Community Led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP)

The Government of Meghalaya with financial help from the World Bank is implementing the Meghalaya Community Led Landscape Management Project (MCLLMP). The project will cover the entire state of Meghalaya and implementation of community led plans will be rolled out in phase manner throughout the state. The Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA) will facilitate community-led planning by providing support, technical inputs and funding.

The project is intended to strengthen community-led natural resources management in selected landscapes within the 11 districts of the state. This would be achieved through a variety of planning, capacity building, and on-the-ground interventions to promote the conservation, sustainable use of natural resources, social inclusion and community mobilisation; building traditional knowledge and learning, mapping of natural resources management; strengthening the community institutions and creating linkage with financial institutions and community organizations.

The project interventions include preparation of community led natural resource management plans. The CLLMP has the following three components:

• Strengthening Knowledge and Capacity of Communities for NaturalResources Management

• Community-Led Landscape Planning and Implementation

• Project Management and Governance

The project objective is “to manage and conserve the natural resources, especially forests, soil and water sources, in a manner that supports the financial and physical well-being of communities in the State”

SCOPE

• The CLLM-Programme focuses on increasing the capacities of communities and traditional institutions (TI) by adopting a landscape approach to manage their natural resources such as soil, springs and other water sources, forests and bio-diversity, etc.

• The project will be planned and implemented in about 400 villages across the state.

• CLLMP has a strong focus on institution-building at the village-level, by ensuring systematic capacity-building on technical and social skill-sets.

• The project also extends such training to communities beyond the targeted villages and support efforts made by them to access funding from various rural and natural resources initiatives and schemes.

The programme also invests in improving the process and outcome delivery, by developing and adhering to effective systems and procedures, supported by the appropriate technology.

Benefits:

• Benefits for community (Skills and Capacity relating to technical and managerial areas like NRM and Conflict resolution

• Benefits to traditional institutions (village councils, traditional leaders, community-based organizations, SHGs etc) through Knowledge sharing, promotion of innovative approach, access to technology, technical managerial and financial support.

• It is estimated that the project will impact around 1 lakh partners (of which 50% are women) who depend on land, forest, agro forestry.

• Through the project, 55000 Ha of targeted area will be ensured with availability of water, biological resources and soil productivity, which will in turn benefit around 400 villages and the outcomes delivery can be summarized as follows.

IMPLEMENTATION AGENCY:

The Project executed by the MBMA in collaboration with other partners particularly, SIRD (for training and capacity building), Department of Soil and Water Conservation, Water Resource Department, Forest Department, specifically with respect to technical inputs, safeguards management and Community NRM plan preparation

PROJECT PERIOD

• 2018-2023 (5 years)

Introduction

Mawker Village falls under Umsning C&RD block of Ri-Bhoi district in the state of Meghalaya. The village is at a distance of 120 Kms from Nongpoh, the district headquarters of Ri Bhoi District and is at a total distance of 106 Kms from the state capital, Shillong

Brief History

At the beginning the residents of Mawker village settled down in Pambhoi village and Lyngkut hill at the Um Syai Valley. But due to the large number of elephant herds in the area and the venturing of the elephants into the residential areas the villagers from these two areas relocated to the hills to avoid the elephants. It was in the year 1963 that a village was established and named Mawker by the Lyngdoh Raid (Priest) and the Elders. This name was taken on the basis that this was a hill surrounded by rocks which was the meaning of the village name and this name stands till date.

In 1962 there were only 16 households in the village, but as time passed people from other villages like Umthroh also came to settle down at Mawker. The first headman was (L) Ridon Lymphuid, and after 58 years since its foundation there have been 12 different headmen and the village now consists of 104 households and even has its own polling station.

Social Profile

Mawker village is located in Umsning Block of Ri-Bhoi District, in the state of Meghalaya. It came into existence in 1963. The distance from the District Headquarter to Mawker is 120 kms and the village is under the supervision of the Rangbah Shnong. The total number of households is 104 and has a population of 655 people. Agriculture and its allied activities are highly in vogue, where some few others are also enrolled in government and teaching jobs and some few inhabitants are engaged in local businesses.

The traditional form of governance prevails where the village head is the Rangbah shnong. There is a Village Employment Council (VEC) that oversees the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and other developmental works. Besides women representation in the VEC, the village women are members of a women only village based organization that provides them a platform for decision making on various issues pertaining to the village.

There are a number of streams and springs in and around the village. The main source of livelihood is agriculture. The Village not only produces cash crops but also various fruits, vegetables, tomatoes and Broom-Grass.

There are two primary schools inside the village, Mawker. The Primary Health Centre is 3 km away and the Community Health Centre is 71 km away; the nearest Bank is about 41 km away and the Post office is also 10 kms from the village.

Population

As per Census 2011, Mawker population is 655. Out of this, 371 are males while the females count is 284. This village has 50 children in the age group of 0-4 years. Among them 29 are boys and 21 are girls.

Age Group	Male	Female	Total
0-4	29	21	50
5-14	110	77	189
15-30	124	80	204
30-60	100	94	194
Above 60	8	12	20

BPL/APL Household:

Particulars	No. of HH
BPL HH	08
APL HH	88

Card Holding Household:

Particulars	No. of HH
Total HH	104
Ration Card HH	96
Health Card HH	24

Fuel Type:

Fuel Type	Total HH
Charcoal	0
Biomass	0
Wood	96
LPG	08
Electric Heater	0
Kerosene	0

OCCUPATION:The people of the village rely on agriculture and forest products for their livelihood. The main occupation of the villagers is farming followed by driver, teaching, Self-Employed, and some other Government Servants.

CLLMP ACTIVITIES

1. Ground Truthing Dated: 28^th of November 2018

The CLLMP team met with Mr.Kios Lamare, the headman of Mawker Village on the 28th of November 2018, who was able to provide the team with the required details for site verification.

Figure 1 : Ground-truthing at Mawker Village.

Case Findings & Selection parameters: -

1. There are 104 Households out of which 64 Households fall under the BPL category.

2. VEC actively performing.

3. The village receives drinking water only from the taps

4. Inefficient Management of water. There is no means to store the surplus tap water.

5. Availability of Community land of about 4 acre

5. Most of the paddy field have been left barren due to improper irrigation

6.Scope for drinking water source improvement

2. Sensitization Programme Dated: 02.01.2019

The District Project Manager and the Assistant Managers held a village Level sensitization Programme on the Community Led Landscape Management project on the 02nd of January 2019.The villagers actively participated in the program, voicing out their concerns and questions regarding the project making it a huge success.

The CLLMP officials gave a brief introduction on Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA) and explained about the various programmes and projects that MBMA is working on, they then gave a detailed introduction on the Community led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP) and the different aspects and procedures that the villagers and the CLLMP team should carry out during the course of the project and the importance of the involvement of the community for the CLLM-Project to be a success. They gave due importance to the environmental aspects of the project and enlightened them on the various benefits that the villagers could obtain from the project.

The Program was followed by an interactive session to answer the doubts and questions of the villagers some of which are mentioned below.

2.1 Signing of Documents:

After the interactive session, the village signed the EOI, VGA and Green charter followed by the selection of candidates for the Village Natural Resource Management Committee. The Village Executive Committee (VEC) and the entire community carried out the procedure and elected the members of the VNRMC on the same day.

2.2Formation of the VNRMC

The Formation of the Village Natural Resource Management Committee was done in a public meeting in the presence of the entire village and the CLLMP staffs. The community itself chose the President, the Secretary and the other executive members of the Committee.

Listed below are the members of the VNRMC:

Village Natural Resource Management Committee (9 member committee constituted from Village Council, SHG group, Women’s group, youth, VEC)
Sl N o	Name in Full	Designation	Gender M/F	Age (Yrs)	Education	Occupation	Community	Religion and Denomination	Contact No and email address
1	Kios Lamare	President	M	47	IX	Govt Servant	Khasi	Christian	6001402658
2	Lamphrang Pale	Secretary	M	40	V	Teacher	Khasi	Christian	8131943128
3	Mihsngithiang Phangcho	Bookeeper	F	28	XII	Student	Khasi	Christian	8132060220
4	Thiswel Pale	Member	M	56	IX	Farmer	Khasi	Christian	8974052827
5	Odiswel Pale	Member	M	59	IV	Teacher	Khasi	Christian	9678887045
6	Rowel Amsih	Member	M	45	V	Farmer	Khasi	Christian	NA
7	Streamlet Pale	Member	F	23	XII	House Wife	Khasi	Christian	6009903887
8	Trisbilan Pale	Member	F	63	IX	Farmer	Khasi	Christian	NA
9	Stil Khymdeit	Member	F	24	VI	Farmer	Khasi	Christian	7629911213

Village Community Facilitators
Sl.No.	Name	Gender	Age	Education	Contact Number	Role
1	Lumlang Phangcho	F	32	BA	8974912074	Social & Knowledge Management
2	Maikhel Trang	M	31	XII	9863078315	Environment & GIS
3	Steaming Dorphang	M	22	XII	9863171467	Project Management

Purchase Committee
Sl.No.	Name	Gender	Contact Number
1	Phiarlinda Muktieh	Female	6909545299
2	Merily Khymdeit	Female	9957606641
3	Phimroy Lamare	Male	6009953495
4	Roly Lymphuid	Male	8131943112
5	Saving Dorphang	Male	NA

3. Opening of Bank Account

The opening of the bank account was initiated after the village signed the EOI (Expression of Interest), the VGA (Village Grant Agreement) and the Green Charter. Mawker village opened their VNRMC account after this.

The CLLMP officials trained the Purchasing and Procurement Committee of Mawker village on the following topic:

Topics Covered:

1. Principles of Community Procurement

2. Benefits of Community Procurement

3. Important aspects undertaken by Community Procurement.

4. Procurement Process/Steps

5. Function of Purchase Committee

6. Important Procurement records to be maintained

7. Financial limits and methods

4. Participatory Rural Appraisal Exercise Dated: 14.03.2019

PRA exercise at Mawker Village took place on the 14^th of March 2019. There were a total of 41 villagers taking part in this exercise who contributed their time and knowledge to this project. 

The initial stage of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise at Mawker Village, commenced with a meeting cum orientation program on CLLMP. While conducting the meeting, the community members weremade aware of the various PRA exercises to be conducted for the development of the Community Natural Resource Management Plan (CNRMP) of the village, the community members’ contribution in the exercise and the objectives to be achieved. The key informants (the VNRMC and the VCFs) helped facilitate maximum participation. The dates and time for conducting the various Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercises were fixed in consultation with the community members and all were requested to participate in the exercise. The schedule and time was announced at the end of the meeting.

Commencement of PRA.

Introduction: Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is the process of involving local people in the analysis and interpretation of their own situation of a given rural area. The local people i.e. the participants take a leadership role in collecting, analyzing, interpreting and presenting information and in this process impart knowledge and development insight to the specialists and extension agents

For management of natural resources, participatory Rural Appraisal is conducted to establish rapport with the village community as well as to identify and define problems for prioritization in the village itself. It is a way of learning from and with community members to investigate their need assessment, analyze and evaluate constraints and opportunities and find out priorities in the area of agriculture, small scale rural enterprises and any other social and economic development programs addressed to village development. Based on the principle of listening and learning,

Objectives of PRA exercise at Mawker Village:

The Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise at Mawker was conducted with following objectives:

• To identify the natural, human and economic resources of a village.

• To identify the village problems and prioritize them with the help of the community members.

• To prepare the Community natural Resource Management Plan of the village.

Activity 1: Village Boundary Mapping and drawing the Resource map

The second step is to involve the local community in preparation of a village resource map as perceived by the community members to solicit their participation. Infrastructure, services and other village resources such as agricultural lands, wells, wastelands, cattle population etc. were mapped. Local people prepared the Resource Map by drawing it on a chart paper without much interference from outsiders.

This activity achieved the following purposes:

• Rapport building and winning the confidence of the villagers.

• Analyzed the spatial information, particularly studied problems and opportunities of villagers.

• Got an impression about the village setting, physical layout, location of various houses and institutions.

Findings Based on the Resource Map of Mawker Village:

1. Main agriculture produce is Arecanut

2. There are 2 types of Forest ownership: Community and private owned forest

1. 1 community forest

2. 1 private forest

3. Five (5) springs are present in the village with three already developed

4. Three (3) Streams are present

5. Present of paddy field

6. Presence of Barren land

7. Six (6) fish ponds are present

8. Two water pumps (tube well).

9. One (1) playground is present

10. One (1) church is present

11. One (1) ICDS buildings

12. School: there are only two primary schools in the village.

13. Connectivity: PDW road

14. Habitation is confined mostly to the west part of the village

Activity 2: Baseline Data Survey to fill the Environment and Social Template

(Dated: 11th December 2020)

During the PRA exercise, the CLLMP officials and the community members were divided into groups to fill the Social and Environmental Templates. Discussions and consultations with social groups existing in the village were held to gather basic village information regarding households, demographic information, major crops and enterprises taken in the village, trends of production and productivity of major crops in the village and demographic distribution of village population.

Activity 5: PROBLEM ANALYSIS

1. Do people have sufficient access to supply of fodder, fuel wood, leaf litter?

• There is sufficient access to supply of fodder, fuel wood and leaf litter and they don’t have to buy from outside.

2. Has access to timber improved or reduced over the years? How is access for household use and commercial use managed?

• Access to Timber has reduced over the years due to the restriction over the use of the Community Forest.

3. Are the water bodies facing any threats?

• Yes, one Stream (Wah Umbam) and one River (Wah Umsyai) are facing threats due to solid and domestic Waste.

4. Do all people in the village have access to drinking water? What are the challenges?

• Yes, all households in the village are provided with drinking water. Community wells and tap water are also available in the village for the supply of drinking water to the people.

• The only challenges that they are facing is the distance of fetching water for drinking.

5. Are there degraded areas in the village (open/ degraded forests, mining affected, high soil erosion etc.)?

• Minor degradation in cultivated land.

6. What has caused this degradation? Are there practices causing threats to availability and access to natural resources?

• Practice of jhum cultivation

7. What have been the changes in agricultural practices?

• With the availability of agricultural machines the work is being done easier and faster.

• The people have started to cultivate more vegetables which helps them to increase their level of income as compared before

8. Are there any challenges in farming?

• Decline in soil fertility over the years. Moreover the use of chemical Fertilizers has further damaged the soil and overuse of the same soil for farming has affected the soil.

• Before they cultivated only maize but recently they have also started cultivation of broom, betel Nut, betel leaf etc.

9. How would you consider the health situation in your village?

• Before malaria was the most prevalent disease in the community because of lack of medical treatment.

• In case of serious illness the villagers have to travel a distance of 3km to PHC Umtrai and 71km to CHC Umsning for treatment.

10. How is the situation of cleanliness, sanitation, access to toilets and waste management?

• Cleanliness is the top most priority of the village and it is the duty of every member in the village to maintain cleanliness in the village. Twice a year there is a cleaning drive programme in the village organised by the Headman of the village and everyone takes active participation in the programme.

• Every household has access to toilets but only few have access to waste management.

• Some localities organised cleaning drives within their area.

11. Who are the most vulnerable in the village? What can be done to improve their lives?

• BPL and widows are considered to be the most vulnerable in the village.

• Only Government schemes can be provided to them by the community.

12. What are the livelihood aspirations of the youth? Are there any avenues available?

• The majority of the population turn to farming, daily wage and Job-Card under MGNREGA for employment.

13. Do any committees/ institutions/ rules exist to manage and monitor natural resources in the village?

• Apart from VNRMC there is no committee that looks after the natural resources in the village.

14. What are some of the major issues of conflict in the village?

• The major issue or conflict in the village is alcohol abuse which caused a disturbance in the village.

15. Have any of the above issues been discussed in village meetings?

• In case of any conflict in the village the Village Dorbar discussed the issues and addressed these problems with better solutions.

16. How do people resolve disagreements and conflicts?

• All disagreements and conflicts are addressed by the traditional institution of village governance called the Village Dorbar.

Activity 6: Seasonality Calendar

The CLLMP team also mapped the seasonal calendar of Mawker Village to help identify heavy workload periods, periods of relative ease, credit crunch, diseases, food security, wage availability etc. This will prove helpful in project planning and project timeline framing.

Participants:

• Shri. Kios Lamare - VNRMC Member

• Shri. Lamphrang Pale - VNRMC Member

• Smt.Mihsngithiang Phangcho - VNRMC Member

• Smt.Lumlang Phangcho - Village Community Facilitator

SEASONAL CALENDAR
Sl No.	CRITERIA	JAN	FEB	MAR	APRL	MAY	JUNE	JULY	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
1	Water Scarcity			1	2
2	Prone to sickness		2	2	3					1	1
3	Seeking job outside								1
4	Rain Fall						1	1	2	3
5	Free – Less work	2											1
6	Paddy Cultivation						1	2
7	Paddy harvesting											1
8	Ginger cultivation					1	2
9	Ginger harvesting	2	1	3
10	Tree Plantation						1	2	3
11	Vegetable (crop cultivation)					1	2
12	Vegetable (crop harvesting)											1	2
13	Festive Season	1	2	3
14	Forest fire			1	2
15	Collection of Fuel wood	1	2										3

MAXIMUM	1
MODERATE	2
LESS	3

5. Submission of the CNRMP Dated: 1.02.2019

5.1 The Final Community Natural Resource Management Plan

Sl No	Name of Proposed Interventions	Site	Land ownership	Nos of HHs expected to Benefit			Priority (High/ Medium/ Low)
				BPL	APL	TOTAL
1	Nursery	UmBhoi	Private	96	8	104	High
2	Contour trenches site 1	WahDingksir	Private	22	8	30	High
3	Contour trenches site 2	Umdwarblei	Private	42	8	50	High
4	Spring Chamber	WahDingksir	Private	22	8	30	High
5	Afforestation	KhlawShnong	Community	96	8	104	High
6	Forest Fire Control Line	KhlawBalang (Boundary Shnong)	Community	96	8	104	High
7	Vermicomposting (10 units)	1. Lumpdeng 2. Them Umsyai	Private Private	96 96	8 8	104 104	High
8	Afforestation and Fencing	- Unknown area
9	Contour Bunds	- Unknown area
10	Jalkunds	- Unknown area
11	Horticulture	- Unknown area
12	Agroforestry	- Unknown area

6. GIS Activities

Sl. No.	Parameters	Village Information
1	GPS Coordinates:
i	Latitude	26.013651N
ii	Longitude	92.143242E
iii	Elevation Reading (MSL)	423M
2	Village Geographical Area (Ha)	Total:654.02Ha 6.54sq.Km
i	Total Forest Area (including community, Clan, Pvt Forest)	159.21Ha
ii	Total Area of Water Bodies	0.56Ha
iii	Total Area under Agri-Horticulture	441.02 Ha
iv	Total Degraded land area (Ha)	353.65 Ha
3	Average Annual Rainfall	1000-1500mm
4	Soil Type	Loamy Soil

7. Project Implementation

1.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Nursery	Umbhoi	26° 1'30.44"N	92° 9'27.63"E	₹ 1,19,300.00	Completed

2.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Contour Trenches	Umpaid wah (Site A& B)	26° 0094 "N	92.1444 "E	₹ 11,584.00	Completed
			26.01 "N	92.1441 "E	₹ 11,584.00	Completed

3.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Spring Chamber 1 Spring Chamber 2	Wah ding ksir Umsohshylwit	26.01822, 92.1593 26.02359, 92.161192	₹ 65,930.00 ₹ 75,900.00	Completed

4.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Vermicompost	Pdeng shnong	26.020602, 92.156222	₹ 3,36,500.00	Completed

5.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Afforestation	Khlaw Balang & Shnong	26.01732	92.154217	₹ 3,76,480.00	Completed

6.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Agroforestry	KhlawShnong	26.018035, 92.155005	₹ 1,13,122	Completed

7.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Headwork	Wahdingksir	26.02359, 92.161192	1,82,000	Completed

8.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Horticulture	Umsohshylwit	26.0123717, 92.160822	1,82,000	Completed

9.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Side Drain 1&2	Wahdingksir Umdwar blei	26.017487, 92.158533 26.01836, 92.15318	3,79,000 3,50,000	Completed

10.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Waste Management Bin	Mawker Center	26.019302, 92.156248	72,000	Completed

11.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Upgardation of Nursery	Them umsyai	26.02222, 92.159092	1,50,000	Completed

12.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Fire line Control	Khlaw Balang & Khlaw Shnong	26.018853, 92.152332	73,000	Completed

13.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates	Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
	Bench Terracing	Umsohshylwit	26.0235712, 92.16153	1,56,000	Completed

Intervention	Site Name	Amount	Work Status
FMP Activities 1.Fire Control Line 2. .Assisted natural regeneration in open forests (Contour Bund Cum Afforestation) 3.Community Forest Boundary Survey 4.Enrichment Planting in forests blanks 5.Nursery for Food Forestry (Sapling for the Existing Nursery 6. In situ & Ex situ conservation of rare and endangered species	Community Land	39803 63684 5000 19187 11000 5000	Completed

Intervention	Site Name	Amount	Work Status
Excess fund activities Spring Chamber 3 Water Tester Solar light	community land	89,000 54,000 10,000 25,000	Completed

TESTIMONIALS

President- Kios Lamare

As a president of the VNRMC I would like to say that CLLMP has brought in a huge transformation not just on our forest cover or water related implementations but also on the daily lives of the villagers. And as the head, I would only like to request the authorities to continue to carry forward the good deeds that were done in the past, with a belief that such works will be carried on in the years to come as well, especially in those areas that revolve around the natural environment.

Secretary - Lamphrang Pale

The project has been beneficial to us as a village in all rounds. As a village that is located in a rural area, our daily activities and livelihoods mostly revolve around the environment, and I’m grateful that the project answered the needs of the villagers and worked on various fields that are closely associated with our environment, thereby contributing and enhancing our livelihoods. We are proud that our engagement with the project draws us closer to nature and gets us to work on various activities that not only responds to the need of the hour but also to solve various problems that revolve around mankind’s dependence on the environment.

VCF-EM : Micheal Trang

The urge and desire within me to bring back the lost beauty of our environment and also our village made me join the project as a VCF. Ever since CLLMP was implemented in our village, there were showers of blessings in the form of changes that ranges from water supply, the lush green cover of our forest and surrounding areas, not forgetting the livelihood of the villagers that was really adhered to and provided immensely through engagement in various implementations not just to men but women as well.

VCF- M&E: Steming Dorphang

I took this part as a VCF as I wanted to work with this project knowing that it deals with re-shaping and bringing back the lost treasure of our nature. Working in a project like this requires a lot of training at various intervals as we don’t have much knowledge about the overall aspects of how to work in harmony with nature, and throughout its journey, the project has provided various in-depth training on various topics which made our work easier. The project has contributed immensely to the overall well being and development of the village.

VCF SM-KM :- Lumlang Pangcho

First of all, I'm grateful that I get to express what I have in my mind with regards to the various benefits that the project has.

As the VCF of social management my work revolves around the social responsibilities and educating the people about the overall purpose of the project. Throughout its period, the project has been able to answer to the needs of the village. The impact that it has is something that will not only benefit the present generations but also the future generations. I hope that with all the knowledge and teachings I have gained through the project I will get to contribute to the overall good and growth of the community in the years to come.