Wetlands and Poverty Eradication TWA – 2, Task 2.6 STRP Inter-sessional workshop February 21-26, 2010 Ritesh Kumar (Lead), Sonali Senaratna, Randy Milton, Matthew McCartney, Pierre Horwitz, Rob McInnes, Seb Buckton, Dave Pritchard, Laurent Chazee,Rebecca D’Cruz,
Task Overview • Resolution X.28 – Wetlands and Poverty Eradication • Resolution IX.14 – Wetlands and Poverty Reduction
Task Overview (1) • Development of an integrated framework for linking wetland conservation and wise use with poverty eradication, including identification of the most appropriate scale at which each type of poverty eradication action should take place; • Identification and development of indicators relating wetland wise use with livelihoods and poverty eradication;
Task Overview (2) • Development of practical structured ‘guide to the available guidelines and tools’ for addressing poverty eradication in relation to wetlands; and • Collation and review of examples how wetland degradation affects people’s livelihoods and how maintenance or restoration of the ecological character of wetlands can contribute to poverty alleviation (??).
Task Overview (3) Task 1:Framework and Indicators Task 2:Guide to Guidance Task 3:Case Studies
Task 1: Framework and Indicators
Understanding Poverty (1) • Multi-dimensional, value laden, context-specific • Commonly used terms: – Income (or consumption)poverty – Human (under)development – Social exclusion – Ill being – (Lack of) capability and functioning – Vulnerability – Livelihood unsustainability – Lack of basic needs – Relative deprivation
Understanding Poverty (2) • World Development Report (2001): Poverty is pronounced deprivation of well-being • Millennium Assessment (2005): Poverty and well-being are two extremes of multi- dimensional continuum
Understanding Poverty (3) Well-being includes: The necessary material for good life (including secure and adequate • livelihoods, income and assets, enough food at all times, shelter, furniture, clothing and access to goods) Health (including being strong, feeling well, and having a healthy • physical environment) • Good social relations (including social cohesion, mutual respect, good gender and family relations, and the ability to help others and provide for children) Security (including secure access to natural and other resources, • safety of person and possessions, and living in predictable and controllable environment with security from natural and human made disasters) • Freedom and choice (including having control over what happens and being able to achieve what a person values doing or being)
Understanding Poverty (4) • Absolute (against a given benchmark) versus relative deprivation (poverty within affluent societies) • Poor in the long term (chronic poor) or in short term / adverse shocks (transitory poor) • Chronic – destitute (need welfare support) – non-destitute (need access to assets and opportunities) • Differential depths of poverty (Core and non-core poor)
Wetland and Poverty Interlinkages ‘The wetland side’ • Wise use – maintenance of ecological character • Elements of ecological character are manifestations of ways human societies are linked to wetlands • State of wetland is influenced by social construct of ecological character • Poverty influences ecological character in number of ways: – Direct : nutrient discharge leading to eutrophication – Indirect: catchment agriculture leading to wetland sedimentation
Wetland and Poverty Interlinkages (1) ‘The livelihoods side’ • Poor base their livelihoods on ecosystem services • Ecosystem services are flows parallel to other forms of livelihood capital • Poverty could result from the ways ecosystem services are imported into livelihoods • Role of social, economic and political contexts : – Access, equity, benefit sharing, governance
Wetland and Poverty Interlinkages (2) • Need to appreciate both dimensions • Interlinked • Mutually reinforcing • Need to be clear on the use of reduction/ eradication and the ‘MDG context’
Framework Purpose Identify options for interventions to maintain sustainable links • between wetland ecosystem services and human livelihoods • Identify the scale at which each type of intervention action should take place Providing a structure (capable of being used by conservation and • development sectors ) for assessing the ultimate impacts of relevant actions on human well-being and ecological character through • a conceptual model demonstrating wetland – poverty eradication/alleviation interlinkages: – Ways wetland ecosystem services support well-being of the poor – Characteristics of poverty alleviation/ eradications action which influence ecological character of wetlands and thereby its ecosystem services
Target Partners Complex, multiple levels • Why and How • • Why – Development Banks, UN Agencies, Development agencies (eg. CARE) RAMSAR – • Why + How – National level : Admin Authorities (Env.) + ministries having a poverty investment portfolio : Developmental Planning; Health; Water Resources; Agriculture) National level: industries (eg. Mining, oil and gas) – • How – Local government – Wetland Managers MFIs • • NGOs • Indigenous communities
Existing Poverty-Environment Frameworks • Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (DFID,1999) • MDGs • Poverty – Environment Partnership (DFID, WB, UNDP, EC – 2002) • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) • Conservation and Poverty Reduction in Wetlands (IWMI – WI, 2009) • General Framework for analyzing sustainability of socio-environmental systems (Ostrom, 2009)
Framework Principles (1) • Broader nested socio-environmental systems interacting at multiple spatial and temporal scales, mutually shaping and reinforcing – ecosystem services (embedded within ecological character) – livelihood capitals • Wetland ecosystem services form part of natural capital, but contribute to other forms of livelihood capitals to varying degrees
Wetland Ecosystem Services and Livelihood Capitals Linkages Livelihood Capitals Natural: land, soils, water, Physical: basic Human: Social: informal Financial: savings, fisheries, etc. infrastructure, and Skills, knowledge, networks, formalized credit, incomes , producer’s goods health and ability to grps membership, trade and work relationships remittances Provisioning Food and Water Security Wetlands and Products for (subsistence) Human Health : trading : Food for Drinking water for human and Medical products humans; food for Ecosystem Services of Wetlands livestock; water for agriculture ; livestock; Water, Food for humans and livestock reed, fiber and peat; Medicinal plants Regulating Water purification; flood control, Wetlands as Water Biological control Insurance values of flood storage; soil, sediment and Infrastructure agent for pest wetlands nutrient retention; coastal Flood control, flood diseases coastal shoreline shoreline stabilization; storm storage; coastal protection; Carbon protection; carbon storage; shoreline protection storage climate buffering; and storm protection Cultural Recreational hunting and fishing ; Wetlands and Recreational hunting Revenue Cultural heritage; Contemporary Human Health and fishing ; Cultural generation cultural significance ; Spiritual and Water sports, heritage; opportunities religious values; Water sports; nature study Contemporary cultural Other recreation Nature study pursuits; Educational pursuits, significance ; Spiritual and tourism values, Aesthetic and sense of Educational values, and religious values place values , knowledge systems; Aesthetic and sense Other recreation and tourism of place values , knowledge systems Supporting Primary Production; Nutrient cycling Work in progress..
Framework Principles (3) • Livelihood system approach - individuals linked together because of a common background or a shared aim, to acquire constituents for well-being (while recognizing heterogeneity) • Dynamic systems wherein ecological, social, economic and political contexts change – both due to natural and manmade factors • Ultimate sustainability test in terms of achieving ‘well- being’ (poverty being ill-being) and, • Builds on ‘ most relevant elements’ of existing environment – development frameworks
Conceptual Framework
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