Valuation of Ecosystem Services & Benefits of Son Beel Wetland in Assam, India: A Case Study of Natural Solutions to Climate Change & Water

Abstract

Son Beel wetland is facing ecosystem marginalization where ecosystem services aren’t being priced & reflected in decision making which proves complete market failure. Agricultural produce from converted lake does not reflect values lost due to flood protection, fisheries, biodiversity etc. People who deteriorate are not the same whose livelihoods are affected leading to continued degradation of the wetland. Wetlands governance has so far been failing to address sectoral policies providing incentives leads to wetlands depletion. Son Beel is the home to diversity of fishes in particular to an important habitat for small & tinny fishes. There are about 500 families engaged in the net building & designing and these fisher folk communities are linked this wetland to local market networks. It has been estimated by state government report and records that there are more than 35,000 families directly dependent on the Beel for traditional fishing system. Evergreen Forest comprises 40% peripheral area of the Beel. Son Beel is an important habitat for some reptiles and other various aquatic species. This wetland is home for migrant Siberian birds for 3 months every year. Son Beel is abundantly rich in fish biodiversity and around 69 different fish species are found among which small fishes are the most (D.Kar et. al, 2006). The economic value is the monetary value of goods & services offered by wetlands in which people’s preferences are expressed through choices & trade-offs. Total Economic Value (TEV) is the sum of the values of all wetland ecosystem services flows from providers to beneficiaries over the given spatial & temporal scales. Economic valuation is a powerful tool since it provides means to measure & quantify trade-offs between multiple wetland uses (Barbier et al., 1997) via monetary matrices. Valuation of wetland ecosystem in India has some major gaps likewise; the confusion of terminologies between intermediate & final ecosystem services, has led to double-counting that caninflate values that can seriously impact the credibility of economic valuation. (Johnston & Russel, 2011). The gap of methodological challenges in linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services is a serious constraint to current valuation process. Lack of clear guidance on relating ecological compensation programmes to conservation targets is a major loophole in ecosystem valuation in India. We tried the best to mitigate these gaps in the ecosystem valuation of Son Beel Wetland. Major aim & objective of our valuation is to provide useful information inputs to the wetland governance to sustain wetland for multiple benefits. Development of ecological production functions & non market valuation methods need ecological & social data which is currently unavailable in India. We shall produce this paper before the State Government of Assam to take adequate measures in protection & conservation of wetlands. We estimated monetary value of Son Beel is from a minimum of $88/Hectare/year to maximum of $29,716/Hectare/Year. Son Beel wetland comprises a vast biodiversity of flora & fauna. This wetland offers a wide range of ecosystem services that helps not only mitigating the impact of climate change but also provides a natural solution to climate related risk reduction. The Son Beel (Shon Beel) is not only an important wetland of Karimganj district of Assam but it is considered as one of the largest wetlands of Asia. The Son Beel wetland lies in Ramkrishna Nagar (Town) block of Karimganj district. Son Beel offers local an agricultural landscape for the production of rice during winter season when water level in the wetland declines drastically to utilize the peripheral regime as paddy bowls of the State. From March onwards, it turns up into an enormous mass of water body. The average depth of this wetland is very less so when there is more rain, the lake overflows and the excess water flows through by Kakra River and finally mix with the Kushira River which eventually goes into Bangladesh (Kar 1990).We did a holistic valuation of this wetland ecosystem from January, 2016 to December, 2018 which signifies significant role of Son Beel in offering multiple ecosystem services that provides water security, climate security, vulnerability reduction against water related disaster risks etc. Ecosystem services are the benefits that the people, society & the economy receive from nature. For example: water provision & purification, flood & storm control, carbon storage & climate regulation, food & materials provision, scientific knowledge, recreation & tourism (MA, 2005a; TEEB, 2010, TEEB, 2011). Wetlands work as natural infrastructure & networks of natural ecosystems that delivers a range of important ecosystem services (Krchnak et al., 2011). Even with active restoration interventions, once wetlands have been disturbed, they either recover slowly (over decades or centuries) or move towards alternate states that differ from their original (pre-disturbance) state (Moreno-Mateos et al. 2012; Mossman et al. 2012). In whatever case may be, loss & degradation of wetlands leads loss of depletion of economic benefits of the ecosystem services, restoration of wetlands can restore some of those benefits & hence deliver high economic benefit. Son Beel Wetland ecosystem services in the management of water & wetland can help identify opportunities for: (1) better harnessing & maintaining the multiple benefits that ecosystem services related to water & Beel provide; (2) developing more cost-effective strategies than conventional technical solutions can offer; & (3) avoiding costs related to biodiversity depletion & ecosystem services. We adopted TEEB, 2010 & TEEB, 2011 for our valuation of Son Beel Wetland. We have studied a set of case studies on wetland valuation in India. Overall 4 valuation methodologies we have considered & put the values in set of variables of Provisioning Services/PS, Regulating Services/RS, Supporting Services/SS & Cultural Services/CS. • Revealed Preference: observing real market behaviour (Market price, production function approaches, surrogate market approaches including travel cost/Hedonic pricing) • Cost Based Approaches: focus on cost related ecosystem services (damage/replacement/maintenance expenditure) • Stated Preferences: observing hypothetical market behaviour • Benefit Transfer: Values imputed from an existing assessment. Agenda 2030 provides a broader roadmap for national & international policy action for governments, civil society, private sector & other State/Non-State actors to achieve SDGs for our present & future generations. Son Beel provides a wide range of natural capital flow in terms ecosystem services for the life & livelihood of people & community. We need to ensure that wetland conservation, wise use & restoration are an integral part to SDGs planning & implementation. Integrating wetlands services & benefits in Nationally Determined Contributions for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is critical for achieving SDGs. Placing a value on nature’s ecosystem services shouldn’t be misconstrued as ‘putting a price on nature. The authors will strongly recommend the site should declare as Ramsar site of Wetland or such constructive steps should take by the authorities for its better conservation.