Meghalaya to set up Climate Museum to create culture for action on climate

SHILLONG:

The Government of Meghalaya has planned for a museum on climate change in order to sensitise people on the existential crisis, said Forest and Environment Minister James Sangma.

Sangma, while delivering a virtual keynote address on Tuesday at the TiE Sustainability Summit 2021 organised by TiE Hyderabad, said that the state is in the process of building a consensus to introduce climate change as a subject in the school curriculum.

"Most people in the US are worried about the climate crisis, but silent and inactive. Building on the popularity and trust held by museums, we bring people together to learn about solutions and join the fight for a brighter future, providing multiple pathways into civic engagement”, Sangma said.

The state is also exploring pineapple for vegan leather, Sangma informed. Vegan leather is a material that looks and feels just like leather, but is created from artificial or plant produce instead of animal skins.

Sangma said that Meghalaya is one of the major pineapple-producing states in India. "It contributes 8% of the total pineapple produced in India. Pineapple is also the most important fruit crop of the state. We are working on pineapple for vegan leather”, he said.

“Seventy-six per cent of our land is forested. It is one of the top five states for BioDiversity. We have a unique forest economy. We want to be a silicon valley for green-based products. Forests are the best carbon removal investments and reforestation strategies and improving forest management together have a large potential to remove CO2 from the atmosphere”, he said.

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