Regulating services in poverty-ecosystems dynamics: evidences from South Asia

Abstract： Valuation of ecosystem services has been sought as effective tools that enable the decision makers in designing the cost effective response policies for management of ecosystems towards alleviating the poverty especially in economically poor regions like South Asia. Various directions and linkages between poverty and degradation of ecosystem and reduced flow of ecosystem services can better be understood if the regulating services like hydrological flow and carbon sequestration by forest, and nutrient cycling and bioremediation by wetlands can be captured in monetary unit. South Asian countries including India. Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the hotspots of poverty where poor depend upon various ecosystem services for their livelihoods and allocation of resource for conservation of ecosystems would have additional merit if regulating services are captured and internalized into the public policy The paper first raises problematic issues in valuation of regulating ecosystem services, and attempts to link it with the dependence of poor. Second, complexities of poverty-ecosystem dynamics are discussed. Thirdly, the possible intervention to achieve poverty alleviation goal is analyzed with the help of some examples from accounting and valuation of regulating services of Indian forest. Finally, the paper suggests that greater attention is needed to do credible and better valuation of regulating services so that insights from these can be used in understanding the impact of degradation of ecosystems on poor people. 作 者： Pushapm KUMAR   作者單位： School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK  期 刊： 生態經濟（英文版）    Journal： ECOLOGICAL ECONOMY  年，卷(期)： 2010, 6(1)  分類號： X3  Keywords： Valuation    Regulating services    Poverty-ecosystem-linkages