WORKSHOP ON INSTITUTIONS FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES October 2014 IFPRI, 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 South Asian Forum for Environment

EAST KOLKATA WETLANDS Ramsar Site ha Many ecosystem services – city and livelihoods (Over 120,000 direct dependents) Pressures of urbanization Conservation challenges

EAST KOLKATA WETLANDS City of Kolkata and its influence on the EKW

Photo: David Brazier/IWMI Photo :Tom van Cakenberghe/IWMI Photo : David Brazier/IWMI Land Cover TypeArea (ha)% Area Water Bodies / Wetlands Built Up /Settlements Agriculture/Open Vegeation/Parks Total Area East Kolkata Wetlands East Kolkata Wetlands

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 SAFE iNGOs and NGOs Wetlands International Cooperatives 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 1 Ecotourism 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)

Registered Cooperatives EAST KOLKATA WETLANDS Unregistered Cooperatives (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 Revenue GDP Institutional 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 Dipayan Dey (Chair SAFE)