24 Jun, 2025
- Agenda
- Highlights
INTERACTION MEETING WITH COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS (CBO’S) and NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGO’S)
Organized by the Telangana State Biodiversity Board in collaboration with the
United Nations Development Programme
Date: 24.06.2025; Time: 3pm-5pm
Venue: 4th Floor, Aranya Bhavan, opp. RBI Bank, Saifabad, Khairtabad,
Hyderabad, Telangana 500004.
Agenda
03:00-03:05: Welcome remarks: Shri Kalicharan S. Khartade, IAS, Member Secretary, Telangana State Biodiversity Board
03:05-03:10: Self-Introduction by the Participants
03:10-03:15: Importance of CBOs/NGOs collaboration in biodiversity conservation by Dr. Ruchi Pant, Head-NRM & Biodiversity, UNDP
03:15-03:20: Implementation of Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) in the State of Telangana – Dr. J.Soundrapandi, Project Officer, UNDP
03:20-03:30: An over-view of Public Policies and Programmes in Agriculture for Protecting Biodiversity – Dr. Reena Singh, Senior Fellow, ICRIER
03:30-03:35: Special Address: Shri C. Achalender Reddy IFS (Retd.), Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority, MoEFCC, Govt.of India.
03:35-03:40: Interaction with the Participants by Dr. Ashok Gulati, Distinguished Professor, ICRIER
03:35-03:50: Tea break Presentations and Interaction Session
03:50-04:30: CBOs/NGOs Interventions: Presentations
Facilitator: TSBB Representative/UNDP/ICRIER
Objective: Each NGO presents their ongoing projects, interventions, and alignment with biodiversity goals.
Suggested Topics for NGOs:
o Current biodiversity conservation or sustainable agriculture initiatives.
o Community engagement and awareness programs.
o Challenges faced in implementation
o Potential collaboration opportunities with National and International Organizations
Order of Presentations:
Format: 8 minutes per NGO (5 minutes presentation + 3 minutes Q&A).
- Society for Environment Protection and Education Development (SEED),
- Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN),
- Deccan Development Society (DDS),
- Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA)
- Council for Green Revolution (CGR)
04:30-04:50: Open Discussion: Collaborative Strategies (20 minutes)
Facilitator: TSBB Representative/UNDP/ICRIER
Objective: Foster dialogue on synergies between CBO’s/NGOs for biodiversity conservation.
Key Discussion Points:
o Addressing gaps in policy implementation at the grassroots level.
o Role of NGOs in monitoring and reporting biodiversity changes.
o Potential areas for collaboration (e.g., awareness campaigns, training programs, biodiversity documentation).
o Resource sharing and capacity building.
04:50-04:55: Feedback and Next Steps: TSBB Representative/UNDP/ICRIER
04:55:05:00: Closing Remarks and Vote of Thanks by UNDP Representative
ICRIER participated in the interaction meeting with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) working on biodiversity conservation. The meeting was held on 24th June at the Telangana State Biodiversity Board (TSBB) in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The event explored the current biodiversity conservation initiatives, community engagement and the challenges faced while exploring gaps in policy implementation at the grassroots level. It also identified potential opportunities for collaboration between CBOs and NGOs for biodiversity conservation. The following was the key take away:
Shri Kalicharan S Khartade, IAS, Member Secretary, Telangana State Biodiversity Board (TSBB), provided an overview of TSBB activities.
Dr Ruchi Pant, Head-NRM & Biodiversity, UNDP stressed the importance of mainstreaming biodiversity and provided overview of Biodiversity Finance Initiatives (BIOFIN) initiatives.
Dr J Soundrapandi, Project Officer, UNDP presented the methodology and the key findings of BIOFIN for Telangana. He listed few schemes where efficiency can be improved particularly with respect to their impact on biodiversity.
Dr Reena Singh, Senior Fellow, ICRIER presented the key findings of the ICRIER-UNDP-BIOFIN Project “Public Policies and Programs in Agriculture for Protecting Biodiversity”.
Shri C Achalender Reddy IFS (Retd). Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority, MoEFCC, Govt of India delivered special address. In his remarks, he noted that while specific reduction targets have not yet been established, there is a general agreement that harmful incentives need to be repurposed.
Dr Ashok Gulati, Distinguished Professor, ICRIER emphasised that crop neutral incentives is the way forward. He elaborated on ICRIER’s study, which recommends offering farmers an incentive of ₹35,000 per hectare to shift away from paddy cultivation and promote crop diversification. He highlighted that the proposed incentives could be funded through savings generated from the central government’s fertilizer subsidies and the state-level subsidies for power and irrigation. So it is not an additional cost on governments.
Representatives of Society for Environment Protection and Education Development (SEED), Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN), Deccan Development Society (DDS), Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) and Council for Green Revolution (CGR) presented their biodiversity related actions on field.
