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Publication Details

Working Paper Series
WP0160-12
TitleCommoditized or co-invested environmental services?
AuthorRachman Pasha, Tonni Asmawan, Beria Leimona, Erik Setiawan and Chandra Irawadi Wijaya
Year2012
PublisherWorld Agroforestry Centre - ICRAF, SEA Regional Office
City of PublicationBogor, Indonesia
Series NumberWorking paper nr 148. DOI: 10.5716/WP12051.PDF
Number of Pages27
Call NumberWP0160-12
Keywordswatershed management, participative approach, river care program, rewards for environmental services, landscape conservation co-investment
Abstract:
The World Agroforestry Centre, through its Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services (RUPES) project, carried out action research on a rewards for environmental services scheme that bridges conservation and poverty alleviation objectives: the development of a River Care program in Way Besai watershed, Lampung province, Indonesia. The program involved farmers in Air Ringkih sub-watershed as environmental services providers and the Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Air (Besai Hydropower Company/PLTA) under the authority of Perusahaan Listrik Negara Sektor Bandar Lampung (State Electricity Company, Sector Bandar Lampung/PLN-SBDL) as the environmental services beneficiary. The community was contracted to reduce the sedimentation rate in Air Ringkih sub-watershed by 30% in a one-year period. As the reward, PLN-SBDL provided a microhydropower unit valued at IDR 20 million (± USD 2120). The reduction target was determined through negotiations between ICRAF and PLN-SBDL, which showed PLN-SBDL’s willingness to pay in turn for sediment reduction. River Care developed in four stages: 1) scoping; 2) stakeholder analysis; 3) negotiations; 4) implementation and monitoring.
At the end of the program, the community executed the contract with an 86% activity success rate. Analysis of sediment concentration showed a 20% decrease by comparison of the initial baseline slope value of 299.08 to the final value of 239.27 at the end of program. The agreed 30% reduction target was not achieved. However, PLN-SBDL very much appreciated the community’s efforts in reducing the sediment concentration in Air Ringkih River and gave the microhydropower unit as a reward regardless of the results. The appreciation showed by PLN-SBDL had a big impact on the community’s role in improving the maintenance of their environment, in particular, their watershed. This was the main objective of the rewards for environmental services mechanism: the community in the upper stream area continue to manage their land using soil and water conservation techniques to maintain natural resources and reduce sedimentation.
The case of River Care showed a shift in the paradigm from ‘commoditized environmental services’, which is focused on market or environmental services trade, to ‘co-investment in landscape conservation’, which is focused on co-investment for watershed conservation. In practice, ‘co-investment’ in such schemes’ implementation promote stakeholders’ participation—both upper and downstream communities, government and private entities—to take into consideration efficiency and fairness, building stakeholders’ trust, promoting transparency and collaborating in sustainable watershed management.
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