Objective

The overall objective of the project is the protection, sustainable and climate-resilient management of aquatic resources with focus on wild fish and invertebrates (such as snails, crabs, frogs). The project aims to strengthen the knowledge and management capacities of state, research and local stakeholders for aquatic resources in the states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland.

Context

India is one of the mega biodiversity centres in the world and houses two of the world's thirty-four biodiversity hotspots, located in the North Eastern Region (NER), namely, the Indo Burma Biodiversity hotspot and the Himalayas. The region has abundant species of flora and fauna, in particular an extraordinary aquatic biodiversity. Aquatic resources serve as significant sources for food and income security for considerable parts of the local population in NER. Population growth, and climate change impacts, increased usage intensity resulting in pollution and unsustainable activities such as destructive fishing methods, sand mining, quarrying and logging are increasingly threatening aquatic habitats in India’s Northeastern Himalayan region. Conflicting interests and lack of integrated approaches among the various stakeholders further lead to unsustainable management practices.

Approach including the target group

The project is helping to ensure the protection and sustainable use of this region’s unique aquatic ecosystems, which form the basis for the livelihoods of millions of people. Capacity-building in the relevant Indian administrative and research institutions, as well as local user groups, aims to provide the resources and skills needed for the participatory development of protective and sustainable usage models for aquatic resources in selected sections of rivers in the four states. These usage models are then tested in the context of pilot projects. The establishment of local and international networks promotes knowledge sharing and the dissemination of good practices. In addition, the project is setting up an excellence cluster that will also remain active once the project completes.

The Project is implemented in close cooperation with the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), State Government Departments, scientific institutions, civil society organisations and local communities with their traditional administrative structures. Three main output areas define the implementation approach of the project:

• Improving the research capacities and knowledge management of universities and research institutions and drawing up of scientifically sound action plans.
• Developing prioritised protection and sustainable use concepts for freshwater fish resources and invertebrates in a participatory manner and implementing those as pilot projects.
• Facilitating State authorities towards improved management and planning capacities for sustainable, climate-resilient protection and management practices for wild fish and invertebrate stocks.

Highlight Activities

• In cooperation with the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), the Institute of Inland Fisheries (IFB) Potsdam, the respective research institutes in the four states and the local communities, an extensive inventory of the aquatic species is being conducted. For the first time in India, the climate risks of aquatic resources in the 4 implementation states of the Northeastern Himalayan region are being assessed.
• Based on an extensive training needs assessment of 46 institutes in the region, 4 training modules on the protection and management of aquatic resources are being developed. A ToT along with a supporting training toolkit is envisaged to facilitate trainers to optimally impart the developed modules online as well as offline.
• Together with more than 50 national and international participants from research, policy and civil society, a strategy and action plan for including traditional and local knowledge on aquatic resources inventorisation and monitoring was developed in November 2022.

The following cooperations and measures take place in the respective four states:

• In Assam, the project is working on the development and implementation of the Integrated Wetland Management Plan (IWMP) for the Doloni wetland in Bongaigaon district. Due to its integration into a wide wetland complex, the wetland is of high ecological relevance. The project is also supporting the development of the IWMP for the ecologically sensitive Ramsar wetland- Deepor Beel. The research partner in Assam, Gauhati University, is currently identifying hotspots of indigenous and endemic fish species in Assam along with its conservation measures.
• In Manipur, the Project is implementing the pilot measures on a section of the Chakpi River in Chandel district. The research partner in the state-Manipur University, which, in addition to research on small indigenous fish, is also co-ordinating the updation of the status of aquatic species according to the so-called "Red List" of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with leading researchers from the region.
• In Meghalaya, a sustainable aqua-tourism concept is being developed in cooperation with the Meghalaya Fisheries Department and active participation of the village institution in Khliehshnong in Sohra, East Khasi Hills District. The three-hectare water body is surrounded by eleven hectares of forest, which is traditionally protected as a sacred forest.

In Nagaland, Kohima Science College, Jotsoma is working towards conservation and sustainable management of endemic aquatic fish species such as snow trout and chocolate mahseer in Poilwa village in Peren District on a seven-kilometer section of the Tepuiki River. The families aim to increase their income through income-generating measures to breed carp and native snails in the rice fields cultivated daily by the families.