There is a lack of brightness in mobilizing private and public finance to pay for ecosystem services
There is a lack of brightness in mobilizing private and public finance to pay for ecosystem services
Incentives for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use include biodiversity-related taxes, fees, fees, tradable permits and payments for ecosystem services (PES). Through these economic means, governments can influence both public and private funding flows for biodiversity. Biodiversity finance has received government support and political will through pesticide levies, natural park entrance fees, hunting and fishing permit fees, and business-energy-saving certificates, but the mobilization of private and public finance for PES There is a lack of brightness. ,
The lack of academic research, government support, and politics may have puzzled environmental economists. Despite a solid theoretical foundation and the ability to limit investments to direct results, the debate has for two decades revolved around similar issues: monetization of environmental benefits, lack of redundancy (how much environmental service would have been provided without conditional payment) , and soon. In this article, I answer whether this is a missed or hidden opportunity for biodiversity financing in India.
enhance ecosystem services
PES is a way to conserve and enhance ecosystem services. It works through the establishment of performance contracts. Those who can help deliver the desired ecosystem service are rewarded based on the quantity and quality of their actions, or services. PES presents a unique scope to encourage local land managers to manage threatened ecosystems. It has the potential to achieve the twin goals of conservation and poverty alleviation towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. This positions PES as one of the important economic tools for conservation.
However, PES has attracted much attention in the Indian subcontinent, neither in research nor in policy mandates. This is in sharp contrast to the successful implementation of PES in Latin American and African countries. In the Western Cape, South Africa, the Cape Nature Stewardship Program protects biodiversity on private land. Kenya’s Wildlife Conservation Lease Program, Kitengela, maintains open areas for wildlife and grazing on an individual basis. In terms of fundraising, PES events such as Costa Rica’s Pago Por Servicios and Ecuador’s Socio Bosque were among the few to raise significant finance.
Why have such economic incentives for ecological restoration not received academic, research and policy priority? a research paper published in science It was argued by Ferraro and Kiss in 2002 that any successful PES program is one that overcomes the barriers to implementation. Such limitations include a sound institutional mechanism capable of simultaneous transfer of funds from buyers to suppliers, monitoring through investments in local capacity building, cost efficiency, scope for development benefits and sustainability of funds. maintains. A local monitoring mechanism is the key to successfully implementing a PES program. A study (Sardana 2019) conducted in Kodagu district of Karnataka to restore native trees growing under the understanding of coffee plantations showed a successfully designed local institutional mechanism for PES implementation. However, the PES mechanism has not yet been implemented or even tested for efficacy. The results of such studies provide support for potential research funding in restoration funding. Impact assessment studies evaluating the performance of financial instruments in achieving biodiversity are also important. The OECD (2019) Biodiversity: The Economic and Business Case for Finance and Action highlighted the importance of evaluating the performance of financial instruments in achieving biodiversity goals. According to recent OECD research, there have been few in-depth impact assessment studies for terrestrial biodiversity and less for ocean/marine biodiversity. The OECD advocates for comprehensive impact assessment and the creation of strategic criteria to determine which policies or initiatives require more scrutiny.
Additionally, a strong policy thrust, such as the TEEB India Initiative, highlighting the economic consequences of loss of biological diversity, would help prioritize ecosystem restoration financing through a direct approach. Global initiatives such as the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative to mobilize private sector finance to benefit people and the environment will help sustain funding. The cheapest way to get whatever you want is to pay for it directly. This will allow the country to influence the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the nation’s commitments to achieve the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Kavita Sardana is Faculty of Economics at TERI School of Advanced Studies