Transcript Biorights_Chair_NEW

The Pro-poor Conservation Paradigm
Dr Dipayan Dey
South Asian Forum for Environment
: Backgrounder
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Nature degradation leads to poverty and
poverty leads to exploitation of natural
resources… A negative link
•
Addressing environmental issues and
poverty together, needs community
based
participatory
programme…
A
partnership on equity and reciprocity
: What’s New?
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An innovative financial mechanism to
compensate the opportunity cost of poor
communities
towards
environmental
conservation
through
payment
of
environmental services (PES).
: The Challenge…
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Transforming nature services
to
alternative economic opportunity and
translating economic benefits to
conservation responsibilities…
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Developing partnership between nontangible benefits and tangible returns
: The Criteria
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Target Area: Global Ecological Significance,
facing threat of degradation
Target Beneficiaries: Low average GDP and
per-capita.
Prerequisites': Available nature services,
Community dependent ecology, Loss of
nature resources
Tool: Conservation CBA, Micro-Finance
Compensation model
: Smart Evaluators
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Financial inclusion of communities towards
risk spreading and compensation of
opportunity cost.
No repay of loan or interest, but active
volunteering to generate man hours for
conservation.
Allocation of payment is based on success
of measures in attaining conservation
objectives.
: Operating Paradigm
India's First Biorights Project :
East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW)
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Transforming Nature Services
through
Ecotourism as a means of poverty alleviation
and sustainable environment development
through community partnership in East
Kolkata Wetlands.
: Project Objectives
• To identify economically beneficial natureservices in the area through cost benefit
analysis.
• To expand economic opportunity & capacity
building among local stakeholders
for
livelihood.
• To en suit sustainable conservation objectives
with poverty alleviation strategies through
revenue generation in eco-friendly process.
• To create awareness among local stakeholders
about restoration of East Kolkata Wetlands.
Environmental Impacts
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56% habitat restoration in project area
(Scaled in terms of Biodiversity Index,
Species IVI, Water body permanence index,
Limnological assessment and EIA).
Rehabilitation of 12 priced fish species
endemic to East Kolkata Wetlands.
Go-green activities: Plantation, community
sanitation, awareness campaigns.
Social Impacts
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450 families covered in micro-insurance
policy through Biorights component.
78% attitude change of stakeholders in
conservation of wetlands.
25 women self help groups credit linked
through financial inclusion programme
17% increase in per head income for the
community partners.
Implications
Implications
New Challanges
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Conservation Priorities
Suitable CBA tool
Alternative Livelihood: Non-competitive and
Un-competitive options
Micro-finance as a suitable financial
paradigm
Common-trade effect
Externalities
Thanks