Press Release: MoU Signed between GIZ, GEER Foundation and the Gujarat
Forest Department
July 21, 2015, Gujarat
From left: Dr. Bharat Pathak, Director- GEER Foundation, Dr. C. N. Pandey,
PCCF & HoFF -Gujarat Forest Department, Sh. P C Parmar, Principal
Secretary Forest and Environment, Government of Gujarat, Dr. Neeraj Khera,
Senior Advisor, Indo-German Biodiversity Programme, Sh Mangu Bhai Patel,
Minister Forest and Environment, Gujarat Government, Mr. Edgar
Endrukaitis, Director- Indo-German Biodiversity Programe, Sh. Bachu Bhai
Khapad, Minister of State Forest and Environment, Dr. S. C. Pant, PCCF &
Chief Wildlife Warden, Gujarat Forest Department, Sh. R. C. Mistry, CCF
Wildlife, Gujarat Forest Department
In the global context of India’s commitment towards achieving the
Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Target, the Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India has
entered into a Technical Cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for
the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB),
Government of Germany on the project, '"Conservation and Sustainable
Management of Existing and Potential Coastal and Marine Protected Areas”
(CMPA).
The CMPA Project is jointly implemented by the C&S Division of MoEFCC and
the *Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit* (GIZ) on
behalf of BMUB. It is executed in selected coastal states in India in close
collaboration with respective State Governments.
Gujarat is one of the four project partner States of the CMPA project. The
selected coastal sites in Gujarat, where the project will be implemented ,
are: Khijadiya Wildlife Sanctuary in Jamnagar, and Gosabara –Mokarsagar
wetland complex- and associated Madhavpur turtle conservation area in
Porbandar.
The project’s duration is until July 2017 and the project aims at improved
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in selected marine and
coastal areas in Gujarat through participatory management, capacity
development of individuals and institutions in forest, fisheries and media
sectors, as well as building community support for conservation through
education and outreach. Under the overall guidance of the Chielf Wildlife
Warden, Gujarat Forest Department, GEER Foundation is the main
implementation agency for the project activities at the State level, and
the offices of the Chief Conservator of Forests, Jamnagar and Junagarh will
be the key modal agencies for the project activities at the two sites.
To commence the project activities in the State of Gujarat, a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) was signed between the GIZ, GEER Foundation and the
Gujarat Forest Department on July 21st 2015, by Mr. Edgar Endrukaitis,
Director- Indo-German Biodiversity Programe, Dr. Bharat Pathak, Director-
GEER Foundation, and Dr. C. N. Pandey, PCCF & HoFF -Gujarat Forests
Department on behalf of the three partners, respectively, in the office of
the Honorable Minister Forest and Environment, Gujarat Government.
The MoU as signed in the presence of the Sh Mangu Bhai Patel, Minister
Forest and Environment, Gujarat Government, Sh. Bachu Bhai Khapad, Minister
of State Forest and Environment, Sh. P C Parmar, Principal Secretary Forest
and Environment, Government of Gujrat, Dr. S. C. Pant, PCCF & Chief
Wildlife Warden, Gujarat Forest Department, and Dr. Neeraj Khera, Senior
Advisor, Indo-German Biodiversity Programme.
Honourable Minister expressed his happiness on commencement of such
innovative initiative that will bring International expertise on coastal
and marine biodiversity conservation to Gujarat, and wished all the
partners a great success for the project and a continued partnership with
GIZ in future.
