Conditions de Réussite de Projet: La Faisabilité Economique et Sociale des PSE
1. 8 août 2011 Conditions de Réussite de Projet : La Faisabilité Economique et Sociale des PSE Michael Richards Atelier de Formation sur les Paiements pour les Services Environnementaux (PES) et la Réduction des Emissions résultant du Déboisement et de la Dégradation des Forêts (REDD+)
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12. ROSE Ouganda – 7 types de projet de grand potentiel Type d’Ecosystème Droits fonciers - Institutionnel Cause(s) principale (s) de Déboisement, Foret tropicale (bien stockée) Réserves naturelles/Parcs nationaux Sciage de long non réglementé Privé, Gestion collaborative des ressources., Sciage de long non réglementé, l’agriculture Foret tropicale (à faible stock) Gestion collaborative des ressources, privé Sciage de long, agriculture/pâturage Coutumier/Communautaire Agriculture, bois de chauffage & mats, Zones boisées Gestion collaborative des ressources Agriculture, abattage d’arbres Aires fauniques communautaires, privé Charbon de bois, agriculture Coutumier/Communautaire Charbon de bois, agriculture
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Hinweis der Redaktion
One risk mitigation strategy is to assess a prospective PES site for ‘suitability’ or whether it meets basic ideal conditions, such as (read list) PES deals are most likely to flourish when and where: Demand for ecosystem services is clear and financially valuable to one or more players. PES are most likely to occur when there is at least one beneficiary of ecosystem services with both an incentive to invest in the maintenance of this service and available funds for doing so . Supply is threatened. If resources are clearly diminishing to the point of scarcity because of a declining ecosystem service, then a PES deal holds potential. Specific resource management actions have the potential to address supply constraints. For PES to be a viable option, it is essential to identify what resource management practices could be changed and what ecosystem services results will ensure improvement of ‘supply’ issues. Effective brokers or intermediaries exist who can assist with documenting ecosystem service conditions, identifying specific resource management alternatives, aggregating multiple landowners/resource users (if needed), engaging and negotiating with prospective buyers, and any other activities related to implementation (including monitoring, certification, verification, etc.). Contract laws not only exist but are enforced, and resource tenure is clear. The supplier must have control over the area where the PES agreement is to be implemented, and the buyer must have assurance, and recourse to ensure, that contract provisions of the deal are secure. Clear criteria for evaluating equitable outcomes across partners are established. In the case where partnerships are formed to supply the ecosystem service, clear criteria of fairness need to be designed and agreed by all parties to the transaction.
Projects should be conservative and run sensitivity analyses on key assumptions. Initial estimates should always strive to be conservative, and projects that are only marginally viable under initial assumptions are unlikely to survive further scrutiny and development. Three recurring pitfalls are: Initial overestimation of project scale Emission and sequestration numbers are often scaled down Areas are often revised Optimistic assumptions about carbon finance Focusing on higher end of carbon prices in various markets Forward purchase of credits at full price is uncommon Development, validation, verification processes take longer than expected Not defining the project activities clearly Lack of funding not only constraint for reducing deforestation Activities must effectively address deforestation pressures , shrink.
While price and value are not one and the same, they are related and sellers would be wise to explore a range of approaches to valuing ecosystem services that may be subject of a PES agreement. Illustrative factors in valuing ecosystem services include (see list on slide) Economic value or the quantification of economic benefits of the services from a societal point of view (both direct and indirect), Financial value which is a combination of: - the actual private financial benefits to specific actor(s) that can be estimated based on the costs of replacing an ecosystem service if it were damaged or not available - the costs to the landowner of making needed resource management changes, such as costs of planting trees - the costs of developing the transaction, including creating baseline documentation of current ecosystem services status, developing a plan for - changing practices to improve ecosystem service flows over time, etc. Relative costs of alternatives such as the cost of building a water treatment plant versus investing in natural ecosystem service-based filtration, Market or transaction price which is partly a reflection of perceived risks and uncertainty as well as bargaining power or the existence of co-benefits, and Pricing of similar deals.
While negotiating the agreement, both buyers and sellers may wish to explore ways in which to reduce costs such as through (see list on slide) At one extreme, and in cases where communities and land managers have little prior organizational expertise, start-up and transaction costs can absorb a significant portion of the seller’s hoped for profit. This situation is why it is critical to estimate and review transaction costs throughout the process – a costly activity in its own right, and one made difficult by the fact that all costs will vary not only from project to project, but also throughout the lifecycle of many individual projects. If the costs are too great, the PES deal developers should explore ways of covering them, or even adjust or halt the process to address expenditures. In some cases, transaction costs may be so high that a PES deal is not possible in that area. Extended Notes Aggregate projects Streamline sales and negotiations among multiple process and funding mechanisms Build on existing programs Diagnose local needs, priorities and PES opportunities Strengthen community organization and local knowledge related to a PES project “ Bundle” environmental service payments Link to local or national water and/or conservation projects, Develop multiple payments for different activities on the same piece of land. Create cost-sharing mechanisms Specialized firms or agencies for community-based projects can solicit contribution from: national or state agencies overseas NGOs (developmental or environmental) private-sector companies municipal utilities local communities Create specialized services from intermediary organizations Specialized firms or agencies for community-based projects can: provide technical expertise in project design, - support central negotiations, - establish mechanisms for financial transfer, and - verify PES actions. Establish intermediary management institutions Draw up and register farmers’ plans related to PES, Assesses plans for ecosystem service contributions, Develop ecosystem service agreements between buyers and sellers, Provide technical assistance, Monitor project Reduce data costs Improve data and methods for project planning, baseline development and monitoring Establish large-scale, area-wide projects Develop project over entire jurisdiction, committing to defined increase in forest cover or area protected Partner with other small providers to share transaction costs of project development Set up a Trust Fund Serve as central repository of funds, decision making body, multiple stakeholder entity where conflicts can be resolved preemptively,
Overall, the whole process of putting together PES agreements is sufficiently complex that it is very useful to have honest brokers familiar with details who can assist – particularly sellers. Tasks for assistance may include (see list)
Why ROSE? REDD Opportunity Scoping Exercise Context & Rationale The Opportunity of REDD: performance-based economic incentive for forest conservation protection of biodiversity and forest ecosystem services, w/ additional potential to contribute to poverty reduction (e.g. via PFM) Gaps in knowledge What project types would: be most appropriate? have the highest potential for success? What policy, legal and institutional frameworks must be in place in order for REDD projects to succeed? ROSE Objectives Identify potential forest carbon/REDD project types (not sites) that indicate a high likelihood of success For each type of project, identify the key legal, institutional and policy constraints (or opportunities) to project development Identify any critical legal, institutional, and policy gaps that, if effectively addressed, could result in a major boost for REDD
Criteria needed to score potential of REDD project types Focus on criteria that indicate technical and socio-economic viability of a potential REDD project Scoring & selection of higher potential REDD types Each criteria ranked 1-3: higher score is more attractive (but a high opportunity cost would score low) Selection of higher project types based on a combination of scores and qualitative analysis: we will look at scores but then decide if there are any “killer assumptions” Desire for a balanced portfolio (e.g., to include the main tenure/institutional arrangements) also affects final selection
Why should project developers be concerned with stakeholder participation? For project developers, engagement with communities is necessary, not just to comply with project standards, but also to ensure project sustainability. Ensuring the full participation, acceptance and consent of communities does require additional effort, time and money from project developers, but experience has shown that doing so helps to avoid delays, setbacks and conflicts during project implementation. In addition, community engagement helps to reduce risks, especially because non-engagement could lead to increased leakage and reduced permanence (see the Annex on Climate Change and Carbon) when forest-dependent communities are impacted negatively, marginalized or even excluded from project opportunities. Working with community members and other stakeholders also increases the reputation of projects in the marketplace by ensuring that elite capture and other potentially poverty exacerbating effects do not occur. Standards for carbon projects, such as the Community, Climate, and Biodiversity Standard, require community engagement, which increases market access for projects. Finally, projects showing good social practice are often able to access ‘softer’ finance which is aimed at helping protect communities and the poor from adverse climate change impacts more easily.
Historically, community populations have not always had satisfactory experiences with mechanisms that were created and developed at national and international levels without the consultation of their positions and consideration of their beliefs, conditions and lifestyles. Additionally, in many cases the rights related to the land tenure are still not legally resolved. As such, it is fundamental that whatever mechanism is developed internationally and implemented across the globe should not only recognize the rights of indigenous populations over their territories, but also guarantee compliance with the rights recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People adopted in 2007. Among the rights recognized in this Declaration, are: Recognition of their rights over their traditionally owned or occupied lands, especially natural resources, and their customary forms of management. Respect the right of autonomy and self-determination, which means that the indigenous populations and local communities have the autonomy to manage their lands as well as the legal capacity to negotiate and make decisions regarding their participation in projects and initiatives that affect them directly and indirectly. Apply the right of free, prior, and informed consent in which the involved communities must have access to all of the information related to the project and principally be consulted BEFORE beginning any activity. (See more information on FPIC below.) Ensure the full and effective participation of the indigenous people in all of the stages of the project. To learn more, see: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/es/drip.html
FPIC CHALLENGES Time: Sound, consensus-based decisions will only emerge from processes that are iterative, inclusive and allow enough time for systematic consultation, information gathering and feedback. Projects are necessarily iterative since communities have the right to consent (or not) at all key stages of project development. Who has the right to give consent? Consent should be granted by the representative organizations of indigenous groups or other local communities. For some groups, this may be clearer than for others, but it is necessary to ascertain which group has the ability to give consent in order for the project to proceed. How inclusive are ‘collective’ and ‘traditional’ decision-making processes? Though FPIC states the consent derives from traditional and (ideally) collective decision-making processes, there is no guarantee that these systems are genuinely representative and inclusive. In situations where these assumptions do not hold, projects need to find alternative ways of consulting with marginalized stakeholder sub-groups like women and ethnic minorities. Cost of providing independent and comprehensive information: Providing balanced information to community members is a costly process including impact studies to fully understand the costs and benefits of project implementation, making information accessible, providing access to legal advice and participatory mapping to clarify customary rights, areas and rights holders. FPIC is more difficult when outcomes are uncertain: For forest carbon projects especially, there is uncertainty regarding financial outcomes. This makes it difficult to be definitive about financial returns when holding consultations with communities. (See Blomley, T., M. Richards, and B. Borges. Forthcoming. “Good Practice Guidance for Community Engagement in Forest Carbon Projects.” In J. Ebeling and J. Olander (eds.). Building Forest Carbon Projects: A Step by Step Guide. Washington, D.C.: Forest Trends.) EXTENDED NOTES Another key element of community participation in payment for ecosystem service projects is free, prior and informed consent. Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) refers to the right of local communities to give or withhold their consent to proposed measures that will affect them or the land and resources they own or use. The process of free, prior and informed consent is essential for ensuring that commitments made by communities are made only when the community fully and realistically understands a PES project. For indigenous communities, free, prior and informed consent is included in international law, but it is also recognized as a very important tool for other local communities and smallholder farmers. Free, prior and informed consent does not mean that every single member of a community has to agree with a project, but that a consensus is reached within the community (through a council or tribal government, for example) to move forward. Communities must give their consent before a project begins to implement activities so that they still have the option to refuse project implementation. In addition, they must be presented with complete information on the intent and scope of the project in a language and process which they can easily understand. Coercion or intimidation which forces community members to make a certain decision is not allowed. The process of free, prior and informed consent should also reflect traditional consultation processes and respect customary leadership.