Project title : Rewards for, Use of and Shared Investment in Pro-poor Environmental Services (RUPES) - Second phase
Project contact Beria Leimona
b.leimona@cgiar.org

Dr. Emma Abasolo
ICRAF Philippines
e.abasolo@irri.org
Timeframe :Four years (2008-2012)
Funding :International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Budget :$3,850,000
Location & Partners 6 Action research sites (and 12 learning sites):
Indonesia (Sumberjaya, Bungo and Singkarak)
Philippines (Bakun and Kalahan)
Nepal (Kulekhani)

Partners: International Agencies (such as UNESCAP, World Bank), International Research and Development Organization and Universities (such as CIFOR, GMS Study Center of Yunnan University, IIED, ODI), International NGOs (such as IUCN, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Winrock International, CARE, WWF), Site level NGOs and CBO's (such as WARSI, Kalahan Edu¬cational Foundation, Naga¬ri Paninggahan) and local and national government units
Website :http://worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/networks/rupes

Main Activities:

Despite being the main engine of global economic growth, Asia is still home to two-thirds of the world's poor. Large and rapidly growing populations are placing pressure on fragile ecosystems. Attempts to protect the environmental value of these ecosystems through preventing their use, besides often being unsuccessful, tend to exclude poor and disadvantaged people from access to the very resources (land, water forests) that are essential for their livelihoods.

The Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services (RUPES) program will have its second phase this 2008 in the Philippines. RUPES program has become a well-known brand and a source of trusted information on a complex issue on information related to environmental service rewards schemes. RUPES formed through the financial assistance of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and is coordinated by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)'s Southeast Asia Regional Programme, based in Bogor, Indonesia.RUPES II is designed to follow-up to and expand on the lessons learnt in RUPES-I under its five project components:
1. Understanding Rewards for Environmental Services to Reduce Poverty
2. Creating policy and institutional options for enabled ES reward schemes at local, national and international levels
3. Connecting ES providers and buyers in testing RES schemes
4. Providing criteria and indicators of efficient and fair RES schemes
5. Building partnership and networking

In Asia, achievements have included: increased awareness at the grass-roots level about the RUPES concept; tens of thousands of farmers achieving greater land access security; strengthening of local institutions and multi-stakeholder networks, including the site technical working/advisory groups; and generating knowledge on environmental services as global public goods.

In the Philippines, RUPES supported two pilot sites: Bakun, Benguet and Kalahan, Nueva Vizcaya in developing payments for watershed services and carbon sequestration, respectively. In Bakun, one substantial output of the program is the analysis of the existing policies that would affect the development of a pro-poor reward mechanism from Bakun watershed. Significant results and recommendations were identified and one of these is the on-going preparation of the Bakun Integrated Watershed Development and Management Plan (BIWDMP). In Kalahan, RUPES activities equipped the Kalahan Educational Foundation (KEF) to participate in carbon trading activities.

Aside from the two pilot sites, three of the RUPES learning sites namely: Sibuyan Island (Romblon), Baticulan (Negros Occidental); and Lantapan (Bukidnon) have benefited from its rapid appraisal tools and other technical assistance for assessing its potentials for developing rewards/payments. These remarkable achievements of the program will be implemented in more sites in the Philippines and across Asian countries on its second phase.
Recent and future activities for RUPES 2 in the Philippines include:

The Payment for Environmental Services (PES) Technical Working Group (TWG) that was established under RUPES 1 was revived upon the start of RUPES 2.

Under component 2, RUPES 2 assisted various interested buyers and investors regarding carbon forestry (i.e., Mitsubishi UFJ Securities). It also assisted in the preparation of Project Idea Note (PIN) and the Project Design Document (PDD) for KEF.

Under component 3, TUL SEA materials were distributed to research partners as well as interested donors such as GTZ who showed interest in using these tools.

Under component 4, the profitability of a of a small-scale CDM project: the case of KEF is currently ongoing.

Under component 5, a site visit to Bakun is planned before the end of this year. Its objective is to determine how RUPES 2 can help and support the activities of CHARM 2, in terms of RUPES tool applications, negotiation skills, reward schemes management, among others

 

 

World Agroforestry Centre
PHILIPPINES Country Office
Khush Hall, International Rice Research Institute
Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
PO Box 35024, UPLB, College, Laguna
4031, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 845 0563/70/75
Telefax: +63 49 536 2925