Valuing, Managing and Investing in Ecosystem Services in South Asia'

28 Apr 2016 - 29 Apr 2016 India Habitat Center, New Delhi

Recognizing the many significant services that ecosystems offer humanity, India has implemented multiple strategies to conserve critical ecosystems and stem the loss of biodiversity. However, even as scientific knowledge and management practices improve, ecosystems services across South Asia continue to steadily erode. Thus, we urgently need practical action that builds on evidence related to changes in ecosystem services, their implications for human well-being and management solutions that are effective.

In an effort to better understand the challenges associated with conserving ecosystem services, the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, GIZ and SANDEE are jointly organizing a workshop on 'Valuing, Managing and Investing in Ecosystem Services in South Asia' on April 28th and 29th in New Delhi. This workshop builds on aresearch program on ‘the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)' in India, co-organized by GIZ and the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, Government of India, in 2014-15 on ecosystem services associated with wetlands, forests and marine and coastal systems. It also draws on research on ecosystems management by the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE).

The Delhi workshop will focus on key themes that are relevant to ecosystems management in South Asia: a) valuation and contributions of ecosystem services to livelihoods and human welfare; b) strategies that enable conservation of threatened ecosystem services; c) conflict and trade-offs among different stakeholders at multiple scales; and d) policy levers and instruments amenable to conserving ecosystem services.

Building on on-going research and dialogue on the value of ecosystem services, the objective of the Delhi workshop will be to share knowledge, identify policy lessons and examine the feasibility of converting research results to actionable management and policy changes at the local to national levels. The workshop will examine priorities to scale-up research results and identify key strategies that could make a difference on the ground.