Eco-development and Participatory Resource Management. Ruchi Badola Wildlife Institute of India

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1 Eco-development and Participatory Resource Management Ruchi Badola Wildlife Institute of India

2 South Asian Biodiversity Rich in biodiversity-the 'hot spots' the eastern Himalayas, the Western Ghats in India, southeastern Sri Lanka About 2/3rds of Asian wildlife habitats have already been destroyed losses most acute in the Indian sub-continent <40% of its 1.4 b people live on less than one dollar a day, making it home to nearly half of the world's poor. More than 130 m ha of arable farmland has been lost to salinization and water logging because of poor irrigation and drainage practices, mostly in China, India and Pakistan. Another 74 million hectares of land has been transformed into desert in semi-arid areas of South Asia. Poverty in South Asia is inextricably linked to environmental degradation

3 Consequences of natural ecosystem loss on human well-being MEA 2005 Approximately 60% (15 out of 24) of the ecosystem services evaluated during MEA were found to be degraded or used unsustainably The degradation of ecosystem services often causes significant harm to human well-being and represents a loss of a natural asset or wealth of a country

4 State of World s Conservation Trends in Drivers Source: MA, 2005

5 Role of PAs in ecosystem conservation PAs are cornerstones of ecosystem conservation and critical to achievement of 2010 biodiversity target and the MDG There are >120,000 PAs worldwide, covering over 14% of earth s land surface (IUCN 2010) and represent one of the most significant resource use allocations on the planet. Underlying goal is to maintain ability of ecosystems to perform services.

6 Underlying causes of degradation Information failure: Lack of awareness about the values of conserved wetlands Market failure: Failure of markets to reflect the full or true cost of services provided by conserved ecosystems Intervention failure: Absence of appropriate integrated resource management policies and inter-sectoral policy inconsistencies

7 Contribution of Protected Areas 33 of 105 cities of the world obtain drinking water directly from PAs, 1.1 billion people (1/6) depend on PAs for their livelihoods, PAs store 15% of terrestrial carbon. PA network covering 15% of land and 30% of sea would cost approximately US$45 b/year and deliver goods and services with a net annual value of US$4.5-$ 5.2 trillion.

8 India- The Resources Biodiversity The confluence of three major realms - the Indo-Malayan, Eurasian and Afrotropical 30% of the world s recorded flora 7.31% of the global fauna 26 recognized endemic centres for flowering plants

9 The Demands 16% of world population; 14% of world livestock on about 2% of world s land area. Demands for and extraction of forest biomass at least three times the permissible limits

10 Conservation in conflict with economic development Mining in biodiversity rich areas Highways and expressways Thermal power plants River valley projects Rapid infrastructure development Transmission and pipeline projects

11 Total No. of Protected Areas Upto Proposals Biodiversity conservation efforts In situ conservation efforts Over 5% of the country s area under Protected Area network Protected Areas in India Consist of c 101 National Parks and more than 515 Sanctuaries Correspond to category II and IV of IUCN Based on the conventional isolationist approach Recently new categories added Conservation and community reserves Existing PAs Cum. Growth

12 The fact is More than 50% PAs are less than 100 km 2 in size Only 24 PAs > 1000 km 2 in size Habitat degradation, corridors Long ranging mammals, ecologically Fast changing land use in PA surrounds All of India s PAs are virtual islands surrounded by villages and agricultural land, where people are desperately short of the basic resources of life, such as firewood, building materials and grazing areas for their livestock. Inevitably they invade the reserves. poaching of animals, timber and other forest produce is rife and cattle and goats are found in most reserves. Debroy and Jackson (1993)

13 Issues in PA management Establishment and maintenance of PAs difficult to justify in development PAs are low priority in macroeconomic and sectoral decisionmaking. Creation of PAs has also engendered conflicts over issues of conservation vs livelihoods PAs impose costs and benefits that may not be eqitable

14 Current approach to conservation Ecosystem based approach- seeks to organize human use of ecosystems to strike a balance between benefiting from natural resources available from an ecosystems while maintaining its ability to provide these at a sustainable level. Focuses on Maintaining ecosystem functions and integrity Recognizing that people are a part of the ecosystem Recognizing the need for knowledge based adaptive management Recognizing the need for multi sector collaboration Making ecosystem based management a mainstream development approach

15 Why community participation Local communities are a part of the ecosystem They are often threat to the integrity of the system due to their dependence Their traditional use and tenure systems canbe adapted for efficient resource management and conservation Have knowledge of ecosystem functions Contrary to the belief that CPRs in poor regions cannot be managed sustainably there is now a appreciation that Suitable institutional frameworks can be designed to secure beneficial outcomes to stakeholders Sustainable resource management can go hand in hand with poverty alleviation Effectiveness of the government as a resource manager is improved when it shares power with other stakeholders

16 Ecodevelopment Site specific package of measures, developed through people s participation, with the objective of promoting sustainable use of land & other resources, as well as on farm and off farm income generation activities which are not deleterious to PA values Panwar, 1992 A strategy to overcome unsustainable and incompatible resource use practices by dependent communities for their livelihoods in & around Pas through regulated (sustainable and compatible) use & alternatives, through participation of various stakeholders Eco-doc. Workshop, 1998

17 Ecodevelopment-past and present Past Past Sporadic and fragmented, rural development type activities Low profile based largely on inflexible annual plans Stress on alternatives Compensating local communities for lost access to PA resources

18 Present More organized Ecodevelopment-past and present Focus on micro planning Stress on processes in community participation and development and strengthening of local institutions Collaborations with stakeholders

19 Not being poor means that people.. can sustain the capabilities, assets, and activities required for a means of living, have the ability to cope with stresses and shocks, and can maintain and enhance those capabilities and assets without undermining the natural resource base TIP These are the characteristics of a Livelihood (Chambers & Conway, 1992)

20 Sustainable Livelihoods Framework Vulnerability Context Shocks Trends Seasons Social Physical Livelihood Capital Assets Human Natural Financial Policies & Institutions (Transforming Structures & Processes) Structures - Government - Private Sector Processes - Laws - Policies - Culture - Institutions Livelihood Outcomes + Sustainable use of NR base + Income + Well-being - Vulnerability + Food security Livelihood Strategies

21 To achieve this first of all the stakeholders need to speak in the same language OR Are we creating a tower of Babel? Come let us go down there and confuse their language, that they may not understand one another s speech so said the Lord upon visiting the tower of Babel created by the sons of men Genesis II Economics talks and Votes count!

22 Case studies

23 Scope Level of involvement and authority vested with stakeholders (SH) Informal/semiformal agreements More formal agreements Some shared decision making Multi SH P.A. mgnt. committees. Main decision making by other SH Full control by govt. agency Shared control by govt. agency & other SH Full control by other SH Actively consulting Seeking consensus Negotiating Sharing authority & responsibility Transferring authority

24 Periyar Tiger Reserve Converting threats into opportunities Changing stripes: Converting poachers to park conservationists Reducing dependency of tribal groups on Park resources Controlling unregulated pilgrimage Community based ecotourism programmes

25 Periyar Tiger Reserve Financial and institutional sustainability Park Welfare Fund Village revolving funds Periyar Foundation Voluntary contribution by public Setting up of the Periyar Foundation Social sustainability

26 Great Himalayan National Park Linking Livelihoods to Biodiversity Conservation Gender Issues and women empowerment Institution building

27 Great Himalayan National Park WSCGs established Ward-wise in the Panchayats Members of WSCGs elected as Ward-panch, and even Pradhan, Pnchayat Federation of WSCGs to interact with Panchayats Genuine participation in microplanning and decision making

28 Nagarjuna Sagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve Live or die conflict with P.A Focus on alternative employment, capacity enhancement Approach HABITAT ENRICHMENT PRACTICES PARTICIPATORY APPROACH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNITIES

29 Nagarjuna Sagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve Training to staff and local community Village ecodevelopment Alternate income generation Strong conservation awareness Women participation. Thrift and credit. Confederation of committees. Ownership of the project by the people

30 Lessons learnt

31 Factors Affecting Success» Policy support» Conservation development linkages Contd.

32 Factors Affecting Success» Defining partners in conservation

33 Factors Affecting Success» Forming effective partnership Contd...

34 Factors Affecting Success» Trust among the stakeholders Contd...

35 Factors Affecting Success» Co-ordination among stakeholders Contd...

36 Factors Affecting Success» Strong local institutions» Accountability and conflict management mechanisms» Conservation awareness» Research, monitoring and process documentation research (PDR) Contd...

37 Factors Affecting Success» Trained human resource

38 » Social capital Conclusion» Sustainability issues» Integration of such agreements into landscape or regional level planning» Strong commitment, ingenuity and perseverance is need of the hour

39 It s all about pushing out the area of these assets Human Capital Social Capital Natural Capital TIP Physical Capital Financial Capital But it s also about the Sustainability of those asset Securing entitlements of local people through strong institutions Is the key

40 Community in resource management COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS COMMUNITY ENTITLEMENTS Size Territoriality Social composition (socio-cultural, economic homogeneity) Resource dependence Shared norms/understandings Tenure/usufruct regime These characteristics along with historical factors and the institutions influence: Institutional arrangements for establishment and implementation of, Processes of decision-making and enforcement regarding - rules/norms on resource use and conservation - means for resolving conflict over resource use - representation, authority, accountability Or -Policies, tenure, property regimes, markets, social norms, community access to decision making These institutional strengths condition: RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OUTCOMES

41 Vision for the future Empowerment of local communities Sustainability Mutuality of conservation and development Conservation redefined Preservation to sustainable use Development revisited incorporation of conservation and social concerns in addition to economic ones Paradigm of Conservation and development rooted in interdisciplinary culture, participatory approaches and planning from below Development through conservation, Green economy

42 The fact is People live in PAs and will continue to live there because there are no real alternatives We can work with people to create situations in which they can live with the rules of PAs and work to strengthen the protection of these areas. Or we can work against people so that they turn against PAs In this situation we can invest more and more into its protection Maybe we will win. But it is more likely that we will lose. TTF, 2005

43 Thank You