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In this issue
Message from
RUPES Project Office
In
this edition, we show, in brief, measures being taken by various
government agencies in Vietnam to prepare for the future nationwide
implementation of an environmental service payment scheme. From the
Philippines, we share a report on training to use Rapid Hydrological
Assessment and Rapid Carbon Stocks Assessment in the Trees in Multi-Use
Landscapes in Southeast Asia (TUL-SEA) project. A story from Lantapan
shows how applying rewards for environmental services (RES) scheme is
avoiding conflict over natural resources.
We
invite you to check out the website of the Asia Pacific Forestry Week
for program updates. This is expected to be the largest and most
important forestry-related event in the region, and will be held at the
National Convention Center (NCC) in Hanoi in April. In our References
section, you will find a link to 25 interesting articles related to
payments for environmental services.
Happy
reading ...
Aunul
Fauzi
RUPES
Communication Specialist
Top.
Government's
role in PES development in Vietnam
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Over
the last two years, the concept of Payments for
Environmental Services (PES) has received significant
attention and support from the government of Vietnam. While
the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) is
trying to integrate PES into Biodiversity Law, the Ministry
of Planning and Investment (MPI) has been working on 'What
percentage of the payments from electricity users should
flow back to upstream people?', and the Ministry of Agri-
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culture and Rural Development
(MARD) put considerable
effort into developing decrees and guidelines for
quantifying payments for watershed protection under the
Forest Protection and Development Law.
In
2007, the Prime Minister also assigned MARD to work closely
with Lam Dong and Son La Peoples Committees to study and draft
a piloted payment scheme for forest environmental services in
Lam Dong and Son La. It is expected that a draft policy will
be released in the first quarter of 2008 and implemented from
the first quarter of 2008 to the fourth quarter of 2009. In
the fourth quarter of 2009, the lessons learnt will be
consolidated and the payment scheme will be applied
nationally.
Various
international organizations, including ICRAF, IUCN, WWF, SNV,
Winrock International and CIFOR, have also been active in
facilitating the process and testing several case studies on
the ground. [Hoang
Minh Ha]
Download
working paper: RUPES: Experience, Constraints, and
Potential in Vietnam written by Bui Dung The, Dang Thanh Ha, and
Nguyen Quoc Chinch.
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Top.
First
training course of TUL-SEA project in the Philippines
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The
first five-day training course under the Trees in Multi-use
Landscapes in Southeast Asia (TUL-SEA) project was conducted
at Pine Hills Hotel, Malaybalay, Bukidonon, Philippines from
11-15 February 2008. The training course focused on the
'negotiation support toolbox' which was developed to help
stakeholders analyse tradeoffs and assist with natural
resource management in a cost-effective way.
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The
training course was well attended by various participants
from the Provincial Government of Bukidnon, RUPES Kalahan,
Misamis Oriental State College of Agriculture and Technology
(MOSCAT), and Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR - Malaybalay, Bukidnon). Participants
were grouped into five teams and tackled the topics of Rapid
Hydrological Assessment (to assess watershed function) and
Rapid Carbon Stocks Assessment; two of the five negotiation
support tools. During the training course, participants
tested the tools in the field at Lantapan, Bukidnon (one of
the learning sites of RUPES phase 1 in the Philippines) in
order to gain a better feel and overview of the application
of the tools. Local people and local government officials
were also interviewed about land use and water scarcity
issues, and participants visited the National Power
Corporation (NPC), a hydropower company), to address the
sedimentation and siltation problem in the area.
The
negotiation support tools are aimed at helping to assess the
likely impacts of new technology and changes in market
access as well as supporting negotiations on contentious
issues. The TULSEA project is currently testing and adapting
these tools over three year in China, Indonesia, Laos, the
Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. [Grace
Villamor]
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Top.
Lantapan:
adopting RES to avoid hostile confrontation
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Lantapan
is a municipality located in a river valley called Manupali
of Malaybalay Bukidnon in the Philippines. It has a total
land area of 35,465 hectares and is well known for the
Manupali River, due to its high environmental relevance in
terms of biodiversity, water resources and economic
importance to the province. With an average elevation of
600m and an annual rainfall of 2,470mm, Lantapan is well
suited to an agricultural-based economy.
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As
a result, large-scale commercial agriculture by
multinational corporations and rich farmers has forced
smallholders to farm in much smaller plots in less
productive and more environmentally fragile areas.
A
dramatic increase in soil erosion rates has been observed
and siltation has become more serious in the last decade.
The irrigation system is also unable to reach its intended
service area due to water shortages, especially during dry
months. This is caused either by low dry season streamflow
or the low storage capacity of the system due to high silt
deposits.
Under
RUPES Phase 1, Latapan was selected as a learning site due
to the complex array of stakeholders that are competing for
water resources. The concept of Rewards for Environmental
Services (RES) was identified as a management intervention
to negotiate contentious water issues. Because of this,
stakeholders in Lantapan have learnt that with proper
negotiation and incentives, hostile confrontation on the
emerging water crisis can be avoided. The Municipal
Government forged a collaborative initiative with the World
Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Bukidnon Environment and
Natural Resource Office (BENRO), Bukidnon Watershed
Protected and Development Council (BWPDC), National Power
Corporation (NPC), and the National Irrigation Authorities
(NIA), to develop a PES mechanism in the Manupali Watershed.
Using shared resources, the collaborators outlined the
activities, and are applying the processes and tools
developed by ICRAF scientists in developing RES mechanisms.
[Grace
Villamor]
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