Message from Project Director

Welcome to the Community-based Sustainable Forest Management for Water Resources Conservation in Manipur Project (COSFOM)

It is with great pleasure and honour that I have taken over as Project Director of COSFOM and I am committed to lead this transformative initiative to its fullest potential.

The project “Community-based Sustainable Forest Management for Water Resources Conservation in Manipur” has made significant progress even during the recent difficult times thanks to our strong bond and excellent cooperation among all project functionaries at all levels. At the State level, the project will improve the water retention capacity of the watersheds and help in mitigating floods, while on both National and Global level, the project will help in the fight against climate change.

The project operates through a two-tiered management system, with the Project Management Unit overseeing state-level implementation and the District Project Management Unit and contracted NGOs are driving efforts at the district level. At the heart of our approach is a strong, bottom-up, participatory planning model that ensures active involvement of the local communities who are the primary beneficiaries of the Project.

The project is being implemented through community-based institutions called Water Resources Conservation Group with a special focus on women empowerment through Self Help Groups.

In a significant recent development, the project has partnered with ICIMOD, an inter-governmental organization based in Kathmandu, to focus on springshed rejuvenation. Following this capacity building cooperation we have trained para-hydrogeologists, who can guide communities on improved management of their village springs as lifeline for their future survival and to bring about sustainable water security.

To further strengthen these efforts, we are facilitating the creation of an Inter-Departmental Roundtable on Springshed Management for the State of Manipur. This platform will serve as a critical science-policy-practitioner interface, ensuring coordinated action across all sectors involved in springshed management throughout the state.

The success of this project will ultimately be defined by the extent to which local communities take ownership of the initiatives. When the people of Manipur truly embrace this project as their own, we will have achieved our goal of fostering long-term, sustainable development in the region.

We also acknowledge that the continuous support and goodwill of the Government are crucial to the project’s success, and we remain deeply grateful for their continued guidance. 

Through this website we sincerely solicit advise and feedback from all those who would like to collaborate and partner with us in all our endeavour.