About CLANS
CLANS is a community-led regional alliance working to protect and strengthen the landscapes, livelihoods, and governance systems of Northeast India.
Formally constituted in October 2025 at Dimapur, Nagaland, the alliance brings together civil society and non-governmental organisations from Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya, with inter-sector partners from across India and internationally.
Born from a Landstack initiative to centre Northeast India’s customary governance systems within global nature-based solutions, CLANS aligns with IUCN Motion 105 (World Conservation Congress 2025, Abu Dhabi), which recognised the critical importance of dedicated funding for community stewardship accessible to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.
Key Objectives
CLANS works to:
● Strengthen local institutions and governance systems
● Facilitate landscape-scale planning and action rooted in stewardship
● Bridge local stewardship practices with global climate and biodiversity agendas
● Channel direct, flexible investment to support community stewardship.
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Influence regional policy and practice around landscape financing and actions
● Promote community wellbeing, resilience, cultural continuity and peace
Key Functions of CLANS
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Build the capacity of members, village institutions, and ethnic collectives to enhance governance, coordination, and effective decision-making at the community level.
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Promote legal and ecological literacy by building awareness of frameworks such as constitutional provisions, Jhum Acts, the Forest Rights Act (FRA), community tenure systems, FPIC principles, and PES/carbon-related agreements or contracts.
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Support the transmission of knowledge and skills through mentorship to engage and empower the next generation of youth and customary leaders.
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Focus on landscape-level planning rooted in community priorities and informed by local cultural practices, ensuring that interventions are context-specific, inclusive, and aligned with traditional knowledge systems.
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Mobilise fund under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) approved Stewardship Fund framework from diverse funding sources, including philanthropy, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and climate finance, to support community-led stewardship initiatives.
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Ensure inclusive and efficient fund flow, prioritizing direct, untied access to communities while minimizing intermediaries to improve transparency and trust
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● Develop Community-led MRV (c-MRV) systems alongside ethnographic and ecological documentation, ensuring that data collection and monitoring are grounded in local knowledge and practices.
● Establish clear intellectual property rights and ownership frameworks, ensuring communities maintain authority over the use, sharing, and protection of their knowledge.
● Promote community stewardship narratives and Indigenous knowledge through diverse channels such as Information, Education and Communication (IEC), Behaviour Change Communication (BCC), and social media.
● Build multi-actor platforms that bring together policymakers, practitioners, communities, and global stakeholders to exchange ideas, and align efforts across policy and international forums.
Influence climate policy and climate finance frameworks, support effective implementation of community-empowering legislation and advocate for inclusive, community-led governance of commons.
Facilitate collaboration among communities, NGOs, government agencies, and global platforms, fostering shared learning and coordinated action for greater impact.
Facilitate dialogue and cooperation across ethnic groups, ensuring that all stewardship planning and landscape actions reduce conflict over shared natural resources and build local peace.
STRATEGIC VALUE OF CLANS
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Collective Learning Platform - Serves as a regional space for sharing experiences,
lessons, and practical knowledge on community stewardship across the Northeast,
enabling peer learning across communities and organisations
02
Regional Coordination Mechanism for the Northeast – Serves as a unifying platform
that aligns diverse stakeholders across the Northeast Region, enabling more coherent
planning, collaboration, and resource sharing.
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Bridge Between Community Systems and Global Finance – Connects grassroots
institutions and traditional governance systems with external funding streams,
translating local priorities into fundable opportunities.
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Platform for Inter-ethnic Collaboration and Peacebuilding – Creates a neutral and
inclusive space that fosters dialogue, trust-building, and cooperation among different
ethnic groups, contributing to long-term peace and stability.
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Vehicle for Scaling Stewardship Beyond Pilots – Supports the transition from
small-scale pilot initiatives to larger, sustained programs by enabling replication,
learning exchange, and access to broader financing mechanisms.