Dr Dipayan Dey
South Asian Forum for Environment

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Nature degradation leads to poverty and poverty leads to exploitation of natural resources… A negative link
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Addressing environmental issues and poverty together, needs community based participatory programme… A partnership on equity and reciprocity

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An innovative financial mechanism to compensate the opportunity cost of poor communities towards environmental conservation through payment of environmental services (PES).

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Transforming nature services to alternative economic opportunity and translating economic benefits to conservation responsibilities…
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Developing partnership between nontangible benefits and tangible returns

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Target Area: Global Ecological Significance, facing threat of degradation
Target Beneficiaries: Low average GDP and per-capita.
Prerequisites': Available nature services,
Community dependent ecology, Loss of nature resources
Tool: Conservation CBA, Micro-Finance
Compensation model

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Financial inclusion of communities towards risk spreading and compensation of opportunity cost.
No repay of loan or interest, but active volunteering to generate man hours for conservation.
Allocation of payment is based on success of measures in attaining conservation objectives.

India's First Biorights Project :
East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW)
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Transforming Nature Services through
Ecotourism as a means of poverty alleviation and sustainable environment development through community partnership in East
Kolkata Wetlands.

• To identify economically beneficial natureservices in the area through cost benefit analysis.
• To expand economic opportunity & capacity building among local stakeholders for livelihood.
• To en suit sustainable conservation objectives with poverty alleviation strategies through revenue generation in eco-friendly process.
• To create awareness among local stakeholders about restoration of East Kolkata Wetlands.

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56% habitat restoration in project area
(Scaled in terms of Biodiversity Index,
Species IVI, Water body permanence index,
Limnological assessment and EIA).
Rehabilitation of 12 priced fish species endemic to East Kolkata Wetlands.
Go-green activities: Plantation, community sanitation, awareness campaigns.

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450 families covered in micro-insurance policy through Biorights component.
78% attitude change of stakeholders in conservation of wetlands.
25 women self help groups credit linked through financial inclusion programme
17% increase in per head income for the community partners.

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Conservation Priorities
Suitable CBA tool
Alternative Livelihood: Non-competitive and
Un-competitive options
Micro-finance as a suitable financial paradigm
Common-trade effect
Externalities