Forested watersheds in Manipur are rapidly degrading, resulting in high vulnerability of forest and aquatic ecosystems, as well as rural populations. The “Community-based Sustainable Forest Management for Water Resource Conservation in Manipur” project is one component under the Indo-German Programme “Climate Change Adaption in the Himalaya”. The overall objective of the program was to invest in sustainable community forestry models to improve natural resources, minimize climate-related risks and increase rural productivity and income for communities. KfW commissioned the consortium GFA/UNIQUE to implement the project, in close cooperation with the Community Forestry & Water Conservation Society Manipur. UNIQUE has established its expertise on these issues in the North East region through a similar project conducted in Tripura (IGDC 2007-2017).

• Development of a payment for environmental services system and a security management system.
• Capacity building of project implementation partners and target groups.
• Value chain analyses and reporting.
• Facilitating participatory micro-planning and community forest management.
• Development of an operational guideline for savings book approach.