Wahlakhaw COMMUNITY LED LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT PROJECT (1)

Village Profile on

Wahlakahw Village under Mairang C&RD Block

District: Eastern West Khasi Hills District

19^th March, 2022.

COMMUNITY LED LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT PROJECT

(CLLMP)

IMG-0179 (1) (1).PNG

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 mobilization; 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 will include preparation of community led natural resource management plans. The CLLMP has the following three components:

Strengthening Knowledge and Capacity of Communities for Natural Resources Management.
Community-Led Landscape Planning and Implementation.
Project Management and Governance.

Objective:

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 will also extend 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 will also invest 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 will be 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).

Sl. No.	Topics	Page No.
I.	Introduction & History	5-7
II.	Social Profile	8
	Population Card Holding Household Occupation Key Constraints Land Use Land Cover pattern	6-10
III.	CLLMP Activities	9
	Ground Truthing Sensitization on CLLMP Signing of EOI, VGA & Green Charter Formation of VNRMC Village Community Facilitators Purchase Committee Opening of Bank Account PRA Exercise Village Boundary Mapping & Resource Mapping Basic Survey on CNRMP template Focused Group Discussions Seasonal Calendar Submission of CNRMP by the VNRMC The Final CNRM Plan GIS Activities Project Implementation Fund Status	9-19

I. Introduction:

Wahlakhaw Village is in Mairang C& RD Block of Eastern West Khasi Hills District. It is 3km from the district headquarter, Mairang, and 55km from Nongstoin, West Khasi Hills District. The nearest town is Mairang. Wahlakahw village has a geographical are of Total 184.36ha with a population of 812 and 152 household.

Brief History:

Wahlakhaw Village is at Mairang, Eastern West Khasi Hills District. In the olden days, the villagers travelled on foot to Mairang or Langstiehriem to collect or buy their essential needs. They would often take rest on a hill which later became their resting place. As time passed, a house was constructed on the hill; it belonged to Smt. Nieh Ryntathiang. Sooner or later, the villagers lost their interest to take their usual rest on the hill. It was believed that there was a bayberry tree on the villagers’ favourite resting place on the hill. They would pluck fruits from the trees during its ripened season.

There was once a man who came from the market in Mairang with a bag full of rice. After a long and tiresome walk, he rested beside the big bayberry tree on the hill and hung his bag full of rice on one of the bayberry branches. He soon fell asleep. When he woke up, he rushed back home without his bag full of rice. When he reached home, he remembered the bag full of rice hung on one of bayberry branches. He went back to the hills where he rested during the day to check if his bad full of rice was still there. To his relief, the bag full of rice was still there right where he left it. He was overjoyed and happily name the place as Wahlakhaw which literally mean Wah-la-u-khaw or my hanging bag of rice. The name Wahlkhaw remains to this day as proudly pronounced by the villagers.

II. Village Profile:

$C:\Users\User\Downloads\1. Communities Inhabiting.png$

$C:\Users\User\Downloads\2. Occupation.png$

$C:\Users\Personal\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Word\1646669983093.jpg$

III. CLLMP ACTIVITIES:

1.Ground Truthing:

The DPMU-CLLMP team conducted the first visit to the village of Wahlakhaw on 20^th July, 2019. The team assessed the village on the same day. The DPMU-CLLMP met with Shri Melbester Warjri, Headman of Wahlakhaw village and other village representatives for field assessment. Shri. Melbester Warjri provided the team with important information regarding the current scenario of the landscape and the natural resource management under his headmanship in the village. There was availability of degraded land which were mostly fallow and barren. There were also some eroded areas. The village mostly depended on springs for drinking water and streams for other domestic purposes. The soil type in the village wass sandy loamy and reddish brown.

Case finding:

There are a total number of 152 household.
Actively performing VEC.
Forest on hills slopes is prone to forest fires. Loss of natural vegetation.
Lack of water resources.
The village have access to drinking water.
Few patches of degraded land have been left unused.
There is only one School in the Village i.e., Primary Schools.

2. Sensitization Programme:

The first sensitization programme of Wahlakhaw village was conducted on the 22^th July, 2019, by The District Project Manager and the Assistant Manager on the Community Led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP). The DPMU team gave a detailed presentation on CLLMP as well as the guidelines related to the Project. Villagers who participated in the programme, both men and women, voicied out their concerns and questions regarding the project making it a huge success.

2.1. Signing of EOI,VGA and Green Charter:

Wahlakhaw Village signed the Expression of Interest (EOI), the Village Grant Agreement (VGA) and the Green Charter after there was a uniform agreement by the enitre community that the Community-Led landscape Management Project (CLLMP) be implemented at Wahlakhaw Village.

2.2. Formation of the VNRMC:

The Formation of the Village Natural Resource Management Committee was done on the 22^th july, 2018, in a public meeting in the presence of the entire village and the CLLMP team. The community 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
Sl. No.	Name in Full	Gender M/F	Age (in Yrs)	Education	Designation	Occupation	Community	Contact No.
1.	Shri. Melbester Warjri	Male	52	B.A	President	Teacher	Khasi	7630082633
2.	Smt. Medarlin Rani	Female	47	II	Secretary	Labourer	Khasi	7308384675
3.	Shri. Dhoral Ryntathiang	Male	60	XII	Finance Secretary	Government Services	Khasi	N.A
4.	Smt. Kweris Rani	Female	42	I	Member	Farmer	Khasi	7642825061
5.	Shri. Bodiri Nongbri	Male	51	VIII	Member	Farmer	Khasi	N.A
6.	Shri. Jopsing Rani	Male	48	IX	Member	Business	Khasi	8837319084
7.	Shri. Stolen Rani	Male	70	N.A	Member	Farmer	Khasi	9774248661
8.	Smt. Aktris Sawkmie	Female	50	B.A	Member	Business	Khasi	N.A
9.	Smt. Meslding Rani	Female	47	M.A	Member	Business	Khasi	N.A

3. Opening of Bank Account:

$C:\Users\Personal\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Word\Wahlakhaw.jpg$ The opening of the bank account in Wahlakhaw village was done after the signing of the EOI (Expression of Interest), the VGA (Village Grant Agreement) and the signing of the Green Charter at the respective villages. A meeting was held for all the VNRMC members of Wahlakhaw to brief and assist them before opening the VRNMC bank account. The bank account was opened on 12^th September, 2019.

Fig: Bank Account Passbook

4. Participatory Rural Appraisal Exercise (PRA):

The PRA exercise aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of the community in the planning and management of development projects and programmes. The PRA exercise at Wahlakhaw village took place, where there were a total of 35 villagers, men and women included, who took part in this exercise.

The initial stage of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise at Wahlakhaw village commenced with a meeting cum orientation program on CLLMP. While conducting the meeting, the community members were made aware of the various PRA exercises to be conducted for the development of 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.

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, analysing, 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 in Wahlakhaw village:

The Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise in Wahlakhaw village was conducted with following objectives:

To identify the natural, human, and economic resources of 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.

4.1. Village Boundary Mapping and Resource Mapping.

The GIS in collaboration with the Village Community Facilitators mapped the village boundary of Wahlakhaw Village and to involve the local community in preparation of village resource map as perceived by the community members to solicit their participation. Infrastructure, services, and other village resources such as agricultural lands, wells, Forest, wastelands, cattle population etc. were mapped. Local people prepared the Resource Map by drawing it on a chart paper as well as on the ground without much interference of outsiders.

This activity achieved the following purposes:

Rapport building and won 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 institution.

Findings Based on the Resource Map of Markasa Village:

Main agriculture produce is
There are two types of Forest ownership i.e., Private Forest and Community Forest.
Presence of Community Hall.
Presence of Football playground.
10 springs Chamber.
One schools in Wahlakhaw Village i.e., Primary Schools.

4.2: Basic Survey for CNRMP Template:

During the PRA exercise, the External Experts of Social & Environment Management held group discussions with different groups to gather basic village information regarding number of 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.

Information related to land use category such as forest, cultivable land, water bodies, etc., and problems and challenges related to NRM were discussed.

4.3. Focussed Group Discussions:

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

Yes.

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

reduced, brought from other village

Are the water bodies facing any threats?

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

yes, during winter they facing water scarcity

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

yes, open

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

deforested land, unfertile land, forest fire. Yes, shifting cultivation

What have been the changes in agricultural practices?

since, urea was introduced there has been a decrease in productivity

Are there any challenges in farming?

lack of water availability, use of chemical fertilizers, pests

How would you consider the health situation in your village?

Good

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

improved, all houses have toilets and waste management has been improved

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

poor people

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

employment generation

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

Village dorbar

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

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

How do people resolve disagreements and conflicts?

Mutual Understanding

5. Submission of the CNRMP:

$F:\CLLMP\KM- Report\Village profile\1646131778847.jpg$

5.1 Final CNRMP Plan:

SL.No	Name of work	Site	Land ownership	Benefited	Priority (High/Medium/Low)
1	Spring Chamber	Lumiing	Community	20	High
2	Spring Chamber	Subeh	Community	2	High
3	Spring Chamber	Kusyiem	Private	18	High
4	Spring Chamber	Mawria	Community	5	High
5	Protection Wall New Plan	Lumiing	Community	1	High
6	Check Dam (New Plan)	Sem Riem	Community	1	High
7	Water ocnservartion pond( New Plan)	Maiban	Community	1	High

6.Project Implementation:

1.	Types of intervention	Sites name	GPS-Coordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work status
1.	Spring Chamber	Kusyiem	25.549856°	91.653124°	118,000.00	Completed

2.	Types of intervention	Sites name	GPS-Coordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work status
2.	Spring Chamber	Lumiing	25.548097	91.659996	118,000.00	Completed

3.	Types of intervention	Sites name	GPS-Coordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work status
3.	Spring Chamber	Lumsawbah	25.547681	91.662057	118,000.00	Completed

4.	Types of intervention	Sites name	GPS-Coordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work status
4.	Spring Chamber	Mawria	25.550738	91.656043	118,000.00	Completed

7.Fund Status:

Fund Released to VNRMC (Project Implementation)	Total amount Issued under CLLMP (Per Activity)	Total Amount Spent	End Date
₹21,55,000/-	Spring Chamber at kusyiem( 118,000.00)	75,000.00	18/09/2020
	Spring Chamber at Lumiing(118,000.00)	75,000.00	16/09/2020
	Spring Chamber at Lumsawbah(118,000.00)	75,000.00	21/09/2020
	Spring Chamber at Mawria( 118,000.00)	75,000.00	24/09/2020
TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT		300,000/-