Shillong: The Meghalaya government has launched two key initiatives to advance climate action and boost climate resilience in the state.
These projects aim to enhance water resilience, protect forests, restore degraded lands and promote ecosystem health across Meghalaya.
The Climate Adaptive Community-Based Water Harvesting Project is a Rs 516 crore project for the North Garo Hills funded by the Asian Development Bank. This project is under the Soil & Water Conservation Department.
The project aims to establish 50 weather stations for climate data gathering and monitoring and micro irrigation systems in all 12 districts of the state.
These facilities will incorporate climate-resilient designs to capture and manage heavy rainfall and flash floods during the monsoon.
The project will create 10 million cubic meters of water storage, protect 12,500 hectares of catchment areas and transform about 3297 hectares of command area to provide reliable irrigation areas for farmers.
The project aligns with the Meghalaya State Water Policy (MSWP) 2019, which seeks to achieve sustainable development, management and utilisation of the state’s water resources.
It aims to do this through a participatory approach, reducing vulnerability and promoting integrated water resources management.
The second project launched is the Rs 47.19 crore Meghalaya Adapt Pay under the Payment for Ecosystem Services program.
This North Garo Hills project aims to promote afforestation, protect existing forests and improve agricultural lands.
This program incentivises community participation in protecting forests, restoring degraded land and enhancing ecosystem health.
