Conservation Mizoram issued a press relaese statement yesterday where they made a request to the state government to cease ongoing plans for oil palm cultivation in Mizoram as it could pose serious threat to the biodiversity to the state. The press realse statement acknowledged the rich biodiversity in the state and stated that it is the duty of today's generation to leave a clean and healthy environment for the future, and urged the poeple of Mizoram to stand together to oppose any threat that could damage the biodiversity of the state.
On 8 August, 2021 Prime Miniter Narendra Modi announced that the Central government has targeted the North East region to revive oil palm cultivation in the country. In response to this annoucement, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga tweeted in his official Twitter account thanking the Prime Minister for the initiative taken by the central government. Conversation Mizoram, in the press release statement, stated that they strongly oppose the idea of harming the state's rich biodiversity for cultivating crops with commercial value. Several studies have shown that oil palm production accounts for up to half of the deforestation in tropical regions and there has been strong opposition from the public in social media and daily newspapers regarding the plan to revive oil palm plantation in Mizoram.
