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Should there be a financial cost to the services provided by mountain ecosystems?
Experts gathered under the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) believe any “financial valuation” of the huge contributions made by mountain communities in areas of water, forestry, mining and generation of hydro and wind-power must benefit the 200 million mountain people living in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region.
An attempt to value global ecosystem services was estimated at $33 trillion per year, almost double of the world’s GDP, according to 1997 figures. Based on this calculation, an annual value of forest ecosystem services in Uttarakhand was calculated at $2.4 billion per year while the Green India Trust 2008 study placed the per hectare ecological value of soil nutrient conservation, flood-control and water recharge in dense forests of Himachal Pradesh at `5,85 per hectare and `6,255 in Uttarakhand.
But as Dr L.M.S. Paini, director, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development points out, “Mountain ecosystems are not receiving (even a) little recognition at the national economic decision making levels, including resource allocation. The result is that low-agricultural productivity is forcing people to move out of the Himalayas in search of livelihoods elsewhere.”
“With markets emerging for carbon, watershed services and biodiversity, these mountain-based products are now saleable resources,” he points out.
Dr Gopla Kadekodi, honorary professor at the Centre for Multi-disciplinary Development Research in Dharwad has expressed apprehension at monetising this trend.
Mr Gopla Kadekodi believes, “any valuation will see the local people losing out.”
He cites the example of medicinal plants which are in growing demand but the forest people have failed to set up an association of medicinal plants producer.
“In the same way, the water rights of these hill people are being ignored. People downstream, including farmers, are getting water for free. That is why they have so little value for this product,” said Dr Kadekodi.
Ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) joint secretary B.M.S. Rathore maintained that the Green India Mission (GIM) aimed to “increase and improve forest cover in the Himalayan range up to 41 per cent.”
http://www.asianage.com/india/should-there-be-financial-cost-himalayan-ecosystem-517
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