The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) have launched a five-year project titled Strengthening Institutional Capacities for Securing Biodiversity Conservation Commitments to strengthen grassroots biodiversity governance. The joint initiative with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) carries a grant of USD 4.88 million, about Rs 405.04 mn, for 2025–2030. The project aims to empower communities and institutions by greening Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) and supporting innovative financing.

The project focuses on two significant landscapes. In Tamil Nadu, the Sathyamangalam landscape at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats, encompassing Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, brings together forest fringe communities whose ecological knowledge will inform GPDPs. In Meghalaya, the Garo Hills, including the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Balpakram National Park and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary, provide a setting for community-led conservation integrated into Village Employment Councils (VECs), an equivalent of gram panchayats.

A central aim is to mainstream biodiversity into local developmental plans to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and to foster landscape-level multi-stakeholder platforms that unite forest departments, revenue authorities, elected representatives and civil society. These platforms are intended to produce community-owned biodiversity plans that reflect local priorities and stewardship. The governance approach emphasises a bottom-up managerial role for PRIs.

The project will promote innovative financing through Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) arrangements, corporate social responsibility, co-financing, and green micro enterprises to generate sustainable livelihoods linked to conservation. It will prioritise knowledge management and capacity building to capture innovations for replication through NBA and MoEFCC platforms and to advance economic and governance roles for women, Scheduled Castes and tribal communities. The initiative aligns with the Updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2024–2030, the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework 30x30 target and India’s Nationally Determined Contributions and supports Tamil Nadu Vision 2030 and Meghalaya Vision 2030.