Wetlands and Poverty Reduction Project Anglophone regional practitioners training course

Wetlands and Poverty Reduction ProjectAnglophone regional practitioners training course MODULE 1WETLANDS AND INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENTBy Dalmas O. Oyugi, Lucy Iyango 5 MAY 2007A Wetlands International project supported by DGIS

Lecture 3 Wetlands and Poverty Reduction

Learning objectives • Explain the wise use principle and the concepts of sustainability, sustainable livelihoods, resource use/exploitation and trade-offs. • Explain the potential impacts of wetland use on the natural system • Understand and describe the various use options and limitations available in wetlands (e.g. agriculture, aquaculture, biomass harvesting and water treatment)

Definitions • Wise use of wetlands • “Maintenance of their ecological character within the context of sustainable development” – (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment)

Definitions • Wise use of wetlands • "Sustainable utilization for the benefit of mankind in a way compatible with the maintenance of the natural properties of the ecosystem”(integrity, socio-economic benefits & posterity)– (Ramsar Convention)

Definitions • Ecological character • Combination of the ecosystem components, process and services that characterize a wetland at a given point in time

Definitions • Sustainable Development • Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland 1987) Considerations: Ecological, Social, Economic & legal sustainability, location.

Definitions • Sustainable utilization • "Human use of a resource so that it may yield the greatest continuous benefit to present generations while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations". (Ramsar Convention)

Definitions • Ecosystem approach • Recognises that all components of the ecosystem (physical, chemical & biological) are interdependent and can not be managed in isolation.

Definitions • Ecosystem approach • Stakeholders must understand the implications of their actions on ecosystem sustainability • Management flexible and adaptive • Scientific and socio-economic aspects considered in interventions • Interdisciplinary approach used

Livelihood and poverty • “A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources) and activities required for a means of living/meeting needs e.g. resource harvesting (fish, natural resources).

Livelihood and poverty • Sustainable livelihood - resilience • “A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base”. (Chambers and Conway 1992)

Criteria for sustainable livelihoods • Profit - Increase in real value between two time periods; • Economic effectiveness - minimum inputs for maximum outcome; • Value addition - non-declining values of natural capital; • Social equity - promotes livelihood opportunities for a household but does not impose negative externalities on others presently or in the future, and; • Resilience - able to cope with and recover from vulnerability.

Livelihood and poverty • Poverty • Material need - needy • Deprivation of goods and services • The Lack of economic resources – e.g. income, wealth, assets • The lack of social needs - social seclusion, dependency & inability to participate in society

Poverty reduction programmes • Target different areas • e.g. Education, economic development, income redistribution, improved health care, and lifting social and legal barriers to income growth among the poor

Wetland Services and exploitation Livelihoods and wetlands servicesMillennium Ecosystem Assessment Provisioning services - direct and visible services (wetland products) e.g. fish, medicine, crafts materials, grass for mulching & thatching, building materials( sand and clay) etc

Wetland Services and exploitation Livelihoods and wetlands servicesMillennium Ecosystem Assessment Regulating services - processes related to water, sediment and climate (wetland functions) e.g. water, purification, waste water treatment, communication, water storage, climate modulation

Wetland Services and exploitation • Livelihoods and wetlands services • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment • Cultural services - attributes from wetlands - cultural values ( heritage), aesthetic values- landscape • Supporting services – include soil formation (accumulation of sediment & organic matter and nutrient cycling. Fundamental to the functioning of the wetlands, catchment and vital for people adjacent to and away from the wetland

Exploitation of wetlands • Issues • Exploitation for provisioning services by people – e.g. agriculture, fishing, mining sand & clay, hunting • Impact by humans on the environment – dependent on population size, per capita consumption and type of technology used. Impacts include pollution, biodiversity loss, resource degradation, introduction of alien species etc

Exploitation of wetlands • Issues cont’d • Effects on people – humans impact on the environment & experience the impacts e.g. nutrient depletion causing low yields, reduction in fish stocks, raw materials, health problems due to pollution, livelihoods etc.

Exploitation of wetlands • Issues cont’d • Resources can also be looked at in terms of: • Excludability – denied access e.g. Flower farms, farms, industrial development • Subtractability – monopoly, limiting access by others e.g. individual vs community

Exploitation of wetlands • Issues cont’d • Resources can also be looked at in terms of: • Extractive use – based on provisioning services (e.g. wetland products) • Non extractive use – based on regulating, cultural, and supporting services (e.g. Wetland functions and attributes)

0 Example of integrated agriculture-aquaculture approach in Wetlands Finger Ponds DVD

Species level use versus ecosystem level • Species level use – mostly in extractive uses of natural resources e.g. fisheries, agriculture and forestry • Ecosystem level use – range from recreational to activities that use the ecosystem functions or services (provisioning)

Integrated agriculture in wetlands • Wetland services contribute to poverty reduction, especially provisioning services. • Agriculture main stay for rural communities & supplemented by remittances form urban areas –issues of food security and purchasing power for goods & services are important considerations

Integrated agriculture in wetlands • Potential for agriculture in & around wetlands high because of accumulated nutrients & residual moisture in the dry season • Agricultural production systems • Examples: rain fed extensive & small holder plots without external inputs but supplying households to large scale, irrigated, mechanized and industrial scale

Integrated agriculture in wetlands Way forward Agro-ecology and integrated natural resource management – combination of traditional knowledge and modern technologye.g. Aquaculture + cultivation (fish ponds & finger ponds)

Integrated agriculture in wetlands • Characteristics of traditional farming systems • Are adapted to local conditions • Use limited amounts of chemicals fertilizers & pesticides • Use traditional soil & water management techniques e.g. terraces, raised fields, mulching

Integrated agriculture in wetlands • Characteristics of traditional farming systems cont’d • Is knowledge intensive rather than input intensive • Use an integrated approach • Are based on the sustainable use & ecosystem approaches

Impact of use on wetlands • Pollution – seen in the increased concentrations of nutrients, toxins or microorganisms in the water or soil of the wetland, the impact results from reduction of the natural functioning/processes of the wetland (regulating services) • Depletion – seen in the reduction in abundance of certain components of the wetland (Provisioning services)

Impact of use on wetlands • Degradation – seen in alteration of the ecosystem to the extent that it no longer provides some or all the services (the changed hydrology due to whole/part conversion, results in wetland degradation e.g. upstream dam construction results in degradation of downstream flood plains due to diversion of water.

Impacts due to agriculture • Conversion through drainage & removal of vegetation affects wetland integrity • Surplus nutrients (e.g. nitrogen & phosphorus) in adjacent water bodies form fertilizer & manure • Pollution from herbicides, fungicides and pesticides • Soil erosion & depletion of soil nutrients etc

Decision making & tradeoffs in wetland use • Guiding questions for decision making • Currents wetland status • What are its components, processes and services • Level of encroachment • Social economic value and impacts • The nature of proposed exploitation/activities

Decision making & tradeoffs in wetland use • Guiding questions for decision making cont’d • Type of & suitability of exploitation • Expected benefits and beneficiaries • Impact of proposed exploitation • Impact on the wetland ecology by the proposed developmentDecision is based on tradeoff between the benefits of exploiting the wetland & costs/disadvantages/impacts associated with use ALSO READ McCartney et al 2005

Strategies for interventions - an example Kampala Matrix

Problems related to tradeoffs • Limited knowledge base on wetlands • Cost benefit analysis limited by the lack of quantitative valuation of many wetland services • Difficulty in synchronizing present & future costs and benefits of using a wetland • Assessments of wetlands for use, should be based on existing/changing conditions & on a case by case basis

There is need to understand and clearly describe the livelihood of people in order to have effective strategies for poverty reduction THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

Wetlands and Poverty Reduction Project Anglophone regional practitioners training course