Decentralizing Biodiversity Finance: Community-Managed Conservation Funds in Nagaland, India

Mobilizing and sustaining biodiversity finance in locally accountable ways remains central to achieving the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Yet most financing mechanisms still operate through centralized channels, offering limited access to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) who manage large biodiversity-rich landscapes.

The Forest and Biodiversity Management Project (FBMP), initiated in 2021 in Nagaland, India, seeks to address this gap by introducing community-managed Conservation Funds (CFs) within Indigenous governance systems. Communities in Nagaland have long owned and managed forests under customary law, rights also protected under India’s Constitution. Today, over 400 Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) demonstrate this enduring governance and represent one of India’s most extensive networks of locally driven conservation initiatives. Through FBMP, the Nagaland State Biodiversity Board supports 64 CCAs covering over 40,000 hectares by investing in their conservation efforts and institutionalizing a financial mechanism that links local priorities with long-term accountability.

Each participating village receives a one-time endowment of EUR 10,000-12,000. Around 20% is retained as a fixed-deposit corpus, with the interest covering small operational expenses. The remaining 80% supports (i) direct conservation actions such as patrolling, restoration, and awareness, and (ii) a revolving fund for conservation-linked livelihoods, including eco-tourism. Withdrawals are based on approved annual plans and jointly authorized by the CCA Committee, Village Council, and Project Implementing Agency, ensuring shared responsibility and oversight.

Building on similar Eco-Corridor Fund experience from the Caucasus, the Nagaland CF embodies key principles in biodiversity finance: devolving control to local institutions, integrating governance with financial mechanisms, fostering diversification through community enterprises, and promoting performance-based transparency.

By empowering traditional village institutions with ownership and financial authority, the initiative bridges global biodiversity finance goals with the realities of community-based conservation. The experience in Nagaland demonstrates that when communities hold both ecological and financial stewardship, they are more likely to sustain conservation outcomes beyond project cycles, contributing to the global narrative that places Indigenous and local leadership at the heart of lasting biodiversity governance.