The Future of Sustainability: Have Your Say!

Week Three - “The New Economy and Biodiversity”
Comment / Comentario / Commentaire

Bhim Adhikari, IUCN, Pakistan

Moderating team: Bhim Adhikari points out that the development of markets for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is not contributing effectively to poverty alleviation nor providing sufficient economic incentives to rural communities for conservation. Bhim argues that we need a combination of market-based approaches towards conservation supported by strong institutions that can ensure both equity and efficiency of resource distribution.

Bhim Adhikari resalta que el desarrollo de los mercados para productos forestales no maderables no contribuye efectivamente al alivio de la pobreza ni provee incentivos económicos suficientes para las comunidades rurales. Bhim argumenta la necesidad de combinar enfoques de mercado – conservación con instituciones fuertes que permitan asegurar la equidad y eficiencia de la distribución de los recursos.

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Though markets provide conducive environment for sustainable use of resources, market alone would not ensure equity efficiency, and sustainability of resource management. We have witnessed that while trade liberalization promotes growth but poverty reduction aspects of trade liberalization is highly questionable. For instance, some studies highly contested that the recent trend in commercialisation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is not contributing effectively to either poverty alleviation or to providing sufficient economic incentives to rural communities for conservation. Many large pharmaceutical drugs manufacturing companies rely on traders and agents who exploit local herb gatherers to harvest medicinal plants without paying attention to sustainable exploitation. There is enough evidence that commercialisations of NTFPs, especially medicinal plants, have lead to a production chain based on an extremely inequitable distribution of benefits (Holley and Cherala, 1998). Moreover, commercialisation of biological resources is preventing the participation of indigenous local communities in the sustainable management and benefits arising from the use of these resources. The economic hardship, social displacement and cultural decay of forest dependent communities persist in the context of denied rights to collect these crucial resources within the course of commercialisation and commodification.

What we need is a combination of market-based approaches towards conservation supported by strong institutions that can ensure both equity and efficiency of resource distribution. Community-based rights to common pool resources along with secure access rights to local indigenous communities are prerequisite for tackling poverty and conserving the environment simultaneously. Poverty cannot be alleviated unless poor people have secure access to natural resources and additional assets are made available to them. Since the poor have few productive assets and their livelihood is based on environmental assets, they tend to receive lower incomes from other sources and that they rely mostly on assets from the natural environment for consumption, production and asset formation. But poorer households face many constraints in overcoming barriers to get secure access to - for using - the natural capital. I think these are the challenges one need to consider when discussing a prosperous economy that benefits people and the planet.