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Special Projects

Khasi Hills, India

Supporting Khasi communities to regenerate their forest

0 ha
under restoration
0
trees growing
0
species regenerating
0
families benefiting
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people trained

Location

East and North Khasi Hills, Meghalaya state

Project partners

Ka Synjuk Ki Hima Arliang Wah Umiam Mawphlang Welfare Society

Restoration approaches

Assisted Natural Regeneration; enrichment planting

Species

Include A. nepalensis, C. indica, E. populnea, M. esculenta, P. kesiya, P. nepalensis, S. khasiana

Participants

59 villages in 12 Hima (municipalities)

The Khasi Hills in the Indian ecoregion of Meghalaya are known as the wettest place on earth, as well as for their unique biodiversity.

The villagers are Khasi tribes who have asked WeForest to help them restore their forests. Training, alternative sources of fuel and new farming techniques are key if we want to stop further forest degradation.

WeForest is also distributing fuel-efficient cookers to further improve forest and family health.

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Why and how we're working here

The state of Meghalaya, northeast India, is a global biodiversity hotspot and one of the wettest places on earth. Mining, forest fires, fuelwood consumption and agriculture has degraded much of the cloud forest in Meghalaya’s Khasi Hills.
The Khasi people are traditionally a forest-dependent community, using the native cloud forest for shelter, firewood, medicine, food and spiritual traditions. However, the area and the communities are now at risk as the forest is being cleared by charcoal production, stone quarrying and animal grazing.
Used assisted natural regeneration and enrichment planting, we are restoring 3150 ha of degraded land in the east and north Khasi Hills alongside 59 Khasi villages. Communities play a key role managing the nurseries, carrying out maintenance  and protecting restored areas from grazing.
The project supports self-help groups and farmer’s clubs to develop forest-friendly livelihoods such as mushroom production and raising pigs. In this way, the project empowers Khasi communities to tackle poverty and unsustainable forest exploitation and to take ownership of restoring their landscapes.
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The project's impact on

people

The local communities play a key role in the restoration: they manage the tree nurseries, perform the required thinning, weeding, establish the natural fire lines, and delimit the no-go zones to protect the forest from animal grazing and human interference.

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Who's funding the Khasi Hills project?

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Stories from the field

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Progress reports