One Day Inception Workshop on Preparation of
STATE OF ENVIRONMENT REPORT 2015 FOR SIKKIM
DATE: JULY 24, 2015
VENUE: FOREST CONFERENCE HALL, DEORALI, GANGTOK, SIKKIM
State ENVIS Centre at Forests, Environment & Wildlife Management Department, Government of Sikkim, Gangtok in collaboration with Development Alternatives, New Delhi is organizing ‘One day Inception Workshop on Preparation of State Environment Report 2015 for Sikkim’ on 24th of July, 2015 at Forest Conference Hall, Deorali, Gangtok.
BACKGROUND NOTE:
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has sought to achieve the aim of conserving and protecting the environment by implementing various policies and programmes. It has been the continued endeavor of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to strengthen the policy and regulatory frameworks that govern the environment and forests of the country. Over the last one year, various measures both institutional as well as legislative, have been initiated or given a renewed impetus. MoEF&CC, Government of India initiated the SoE reporting process with all State Governments and Union Territories (UTs) through a plan scheme in the 12th Plan Period. The basic aim of the reporting process is to bring out an overview of the environmental scenario of the States/UTs for mainstreaming environment in policy and decision-making. It is anticipated that through the SoE reports, State Governments and UT administrations would be able to integrate environmental dimensions in their socio-economic planning for sustainable development.
With this objective in mind, Government of Sikkim has endeavored to prepare the State of Environment (SoE) Report. Sikkim, a biodiversity hotspot, is famed both within and outside the country for its exemplary measures to protect and preserve its rich flora and fauna. The state has been proactively involved in conserving and maintaining its natural resources. The state has been ranked second in Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) and first in natural resource management by Centre for Development Finance.
ENVIS, which represents The Forests, Environment and Wild Life Management Department of Sikkim, has given the task of preparation of SoE report of Sikkim to Development Alternatives (DA). DA is one of the National Host Institution (NHI) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and has facilitated a major scheme of the Ministry on SoE Reporting in the 10th and 11th Five Year Plan. As part of this process, DA prepared the SoE reports of UP, MP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Sikkim and Meghalaya. The facilitation included system design, capacity building on SoE framework and multi-stakeholders consultations.
DA would prepare the SoE report on the PSIR (P-Pressure, S-State, I-Impact, R-Response) framework. The methodology for preparation would depend on two parallel streams of activities coming together at critical junctures. While one stream focuses on the data based (scientific community) approach, the other stream adopts a perception based participatory approach often used by the civil society. Thus the preparation of report will be based on both analytical and participatory to ensure scientific rigor coupled with awareness and ownership building among stakeholders.
In view of the participatory approach for SoE preparation, a stakeholder’s workshop will be organized to introduce the initiative. As part of this workshop, the stakeholders will be sensitized with the ongoing SoE reporting process. Also, the prevailing environment issues, as perceived by the different stakeholders, will be identified and prioritized in a participative manner.
Objective of the workshop
The workshop has been designed to provide a common discussion platform for all stakeholders of Government of Sikkim including technical experts, government agencies and private sector agencies related to environment sector. The workshop seeks to achieve two objectives one of which is familiarizing the stakeholders with the likely content of the SoE report and methodology that is being proposed to develop the intended content. The second objective of this workshop is to identify and prioritize the environmental issues as perceived by stakeholders.
Venue of the workshop
The workshop is proposed to be organized at Forest Conference Hall, Deorali, Gangtok, Sikkim on 24th July 2015. The workshop is being organized by ENVIS Sikkim, with technical support from Development Alternatives.
Expected Outcomes
During the workshop, it is expected to hold moderated discussions and impromptu interactions with the stakeholders to achieve consensus on prominent environmental aspects pertaining to the state of Sikkim. The workshop will conclude with the finalization of the outline of the SoE report, as agreed with the participating stakeholders.
Main Themes of the Workshop
The workshop will follow an interactive mode in form of presentations and discussions. It will mainly focus on:
1. Sensitization of stakeholders towards the concept of SoE report.
2. Introduction of the conceptual framework of SoE report.
3. Identification of environmental issues and their prioritization
4. Identification of data-sets required for documentation and analysis of state of environment.
5. Agreement on the outline for SoE report, Sikkim
» Also See Tentative Agenda (Programme Schedule)