| European
Tropical Forest Research Network |
This final section of the newsletter elaborates on financing mechanisms in support of sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation. In their article, Rob Hope and co-authors analyse two forest/water policy instruments aimed at improvement of the livelihoods of poor people and protection of the resource base, for a pilot watershed in South Africa as part of the CAMP project. One is a compensation mechanism of payments for water consumption of forestry activities upstream to poor water users downstream, while the other aims to control alien species to increase the productivity of the resource base. Paul van Gardingen highlights new research opportunities within DFID's Forestry Research Programme: the Multiple Objective Forest Management cluster aims to increase the range of goods and services provided by forests, and pays attention to economic and financial instruments. The article by Diwakar Sinha describes the implementation of revolving funds at village level in India, in relation to integrated watershed management including reforestation activities. Other articles in this issue also pay attention to sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation in combination with other objectives: e.g. that of Natasha Landell-Mills and co-authors (Section III), and the articles in Section IV on carbon sequestration.
By R. Hope1, I.R. Calder1, J.W. Gowing1, N. Laurie2, P-J. Dixon3, C.A. Sullivan4, N.A. Jackson4, G. von Maltitz5, J. Bosch5, D. LeMaitre5, P. Dye5, T. Netshiluvhi5, N. Hatibu6 and G. Paterson7
In water-stressed environments, the livelihoods of poor people are directly affected by their access to natural resources, including water and forests. Policy formulation and evaluation seldom links land-use planning across the catchment scale to poverty alleviation goals at the livelihood level. Concern exists over the inadequate consideration given to the impact of forestry operations, and in some cases the escape of alien species, on water availability and the subsequent livelihood impacts.
The CAMP (CAtchment Management and Poverty) project is investigating Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) approaches to land and water management within the Luvuvhu catchment, South Africa, as a means towards identifying policy instruments that both improve the livelihoods of poor people and protect the resource base. The project employs macro-scale hydrological and economic modelling combined with household-level SL assessment to examine the effects of alternative policy instruments relating to forestry and water allocation. The application of modelling methodologies will be later tested in Grenada, and stakeholder consultations in Tanzania will provide additional insight into the transferability of project outputs.
Two forest/water policy instruments are currently being investigated within South Africa. Stream Flow Reduction Activities (SFRA) recognise that forestry in South Africa generally has an adverse impact on water resources. Following the National Water Act (Act 36, 1998), land uses such as commercial forestry have been designated as a SFRA and land owners will be charged in accordance with the estimated flow reduction that these land uses incur. The Working for Water (WfW) programme aims to remove alien invaders simultaneously freeing-up water resources by removing the threat to indigenous vegetation and providing a source of income to the poor.
The manner in which the application of these policy instruments affects catchment water resources, economics and livelihoods is the main focus of the CAMP study. CAMP will seek to identify and prioritise the key interactions between these impacts and will seek at the minimum a qualitative, but preferably a quantitative, modelling framework for assessing the policy outcomes. (Figure 1)
Research
catchment
CAMP's study site
is the Luvuvhu catchment in Northern Province, covering 5940 km² and forming
part of the larger Limpopo system. The catchment is characterised by the Soutpansberg
range to the north-west with a higher precipitation regime (>1000mm) and plantation
forestry and commercial agriculture as the dominant land-use, falling easterly
to the main urban settlement (Thohoyandou, population 450,000) and then to
drier (<500mm), fragmented, rural communities that lead to the border of the
Kruger National Park, finally draining into the Limpopo at the Zimbabwe/Mozambique
border.
The catchment is predominantly populated by Venda speaking communities that represented one of the ‘homelands' under the apartheid regime before the new dispensation in 1994. Xitsonga is the other major black language spoken with Afrikaans dominant among the white community. Northern Province is one of the poorest regions within South Africa under almost every socio-economic classification.
With the implementation of the National Water Act, efficient, equitable and sustainable water management are the key aims under which devolvement of water resource management, delivery and maintenance is being ceded to 19 water management areas, within which Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs) and Water User Associations (WUAs) are in the process of being formed. Integral to this process is the priority status of the ecological and human ‘Reserve', which ensures that environmental and equitable distribution of the water resource has primary consideration. The efficiency-equity interface of the NWA fits closely with the thematic tension in CAMP's research into human versus resource-first policies and outcomes.
Innovative
financial mechanisms
SFRA and WfW offer two potential policy mechanisms for conservation and sustainable
forestry management (see http://www.dwaf. gov.za). The former was clarified
within the NWA and recognises the integrated nature of catchment management,
particularly upstream-downstream linkages between competing water users. The
main commercial alien species are wattle, pine and eucalypts. Within the Luvuvhu,
upstream water users are primarily white-run forestry plantations and commercial
agriculture, whilst in the mid and lower reaches the majority of water users
are blacks with limited or no access to the water resource. SFRA as a compensation
mechanism for this unequal access to a public good may mitigate inequalities
and aid poverty alleviation. Water licensing is now mandatory and the key
mechanism that the new water management paradigm is championing as the key
to efficient and equitable water resource management. The process of negotiated
payments from key land-use groups (notably forestry) is fairly advanced with
a payment vehicle per species/hectare being proposed on completion of the
licensing programme.
The WfW programme began in 1995 with the aim of controlling alien species to achieve water security, ecological integrity and social equity through job creation. National run-off simulations have predicted a 73% reduction within a 20-40 year time-frame if no action is taken against alien invaders. WfW qualifies as a financial mechanism due to its beneficial linkage between optimising the productivity of the resource base (land/water) by the public works removal of alien species. The net financial benefits to South Africa plc are considered significant. The social component of the programme has gained more prominence within the ‘new' South Africa targeting women, youth and disabled groups. The WfW programme embodies the resource-human interface particularly within the poorest communities where reliance on the natural resource basis is the most pronounced.
Results
to date
CAMP is currently developing innovative methodologies to model water resource
and ecological impacts, a resource economic model of the net precipitation
value, and livelihoods' analysis from quantitative and qualitative research
at the catchment scale. Reports and analysis are available at the CAMP website.
For further information, please visit the project website: http://www.cluwrr.ncl.ac.uk/ projects/camp/index.html
or contact:
Prof. Ian Calder or Rob Hope
Centre for Land Use and Water Resources Research (CLUWRR), University of Newcastle,
UK
E-mail: i.r.calder@ncl.ac.uk
By Paul van Gardingen
Weaknesses in the theory and practice of yield regulation often result in the rate of extraction of goods and services exceeding the ecological capacity of the resource to recover. As a result, the extent and quality of forests decline and there is increasing conflict between stakeholders who are dependent on forests for their livelihoods. The Forestry Research Programme (FRP) of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting research to develop tools and approaches to regulate the yield of goods and services from forests. The first phase of this work has focused on the improvement of tools for growth estimation and yield prediction. This has involved the development of the SYMFOR framework (Silviculture and Yield Management tools for tropical FORests) and MYRLIN (Methods for Yield Regulation with Limited Information). See also www.symfor.org and www.myrlin.org
Financial
viability
The methods developed by these FRP projects are being extended to address the
needs of a wider range of stakeholders. A series of pilot studies are being
conducted with groups in Indonesia, Guyana, French Guyana, Brazil and Ecuador.
The pilot studies are linking growth and yield estimation tools with methods
for economic and financial analysis. The first study in Indonesia demonstrated
that forest management practices proposed for areas of logged-over forest would
not be financially viable (McLeish & Farida Herry Susanty, 2000). More recent
work shows that alternatives may result in a "win-win" situation, where good
forest management can maintain the forest resource whilst still delivering financial
returns with an internal rate of return exceeding 10 percent. Two workshops
were held during 2001 and identified constraints to effective yield regulation
in a range of countries. Major challenges remain in many tropical countries
because of the prevalence of forest piracy and the lack of incentives for sustainable
management of forests. Alternative land uses are often more profitable, resulting
in high opportunity costs associated with the adoption of improved forest management
practices. Furthermore, some options for sustainable forest management may maintain
or increase the marginalisation of stakeholder groups leading to increased conflict
and potential for illegal harvesting or destruction of the forest resource.
Development
of sustainable alternatives
New research initiatives are required to provide financially viable and socially
acceptable alternatives to bad management and piracy. Future research on timber
yield regulation needs to be integrated with a consideration of the policy,
financial, economic and social environments that will influence behaviour. This
has implications for forest researchers as well as policy makers, planners and
managers. Future activities need to address the following issues:
Multiple
Objective Forest Management
DFID's Forestry Research Programme is meeting this challenge by designing a
cluster of research projects for yield regulation for goods and services from
forests entitled Multiple Objective Forest Management (MOFORM). The following
topics will be included in a restricted call for proposals:
Common
currency
The fourth topic will explore the development of a common currency that allows
rational debate between stakeholders who exclusively use methods of monetary
valuation and those who also consider social and cultural values. The "common
currency" will be applied to the aim of reaching a consensus on decisions that
produce the greatest net social benefit. This in turn should lead to decision
support systems that are less reliant on research data and will help to rationalise
decisions on changes in forest and land use.
Compensation
mechanisms
Research related to the fourth topic will also consider compensation mechanisms
that have potential to transfer value captured by downstream users and consumers
of goods and services, to benefit those forest managers who adopt sound land
and forest management practices upstream. This must include the development
of equitable mechanisms for the capture and distribution of benefits (value)
resulting from sustainable forest management. The decision support systems may
include water, carbon and biodiversity markets. In addition, a more rational
approach should enable greater consensus to be obtained on taxation regimes
for forests and lands in marginal areas.
Partnerships
The MOFORM yield regulation cluster will work closely with partners in both
developing and developed countries. We are most interested in hearing from any
individual or organisation that is interested in contributing to any of the
above research themes including the establishment of multiple stakeholder partnerships
in potential target countries.
For more
information please visit the MOFORM website (http://www.moform.org)
or contact:
Dr. Paul van Gardingen
Centre for the study of Environmental Change and Sustainability (CECS)
The John Muir Building, The University of Edinburgh
Mayfield Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JK United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)131 650 7253, Fax: +44 (0)131 650 7863
E-mail: info@moform.org
By Diwakar Sinha
Forests in India used to be considered primarily as productive entities. They were looked upon as sources of fuel, fodder and timber together with minor forest products such as bamboo, grasses, fibres and honey. In the late seventies, the adoption of the concept of sustainable management of forests led to a growing interest in the regulation functions of forests. The National Forest Policy of 1988 introduced the concept of participatory forest management on usufruct sharing basis. The new approach included active participation of village communities and voluntary agencies in sustainable forest management and socio-economic development. This resulted in the development of Joint Forest Management (JFM) programmes in 22 States. By now, about 36,130 Forest Protection Committees are managing a total of about 10.25 million ha of forests. Additionally, a programme on National Watershed Development Projects for Rain fed Areas (NWDPRA) was launched in 1990, covering 25 States and 2 Union territories. The programme aims to sustainable biomass production and restoration of the ecological balance in rain fed areas. In this framework, international donors assist watershed and agricultural development projects. Most projects provide incentives and training to the villagers to bring about changes in attitudes towards the use of forests and the environment.
Community
participation in watershed management
The Doon Valley Integrated Watershed Management Project is one of the leading
watershed management projects of North India. It is a nine-year project ending
in 2001 led by the Ministry of Agriculture. The project is implemented in 303
villages covering an area of about 2508 km2. The principal problem addressed
by the project is that the fragile ecosystems of Doon Valley suffer from increasing
human pressure. The urban population is increasing and agricultural lands are
rapidly encroaching steep hill slopes, thereby degrading the forest resources.
The extraction of firewood and fodder from the forests further contributes to
the degradation process. In the past, state government investments in reforestation
were largely ineffective. Being open access lands, neither the government nor
the communities protect the forests. The project is meant to motivate the villagers
to become economically self-sufficient and less dependent on the forest resources.
The main project components are agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry,
minor irrigation, soil conservation, energy and forestry. On the long term,
the project should reduce the on-going degradation of the Doon Valley ecosystems,
improve the living conditions of the rural people, and ensure their participation
in managing the environment. The immediate objectives include sustainable natural
resources management, increasing productivity of land and water resources, strengthening
of community participation, and the improvement of the socio-economic conditions
of disadvantaged groups, particularly women. The village is treated as a basic
unit that manages its natural resources through community participation. Village
plans evolving from participatory rural appraisal play an important role.
Revolving
funds
In each village, a revolving fund is developed to ensure optimum utilization
of the available financial resources and sustainability of the created assets.
The purpose of this fund is to meet the small needs of the local people and
self-help groups. Rules have been framed in support of the effective functioning
of this financing mechanism. Any loan from this fund is given on easy terms
and without security or legal formalities. The rate of interest is nominal and
decided by the community itself. Studies have revealed that the percentage of
defaulters regarding repayment of these loans is very low. Group and social
pressures are considered the main cause. All villagers contribute regularly
to the common fund as defined and accepted by the whole community in a general
meeting. The general body that maintains and operates the revolving fund is
known as Gram Resource Management Association (GAREMA). Gram in Hindi language
means village. GAREMA has a male and a female representative from all village
households. In some progressive villages, revolving funds are linked up with
national bank, which has proved to be a boon for the local people.
Alternative
sources of income and energy
With the project in its last year of operation, marked changes are visible.
Subsidies and loans have supported the start of income-generating activities
such as cultivation of high-income cash crops, poultry and dairy cattle keeping,
fruit preservation practices, pickle making, sewing and stitching, light bulb
making, and fish cultivation in individual as well as community tanks. Savings/credit
groups with revolving funds have been established, supported by contributions
from the villagers and the project. Training activities emphasize the interrelation
between the environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability. Here it
is important to note that the use of non-conventional energy devices and liquid
petroleum gas have proved their worth in saving forest on one hand and generating
time for the people on the other. People are dedicating this time saved to income
generating activities and other important aspects of life like health, hygiene
and education.
Lessons
learnt
During project implementation, a major problem was in the first place to influence
the attitudes of the villagers towards optimal use of the available resources.
A second important aspect that required considerable effort was the capacity
building of the village people. The third problem was that they were reluctant
to redefine the daily work schedule and adopt innovative technologies in order
to utilise the time efficiently to generate more benefits. Demonstrations, training
sessions, and subsidy for adoption of new technologies were used to tackle some
of the problems. Furthermore, there were awareness programmes, and people were
stimulated to participate in the different phases of developmental programmes
including self-evaluation. This has helped the villagers to take constructive
steps in the direction of optimum utilisation of the available resources for
socio-economic development in combination with sustainable forest management.
The use of revolving funds has played a significant role in this process. The
mechanism of revolving funds is considered of great significance to other developing
countries having similar problems and biophysical conditions.
Diwakar Sinha
Assistant Conservator of Forests, Uttar Pradesh
6/4, Indranagar Forest Colony
Dehradun – 248006, Uttaranchal, India
E-mail: 1) eyesint@nde.vsnl.net.in