Shillong, Feb 1: The Meghalaya government hosted a conference titled ‘Scaling Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Himalayan Resilience’ in Shillong, jointly organised by the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on January 30-31.
The conference brought together policymakers, researchers, development practitioners, community leaders, private sector representatives, youth groups and international partners from across India and the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.
In his keynote address, Meghalaya Chief Secretary Shakil P Ahammed referred to the state’s famous living root bridges, emphasising collective responsibility in forest protection, noting that nearly 76 percent of the state’s geographical area is under forest cover, with around 90 percent managed by local communities.
The conference featured high-level policy dialogues and roundtable discussions with officials from MBDA and ICIMOD, the Union Ministry of DoNER and representatives from partner organisations, focusing on policy, finance and institutional frameworks for scaling NbS.
Technical sessions highlighted Meghalaya’s commitment to natural resource management through inter-departmental convergence and community-led governance models. On the second day, ICIMOD launched an e-course on Springshed Management to support capacity building on NbS and water governance.
During the conference, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between ICIMOD and MBDA to strengthen collaboration on research, capacity building and scaling NbS in Meghalaya and the Himalayan region.
