Incentives for a Sustained Flow of Forest Ecosystem Services

03 Jun, 2021

‘Strengthening alternative tools for managing Forest Ecosystem Services’

By: Satyan Chauhan, Technical Expert, GIZ | Aashima Negi, Junior Communication Expert, GIZ

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) is applied as an incentive-based mechanism (IBM) to translate values of ecosystems into incentives for local actors for aiding in its improved flow and management. These can involve cash or in-kind payment for service provider. The process is similar as buying any other product or service. The buyer is identified, the market conditions understood, and the service provider legally and institutionally recognized.

Widely integrating a variety of IBMs will act a means of motivating protection and restoration of other services. In India, the state of Himachal Pradesh leads the development of a policy for PES. This was formulated in 2013, a first for the country, and a step towards recognising and acknowledging the role of communities as custodians of forest ecosystem services and incentivising conservation and sustainable use of forest resources in the state. The Himachal Pradesh Forest Ecosystem Services (HP-FES) Project partnered with the Himachal Pradesh (HP) Forest Department (2016-2020) in a bid to contribute towards implementing the policy and its operationalisation. The project undertook development and refinement of PES models at two project sites in the state: Alha (District Chamba) and Bohal (District Kangra). While a new PES model for improving water availability, was proposed for Alha (Figure 1), aimed to benefit 5000 people directly, for Bohal an improvisation to the existing setup for the management of a water catchment was made. It suggested that the amount given to Bohal Village Forest Development Society (VFDS) be increased almost threefold and provided by the Municipal Corporation. The catchment of this spring shed was also treated to strengthen the sustainability of this initiative.

The project is an initiative towards developing a system of incentives, in the context of well-defined social benefits associated with biodiversity conservation. The right incentive mechanisms can encourage changes in land-use patterns that achieve biodiversity conservation at a lower cost. The multiple benefits from the PES mechanisms will contribute to reduction in soil erosion, generation of income opportunities from ecotourism and/or other by-products (e.g., medicinal plants), regulation of climate, improving water quality and reduction in risk of forest fire.

The conservation of intrinsic values associated with FES management will require the cooperation of private landowners, with participation enhanced through incentive mechanisms, contributing to providing a solution in improving water availability in the Western Himalayas, which is what the project is aiming at.

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Sources:

• Models for Ecosystem Services, IORA Ecological solutions, 2020
• Incentives for Biodiversity Conservation: An Ecological and Economic Assessment, 2006)
• Climate Resilient Practices: Typology and guiding material for climate risk screening, FAO (2021)