Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems in India's Northeastern Himalaya Region

Population growth, increased usage intensity and climate change impacts are increasingly threatening aquatic habitats and their ecosystem services in India’s northeastern Himalayan region. The project is helping to ensure the retention and sustainable use of this region’s unique ecosystems, which form the basis for the livelihoods of millions of people. Capacity-building in the affected Indian administrative and research institutions, as well as local user groups, aims to provide the resources and skills needed for the participative development of protective and sustainable usage models for aquatic natural resources in selected sections of rivers in 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 practice. In addition, the project is setting up an excellence cluster that will also remain active once the project completes.

Project data

Countries
India
IKI funding
4,700,000.00 €
Duration
01/2020 till 06/2025
Status
open
Implementing organisation
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Political Partner
  • Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) - India
Implementing Partner
  • Institute of Inland Fisheries Potsdam-Sacrow (Institut für Binnenfischerei e.V. Potsdam-Sacrow)
  • Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region - India
  • Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) - India
Online
Skip to Project data

State of implementation/results

  • After more than a decade, the so-called "Red List" of endangered species of freshwater fish is currently being updated with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and leading researchers in the region. The conservation measures for freshwater fish based on the revised Red List will be incorporated into the State Biodiversity Action Plans.
  • The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is currently conducting an intensive inventory of aquatic species (flora and fauna) in four states. New species have already been discovered.
  • The Institute of Inland Fisheries (IFB) Potsdam is cooperating with ZSI and leading research institutes on a methodology to analyse the vulnerability of individual fish species and on a method manual for the standardisation of sampling procedures.
  • For the first time in India, the climate risks of aquatic resources in the north-eastern Himalayan region are being recorded and assessed.
  • The indigenous and local knowledge of the village communities in the four pilot areas about aquatic resources was documented using the methods manual developed by the University of Kent (England). In Manipur, more than 200 students were involved in the documentation to ensure the transfer of knowledge across generations.
  • In Assam, the project is working on the development and implementation of the Integrated Wetland Management Plan (IWMP) for the Doloni wetland in the Bongaigaon district. This is of high ecological relevance due to its integration into a large wetland complex. At the request of the Indian Ministry of Environment, the project is also supporting the development of the IWMP for the politically sensitive Ramsar wetland Deepor Beel.
  • In Manipur, the project is implementing a pilot measure on a section of the Chakpi River in four villages in the Chandel district. The research partner is Manipur University, which is conducting research on small indigenous fish species and plans to set up a hatchery in the pilot project.
  • In Meghalaya, a sustainable aqua-tourism concept is being developed in cooperation with the fisheries authority and with the financial participation of the Khliehshnong village community in the Sorah district. The site is surrounded by eleven hectares of forest, which is traditionally protected. 1.5 hectares of the already degraded forest area was reforested with the help of local villagers.
  • In Nagaland, Kohima Science College is working with over 100 households in the village of Poilwa on the seven-kilometre stretch of the Tepuiki River. The income-generating measures of breeding carp and local snails in the rice fields cultivated by the families on a daily basis enable them to increase their income.

Latest Update:
01/2025

Further links

Project relations

Legend:

  • Current Project
  • Previous project
  • Follow-up project
  • Topic
  • Country selection

The link has been copied to the clipboard

Related news

Flamingos
02/02/2022

Worldwide protection for wetlands and peatlands

read more Worldwide protection for wetlands and peatlands

Related Publications