Mumbai: Maharashtra government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) to integrate ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) into the state’s policy and programmatic framework.
MoU Signed by Environment and Climate Department
On Tuesday, the state government’s department of environment and climate change signed an MoU with WOTR and its research arm, WOTR Centre for Resilient Studies (W-CReS), for the integration of EbA.
The collaboration is aimed at embedding ecosystem services in planning, involving communities in co-creating solutions, building capacities of farmers and strengthening institutions to tackle climate risks.
Three Decades of Climate-Resilient Rural Development Backing
Backed by WOTR’s three decades of work in climate-resilient rural development, the initiative is also featured in the ‘Maharashtra state action plan on climate change: pathways for 2030’.
According to WOTR, the state aims to strengthen resilience in farming, conserve biodiversity, and reduce disaster risks by embedding EbA into policies and programmes.
It added that Maharashtra is heavily dependent on agriculture, employing nearly half the workforce and contributing 11% of the state’s GDP. Yet, with vast drought-prone areas and increasingly erratic rainfall, water scarcity and crop losses pose growing threats.
Three Pillars of the MoU
The MoU focuses on three pillars including regenerating ecosystems and conserving biodiversity, communities managing natural resources in a sustainable, inclusive and equitable manner, and enhancing adaptive capacities of rural institutions and communities to generate resilient incomes and livelihoods.
Expert Insights on EbA Integration
Marcella D’Souza, director at W-CReS, said, “Ecosystem-based Adaptation must become the backbone of Maharashtra’s development journey. Only by undertaking adaptive and risk-mitigating action and weaving nature into policy and practice, can we build climate resilience and secure both incomes and biodiversity for the future.”
State Climate Cell Supports EbA
Abhijit Ghorpade, director of state climate action cell, said, “EbA should become the bedrock of public policy. Sustainability is the lens through which all our developmental projects, schemes and programmes should be viewed and analysed. By working with WOTR and W-CReS, we aim to embed resilience into every layer of Maharashtra’s development agenda and action. This collaboration will ensure that vulnerable communities are better prepared for droughts, floods, and other climate shocks.”
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WOTR’s Expertise and Impact
WOTR aims to bring its decades-long expertise in integrated watershed development, water management, climate-resilient agriculture and resilience building while W-CReS is said to provide research-backed insights to drive evidence-based action.
The organisation and its research arm claim to have collectively restored over 3.84 million hectares of degraded land and improved water security for 8.4 million people in drought-prone and rainfed districts across 10 states of India.
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