival, agroforestry systems, Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), sustainable livelihoods, participatory finance, and GIS-based natural resource management systems.
Delivering the opening remarks, Shri C.V.D. Diengdoh, IAS, Commissioner & Secretary, Government of Meghalaya, welcomed all participants and highlighted the importance of the conference as a platform for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and innovation in advancing Nature-based Solutions.
In his keynote address, Dr. Shakil P. Ahammed, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya, congratulated MBDA and ICIMOD for organising the conference in Meghalaya, a state where nature and community stewardship are deeply interlinked. Citing the iconic Living Root Bridges, he emphasised the collective responsibility to protect forests, noting that nearly 76% of Meghalaya’s geographical area is under forest cover, with about 90% managed by local communities. He also highlighted key state initiatives under MBDA, including PES, CLLMP, IVCS, and MLAMP.
The conference featured high-level policy dialogues and roundtable discussions with Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, ICIMOD, officials from ICIMOD and MBDA, Shri Angshuman Dey, IFS, Ministry of DoNER, Shri Supongnukshi Ao, IFS, and representatives from various organisations, agencies and other partner institutions, fostering rich exchanges on policy, finance, and institutional frameworks for scaling NbS.
Parallel technical sessions underscored Meghalaya’s commitment to investing nearly 15% of the state budget in Natural Resource Management, involving ten departments and agencies, and strengthening institutional capacity through community-led models such as Village Community Facilitators (VCF) and village-level natural resource committees for governance.
The conference reaffirmed Meghalaya’s leadership in community-driven, climate-resilient development and its commitment to scaling Nature-based Solutions for the Himalayan region.
