Nagaland is one of the smaller States located in the North-eastern part of India covering a total geographical areas of 16,579 sq. km. and constituting a meagre 0.50% of geographical area of the country. Forest cover in the State is 12,251.14 sq. km. (IFSR 2021), accounting for 73.90% of its total geographical area. The biodiversity of the State is not only valuable for their intrinsic value but also provides critical ecosystem services, such as food, water, soil, nutrient cycling, and primary production. Being an agrarian State, the communities are highly dependent on the forest and its resources. As such, there is an increasing pressure on forests due to anthropogenic activities, thus resulting in degradation of forest resources and its biodiversity.
To address the need for conserving, managing, and enhancing the ecosystem services, the co-linkages of forest, its dependent population and their livelihood must be prioritised. It is, therefore, crucial to have an integrated, State-specific approach to address the issues of degradation and deterioration of forest and its resources while also catering to the development requirements of the people of the State in a sustainable manner.
The ELEMENT Nagaland Project, broadly known as Enhancing Landscape and Ecosystem Management Project, is proposed to restore and strengthen the landscapes in Nagaland through landscape and ecosystem services management, thereby enhancing climate resilience and ensuring sustainable livelihood. The project adopts a “landscape approach”, taking both geographical and socio-economic approach to managing the forest and its resource. It is anticipated to have overall positive environmental and social impacts, including improved landscapes, forests and natural resource management, enhanced value chains and access to markets, and improved economic opportunities for the forest dependent communities. In addition, the project intends to manage the activities through the active participation of the communities and ensure social inclusion of the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.