| Excutive
summary: |
The Andean
mountains contribute to the quality of life in the surrounding
cities and
ecosystems by providing environmental services and amenities.
However the welfare of the rural populace in the region has
declined significantly over the last decade. The price of
agricultural products has decreased and so have investments
in the rural sector. This has led to high levels of un- and
underemployment. Research conducted within this project aims
to analyze the social and environmental externalities generated
by changing land use patterns in the mountainous regions in
order to explore, and thus provide a basis for policy decisions
on, whether payment for environmental services (PES) and subsequent
local investment may prove an effective mechanism for generating
dynamic development in the rural sector.
The project
will be executed by 40 researchers, from national and international
centers and private institutions, who are considered by the
partners of CONDESAN to be leaders in priority research areas
in Latin America. The researchers will work in eleven carefully
selected pilot sites that are associated with ongoing development
projects.
The research focuses on:
- A biophysical
analysis of the watershed to describe the behaviour of the
Hydrologic
Response Unit (HRU).
- Quantitative
analysis of the environmental and social externalities based
on water
balances, greenhouse gas balances, biodiversity, and the
physical and economic
productivity of the production systems.
- Prioritisation
of the HRU by means of analysis of several distinct scenarios
for land use, selecting those that provide positive potential
impact in productivity and externalities.
- Development
of novel means of participation to analyse asymmetries in
both the use of and access to natural resources and also
the exercise of power and authority. This analysis will
improve the implementation of PES and the land use planning.
- Creation
of integrated economic platforms by means of strategic alliances
between
producers, government agencies and the private sector, and
focusing on making the poorer producers more competitive.
- Eco-regional
analysis of the social and biophysical performance of the
HRU and its
relationship to the externalities generated in the humid,
semi humid and dry Andes.
- Evaluation
of limitations to this approach quantifying the economic
benefits by using the externalities as the engine for development.
- Extrapolation
of the methods and analysis to watersheds in Africa where
initiation of schemes for payment of environmental services
is barely in its infancy.
The W&FCP
will provide 36% of the total resources needed to execute
the project. The
remaining 64% will be provided by local organizations. At
least half of the counterpart
resources will be invested in activities promoted by strategic
alliances and playing a critical role in determining the dynamics
of externalities in the development of the watersheds.
Other
proposals in the Andean watersheds, intercede in them with
very narrow specific
topics or they cut across all the watersheds of the W&FCP.
This situation is reflected in the limited resources earmarked
for the Andes. Proposal No.132 will contribute to a full analysis
of the overall system of Andean watersheds and will provide
the biophysical information needed to complement other social
approaches. |
