WORKSHOP ON INSTITUTIONS FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES 27-29 October 2014IFPRI, Washington DC

Institutional mechanisms to conserve ecosystem services in the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW): A case for the bio-rights approach

P. Amerasinghe (IWMI), D. Dey (SAFE), R. Gopichandran (DST), B. Kayal, V. Sadamate, S. Kumar and M. McCartney (IWMI)

CONTENT

• East Kolkata Wetlands – The Ramsar Site

• Payment for Ecosystem Services - Bio-rights (SAFE)

• Case studies• Institutional setup and

mechanisms

http://www.safeinch.org/South Asian Forum for Environment

EAST KOLKATA WETLANDS

Ramsar Site 12500 haMany ecosystem services – city and livelihoods (Over 120,000 direct dependents)Pressures of urbanizationConservation challenges

Legend

River

East Kolkata Wetland Area Boundary

KMC_Boundary

Water Bodies/ Wetlands

Built-Up/ Settlements

Agriculture/Open

Vegetation

EAST KOLKATA WETLANDS

City of Kolkata and its influence on the EKW

Phot

o: D

avid

Bra

zier

/IW

MI

Phot

o :T

om v

an C

aken

berg

he/I

WM

IPh

oto

: Dav

id B

razi

er/I

WM

IPh

oto:

Dav

id B

razi

er/I

WM

I

Land Cover Type Area (ha) % AreaWater Bodies / Wetlands 3107 25.68Built Up /Settlements 1166 9.64Agriculture/Open 3804 31.44Vegeation/Parks 4023 33.25

Total Area 12100 100

East Kolkata Wetlands

Legend

East Kolkata Wetland Area Boundary

Water Bodies/ Wetlands

Built-Up/ Settlements

Agriculture/Open

Vegetation

East Kolkata Wetlands - 2011

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

Central Government • Ministry of Environment and Forests• Ramsar secretariat - Ramsar Site – 2002 “ wise use of wetlands”State Government (West Bengal)• Department of Environment and Forestry – East Kolkata Wetlands

Conservation and Management Act 2006• EKW Management Authority CSOs • SAFEiNGOs and NGOs • Wetlands InternationalCooperatives • Beneficiary groups Others • Departments of Fisheries, Agriculture and Horticulture, Banks,

Insurance companies

BIO-RIGHTS SCHEMES

• Bio-rights is a financing mechanism developed to empower low-income groups to protect the ecosystem services that they depend on

• Developed by the Wetlands International, Alterra Green World Research (Wageningen University) and a number of partner organizations in the late 1990s (Eijk and Kumar, 2009)

• Bio-rights schemes provide micro-credits or micro- insurance (defined as a mechanism to protect poor people against risk – e.g. loss of livelihoods - in exchange for insurance premium payments tailored to their needs, income and level of risk) to local communities to engage in sustainable practices

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES - EKW

• Treatment of sewage water from the municipal areas: The wetland treats nearly 600 million liters of sewage arising from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area every day

• Fish and vegetable production: pisciculture in the ponds generate one-third of city’s daily fish requirement (about 11,000 metric tonnes per annum), 150 metric tonnes of vegetables per day from the horticulture areas within the wetland.

• Recreation – ecotourism• Biodiversity hotspots• Ecological integrity for the delta region

CASE STUDY 1Ecotourism and micro-insurance for the sewage farmers:

• Participatory vulnerability assessments • Formation of cooperatives • Establishment of two ecotourism hubs at

Natar bheri and Sukantanagar fisher cooperative.

• Over 1500 covered under the micro-insurance scheme INR 50,000 – 100,000

• Insurance premium paid from earnings of the ecotourism (20%)

• Salary of INR 2000 per household

CASE STUDY 1

• 32,000 fish farmers have been registered under the Companies Act of India with the Public Notary, as an Association of Partners - linked to a State Bank as Joint Liability Groups (JLG) or Self Help Groups (SHG)

• JLG is an informal group comprising of 4-10 individuals coming together for the purpose of availing bank loans on individual basis or through group mechanism against mutual guarantee. Generally, the members of a JLG would engage in a similar type of economic activities

• Micro-insurance scheme - TATA-AIG group, regulation by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) of India.

CASE STUDY 2

Solid waste management and bio-rights program: • 'Trash-2-Cash' program was launched specifically

targeting the women. • An estimated 78% of the 120,000 tribal communities

are below poverty line, and 43% percent are women who are either involved in sewage farming or engaged as rag pickers.

• Currently, around 350 women are linked to banks as Self-help groups (SHGs) and covered under the micro-insurance schemes from TATA-AIG groups.

• Salaries: INR 3000

CASE STUDY 3

Coastal farmlands and micro-credit schemes:• Sundarbans encompassing coastal farmlands (340 acres) and mangrove

forests with 7000 dependent tribal beneficiaries, of which, an estimated 88% are below poverty line

• Saline water intrusion, loss of livelihoods and gradual exploitation of water and mangrove forest resources for survival

• Promotion of alternative livelihood activities: Farmer’s Club accredited by the NABARD and linked to State Cooperative Banks. Funds from NABARD; Geen Foundation, Korea; APN Global Change Research, Japan (CAPaBLE program); MoEF

• Training – SAFE on cultivation of edible and commercially important algal flora (Enteromorpha intestinalis, Ulva, etc.) along with local saline resistant fish (Mystus gulio, M. vittatus etc.). Cultivation done by simple landscaping in the coastal areas (U-Lock and Fish-Bone models)

• Kisan Credit cards (soft loans)

RegisteredCooperatives

EAST KOLKATA WETLANDS

UnregisteredCooperatives

(Policy Directives)

(EKW Management)

State Fisheries Department(Resources, Support, Recognition)

Department of Environment and Forests (Policy Planning)

Conservation

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Financial support

Urban Development Authority(Capacity Building for Alternative

Livelihoods)

(Grants)

CSOs(Civil Society Organizations Community Empowerment)

Ramsar Secretariat(Policy Guidance)

Biorights

Livelihoods (major and alternative)

ESs

Rev

enu

e

GD

PInstitutional arrangements for bio-rights programs

SAFE ACTIVITIES RELATED BIO-RIGHTS

SOUTH ASIAN FORUM FOR ENVIRONMENT

CONCLUSION

• Bio-rights – an innovative financing mechanism that combines poverty alleviation and environmental conservation

• Diverse institutional arrangements for different contexts

• Multi-stakeholder group support – global, governments and civil society groups

• Low-income group formation – cooperatives • Incentives and training on conservation,

financing schemes • Preservation of wetland goods and services with

enhanced livelihood opportunities for the poor

THANK YOU

p.amerasinghe@cigar.org Dipayan Dey (Chair SAFE) deydr@yahoo.co.in