In a significant move towards ecological restoration and community-led conservation, the Senapati Forest Division has launched a pilot Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) to restore the Barak River watershed by combining scientific planning with community participation. The initiative focuses on ecological restoration while strengthening local livelihoods through grassroots involvement.
The PRA exercise was conducted at Saranamai village in Senapati district, which falls within the Barak river catchment area. The initiative involved intensive community engagement to map natural resources, land-use patterns, wealth distribution, and village timelines. Tools such as matrix ranking and SWOT analysis were also used to understand local priorities, vulnerabilities, and opportunities.
Officials said the data generated through the PRA will serve as critical baseline information for preparing a detailed action plan under the new CAMPA scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The Senapati Forest Division plans to scale up the exercise across all villages in the Barak watershed to ensure an inclusive and participatory approach to forest and river basin management.
