BOBP

Economic Assessment of Ecosystem-based Services (EbS) of
Critical Habitats along East Coast of India for Eco-restoration Services

About the project

Pursuant to the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, there was rapid development in economic assessment of ecosystem services. However, despite conceptual development and project application, practical uses of ecosystem valuation for policy and planning remain limited. The present study proposes to develop a framework for economic assessment of ecosystem services based on national system generated data (remote sensing, regular sample surveys and other reliable secondary data sources) and ground truthing through rapid appraisal methods. The activity will cover east coast of India piloting in major critical coastal ecosystems namely Coringa Mangroves, Pulicat Lagoon and Gulf of Mannar coral ecosystems. The framework proposes to place higher weightage for use of ecosystem services by marginal groups, namely fishers. This is to account for vulnerability of coastal and marine population to changing climate. The project will be spread over four years to capture the change in valuation of ecosystem services as well as change in composition of value and whether it is moving away from the marginal sections, addressing which can become a policy choice.

Objectives

Development of a methodological framework for economic assessment of ecosystem services
Characterization of ecosystem processes and classification of services viz. provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services.
Quantification of the Ecosystem Services from “Coringa Mangrove ecosystem”, “Pulicat lagoon ecosystem” and “Gulf of Mannar Coral ecosystem”
Assessments of the effects of climate change and anthropogenic stresses on the ecosystem services and derive appropriate adaptive strategies

Expected Outcomes

Standardized methodology for assessment of economic valuation of coastal ecosystem services
Design and implement monetary compensatory schemes to promote conservation and sustainable agricultural and industrial development within coastal spaces.
Developing mitigation and adaptation measures to protect coastal communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and sea-level rise.