Kohima: The Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP) has been honoured with the SKOCH Award for its outstanding contributions to improving forest ecosystems and fostering income generation.
The recognition highlights the project’s impactful role in sustainable forest management and community development within the state.
Ango Konyak, the Deputy Project Director of NFMP, and Wennyei Konyak, the Resident Commissioner of Nagaland House in New Delhi, received the prestigious award during a ceremony held at the 100th SKOCH Summit on Saturday, as reported by the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) Nagaland.
The NFMP is a long-term initiative running from 2017 to 2027, focused on rehabilitating jhum (shifting cultivation) areas while simultaneously enhancing livelihoods for the local population.
The project prioritises sustainable forest conservation through a holistic approach that involves village-specific interventions led by joint forest management committees.
These committees play a central role in ensuring that forest management practices are both environmentally sound and community-driven.
The project is ambitious in scope, aiming to cover 185 villages across 11 districts of Nagaland, impacting 22 forest ranges.
Over the course of its implementation, NFMP plans to manage a total of 79,096 hectares of forest land.
Additionally, as part of its livelihood component, the project is set to form 555 self-help groups (SHGs), empowering local communities to generate income while contributing to environmental conservation efforts.
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By focusing on sustainable practices, the NFMP not only seeks to restore the ecological balance but also aims to provide long-term economic benefits to the people of Nagaland.
Through its initiatives, the project addresses both environmental and socio-economic challenges, ensuring that the benefits of forest conservation and income generation are mutually reinforcing.
The SKOCH Award, one of the highest civilian honours for excellence in governance and sustainability, further underscores the NFMP’s success and its alignment with national and global goals of sustainable development.
This recognition also serves as a testament to the project’s potential to create lasting change, both in the protection of Nagaland’s rich forest resources and in the enhancement of the livelihoods of its communities.
