CMPA closing conference

22 Nov, 2017

The conference titled “India’s Coastal and Marine Environment: Contributions of the CMPA Project” was as an event to showcase the achievements of the CMPA Project.

Experiences and lessons learnt from implementing this project were to be used to formulate recommendations for the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, with respect to an improved conservation of the coastal and marine environment.

The conference was jointly organised by the MoEFCC and GIZ, the two organisations responsible for the implementation of the CMPA Project. The event took place on November 22nd, 2017, in the Le Meridien Hotel in New Delhi, India and was attended by close to 40 participants, representing MoEFCC, State Governments, international organisations, academia, and coastal communities which were involved in project activities.

The conference was opened by Dr. J.R. Bhatt, Adviser, MoEFCC and National Project Coordinator of the CMPA Project, and Dr. K Uebelhör, Director of the Indo-German Biodiversity Programme.

The conference’s program had three distinct components:

• Presentation of the CMPA project and its major achievements;
• Panel discussions with a reflection by project partners on implementation and achievements of the CMPA Project;
• Working groups on best practices, lessons learnt, and recommendations on how to integrate these experiences in future project design.

The MoEFCC expressed its appreciation for the concerted effort by the CMPA Project and the participants to provide recommendation for future actions. The Ministry is determined to make use of these recommendations to further improve the sustainable management of coastal and marine zones in India and the conservation of the precious biodiversity still present in many areas along the coast.