The Pro-poor Conservation Paradigm Dr Dipayan Dey South Asian Forum for Environment

1. The Pro-poor Conservation Paradigm Dr Dipayan Dey South Asian Forum for Environment

2. : Backgrounder • 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

3. : What’s New? • An innovative financial mechanism to compensate the opportunity cost of poor communities towards environmental conservation through payment of environmental services (PES).

4. : The Challenge… • Transforming nature services to alternative economic opportunity and translating economic benefits to conservation responsibilities… • Developing partnership between non-tangible benefits and tangible returns

5. : The Criteria • 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

6. : Smart Evaluators • 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.

7. : Operating Paradigm

8. India's First Biorights Project : East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) • Transforming Nature Services through Ecotourism as a means of poverty alleviation and sustainable environment development through community partnership in East Kolkata Wetlands.

9. : Project Objectives • To identify economically beneficial nature-services 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.

10. Environmental Impacts • 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.

11. Social Impacts • 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.

12. Implications

13. Implications

14. New Challanges • Conservation Priorities • Suitable CBA tool • Alternative Livelihood: Non-competitive and Un-competitive options • Micro-finance as a suitable financial paradigm • Common-trade effect • Externalities