Forest Environment and Wildlife Management Department North Eastern Regional Committee has approved 45 proposals of NGOs and Government Schools of Sikkim. National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) campaign theme is “bio diversity conservation” for the year 2010-11. Since 1996 the department of Forest, Environment and Wildlife Management, Government of Sikkim has been providing such funds to the NGOS and Schools. In the beginning the fund allocated was only about Rs.5000/- but there has been an increase of about 20% in funding of regular participating NGOs.

Project officer (ENVIS center) said that there were proposals from about 57 NGOS and Schools in total but after scrutiny of the proposal only 45 were selected and the fund has been sanctioned. It was during the meeting held on 13-15th December 2010 at Guwahati, Assam that the officers form Environment Information System (ENVIS) Forest Environment and Wildlife Management had made the proposal to the tune of Rs.10.95 lakhs and the proposal was submitted to the regional committee comprising four officials form the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India and prominent NGOS of the NE Region. The campaign is conducted regularly on annual basis. Last year’s theme was “Climate change” and this year it is “Bio-dirversity conservation”. During the campaign the NGOs or schools sensitises and awareness is generated to the local communities about the state bio-diversity resources and further urges/requests them to implement necessary action and activities for the conservation of the same. The campaign begins form January till March but the funding is done on the beginning of the year in the month of January itself. The activities performed during the campaign are banner campaign, public rally based on environment, street acts, and schools organizes various competitions like paintings, debates and seminars and even provides trainings courses. The NGOS or schools also carry out cleaning of water bodies, plantations, conservation activities, wet land conservations, solid waste management activities and cleanliness drives, creation of bio-diversity registers of their areas or school complex and the environment auditing is also done. It has also been learnt that the NGOs taking part in this campaign has to have environment specific or wild life conservation, forest or even bio diversity in their memorandum and only those will be selected for the said campaign. Similarly those NGOs or Schools selected or participating in this campaign would be provided with financial grant-in-aid to the tune of Rs.10000-15000/- by the department.

(Courtesy: Sikkim Mail)

 

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