Culture of Peace Initiative

While the benefits of environmental services are public goods, the cost of ensuring their provision often falls on local land managers. As land is usually managed for private benefit, it is generally more attractive for land managers to convert their land to alternative uses such as agriculture rather than maintain it in its natural state. This is particularly the case for poor, marginal land owners and users and there is a need for an equitable for reducing poverty and conserving nature.

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WWF is working with CARE and IIED on a joint program to establish Equitable Payments for
Watershed Services (PWS) in 10 selected watersheds in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

 

In all project sites, the providers of the environmental services are poor rural communities. The selected watersheds are characterized by a high degree of complexity, but all have two common features:

 

1.High levels of biodiversity combined with high rates of land-use change affecting biodiversity
2.High levels of poverty

The program proposes to demonstrate how equitable PES can reverse forest loss through addressing the core drivers of land-use change.

 

Improved land management in the water catchment areas is also expected to lead to improved water quality for both rural and urban consumers. In this way, the program aims to contribute significantly to the MDG 7 targets on environmental sustainability in the selected countries and watersheds.

 

Summary of the WWF-CARE-IIED Equitable Payments for Watershed Services project

 

Countries: Peru (Piura River Basin), Guatemala (Motagua-Polochic River System), Tanzania (Ulguru Mountains Catchment), Philippines (Cantingas/Panangcalan watersheds), Indonesia (Upper Kapuas Basin), Eastern Europe (Danobe River Basin Delta)

 

Overall Goal: Payments for watershed services are delivering sustainable natural resource management and improved livelihoods for the rural poor.

 

Specific Objective: By 2010, equitable approaches to PWS have been established in 5 countries, and promoted within a wider learning network of government, private sector and civil society organizations in 20 countries.

 

Activities Phase 1: (1) Conduct situation analysis and baseline studies; (2) facilitate PWS planning processes; (3) promote economic values of watershed services with potential buyers and sellers, and develop and implement marketing strategies to sell these services to a range of potential buyers; (4) assess and monitor strengths and weaknesses in the institutional framework and capacity of participating organizations; (5) analyze existing policy and legal frameworks relating to equitable PWS; (6) engage key experts in PWS and related issues of business management and socio-economic monitoring to identify and develop relevant methodologies and tools; (7) pre- test and evaluate relevant methodologies and tools for equitable PWS; (8) within each core country, establish and facilitate an action learning network for sharing and reflecting on equitable PWS experience; (9) gather information and training materials relevant to equitable PWS and make these available through a website and newsletter.

Outputs Phase 1: For 10 sites in 5 countries (1) a documented business case for payments for watershed services; (2) an Memorandum of Understanding between buyers, providers and facilitators; (3) an indicative work plan and costs for implementation.

Need more involvement of all stakeholders — including governments, development agencies,
conservation organizations, business, industry, local communities, protected area managers —
to explore the value and promote the use of equitable PES.

 

 

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