Dimapur: A two-day state-level workshop of the Forest and Biodiversity in the Himalayas Management Project (FBMP), Nagaland, concluded in Kohima on Wednesday evening with a focus on community-led forest conservation and sustainable livelihoods.The workshop, held at the Cathedral compound under the theme ‘Community Conservation: Celebrating Success and Charting the Future’, brought together representatives from 64 project villages across the state.Addressing the valedictory session as the special guest, Y Khikheto Sema, principal secretary, forest, environment and climate change, praised the active participation of communities representing various districts of Nagaland in the workshop.Sema said such interactions helped highlight grassroots challenges, identify practical solutions, improve coordination among stakeholders and guide future conservation planning and policy development.Expressing concern over the declining forest cover in the state, he stressed the need for active community participation to safeguard forests and biodiversity for future generations.He also urged the village representatives to become ambassadors and advocate biodiversity conservation at the grassroots level. He asked them to carry forward the message of biodiversity conservation and share the knowledge gained at the workshop through community platforms.Sema highlighted Nagaland’s special constitutional safeguards and urged the participants to use them constructively for the state’s development.
