ECOCLUB, Issue 93
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reclamation, regenerating degraded areas, compensating adequately for diverted land and its treatment, and providing
technology to achieve best-use practices;
regulate water use for optimum productivity of land through catchments, regulate
watersheds and ground water
resources and improve methods of irrigation;
educate the public on supporting and promoting sustainability;
cultivate economic livelihood options such as medicinal/aromatic plants, fodder
production/pasture improvement,
economic use of weeds, production of raw material for other village-based industries, and value added processing;
create cross-sectoral coordination and linkages, especially between the various departments that actively feature in the
forest sector, e.g. forest, agriculture,
rural, animal husbandry, horticulture, irrigation and public health or the tourism
departments.
A key difficulty in valuing eco-services is in calculating the monetary value of what are typically intangible assets. Tangible
assets such as timber and some non-timber forest products may be as simple as asking the market price. On the other hand, eco-
services
such as ecotourism, carbon sequestration, temperature control, soil stability and clean
water are very difficult to
quantify. Research in this area is growing but remains largely in its infancy. Clearly the value of nature is inherently complex.
Environmental benefit indicators (EBIs) are quantitative and transparent measures of ecological and social conditions which are
derived from geospatial information and other public data sets. EBIs need to be explored and defined before values can be
assigned (Boyd and Banzhaf 2005). To generate cash, most landowners in H.P. resort to traditional land development—either
agriculture or horticulture—and have no economic incentive to preserve or enhance the natural functions of their land. If natural
assets were properly valued, so that the market compensates people for the public and private ecological services that their land
provides, there would be greater incentive for conservation of natural capital. Under an eco-services model, beneficiaries must
pay for services they
currently take for free, and when there is a conversion of an ecosystem service, there
should be
compensation to the state for lost benefits.
2. Developing Market–Based Incentives for Eco-services
Building a healthy partnership between the public and private sector is critical to developing eco-services programs which are
financially viable and sustainable in the
long-term. This would help reduce the pressure on primary forests, especially the
reserve and demarcated protected forests, which can be qualitatively improved to meet their eco-services role.
Despite their shortcomings, market–based approaches to sustainability can help achieve environmental goals. Governments can
use markets to help them effectively manage public goods such as environmental protection. However, market mechanisms
work best when the government apparatus works in partnership with the “invisible hand” of free market economists (Scherr,
Andy et al. 2002). The government must set limits on the use of an environmental good or service. Markets look to governments
for consistent policy regulations, a robust system to protect property rights, equity, involvement of
relevant stakeholders, trust
among market participants, easy access to market information, and understanding of possible market externalities (Bayon 2004).
Other factors that are necessary for markets to work equitably are fair competition and consideration of the effects of markets on
third parties, such as the poor (Bayon 2004). Free markets allow for ongoing price setting, are continuous and replicable, affect
large amounts of people and businesses and can move effectively, internalizing environmental costs into the economic system.
Well designed markets can complement governmental
regulation. The markets for eco-services are not yet mature, and are
characterized by
unsophisticated payment mechanisms, low levels of price discovery, high transaction
costs and thin trading
(Bass 2001).
3. Creating a diverse and participatory process
Decentralization and devolution of authority is in the air and everyone is talking of strengthening decision making at the village-
level. Many governments are decentralizing
control of forests and divesting themselves of forest assets. Responsibility for
forests is being placed in the hands of regional, municipal and local communities. At the local regional level there is space to
integrate cultural and religious interests. In Himachal, under the ecotourism venture, prioritization has been extended to a lot of
forests called Devta (deity) forest lands that are protected and conserved, as it is felt that the area is to be revered. This concept
can work as the religious ties are acutely strong in the
mountain area. The trend is towards local community forest resource
planning. Donor funded projects with local bottom-up planning and the current devolution to hand over decision making to rural
communities are empowering the marginalized communities, who have started recognizing their rights to steer their own course.
The trend for community ownership and management is on the rise. Though the government maintains its dominant position,
the benefits from community ownership and
management are visible—in fire control, removal of encroachment and illicit
felling
protection, patrolling, management or monitoring and ecotourism. The evolving
ownership pattern has provided the
community with both a challenge and an opportunity,
to work towards livelihood solutions and to manage their resources
productively through sustainable conservation.
The spark for developing a sustainable forest management approach and propagate eco-services like ecotourism in the Himachal
Pradesh Forest Department has come
primarily from adverse public reaction to inappropriate forest management policies
practiced in the past, leading to a fundamental shift in its approach. The question being
posed is that under these changing
conditions, would the Forest Department act
responsibly as a lead agency and coordinate the transition to eco-services &
