What economic value the forest, including national parks, of Uttarakhand holds

1. ECONOMIC
EVALUATION OF
ECO-SYSTEM
SERVICES
PERSPECTIVE OF UTTARAKHAND FOREST
DEPARTMENT
JAI RAJ,
PCCF, UTTARAKHAND.

2. HIMALAYAN STATES
• Despite ever-increasing demand for
development, conservation of natural resources
has been the underlying policy.
• Uttarakhand has 71% of its Geographical Area
under forest with around 14% under Protected
Areas – much more than the national average
(21%, 4.89%).
• Green bonus

3. WHY VALUE NATURE ?
• Recharged ground water, fertile soil, plant biomass
created by photosynthesis etc. appear to be seemingly
free.
• Ecosystem services – food, water, recreation, protection
from natural hazards are all reviewed as a right that is
free and infinite.
• However, with the ever increasing biotic-pressure, their is
a gradual decline in the vigour of eco-systems to provide
services to the same degree.

4. PROJECT DECISIONS
ECONOMIC GROWTH
•Cost-benefit Ratio
•GDP

5. GEP
• GEP – The Gross Environment Product (green GDP) is an
index of economic growth with the environmental
consequences of that growth factored into a country's
conventional GDP.
• GEP or Green GDP monetizes the loss of biodiversity &
other environmental factors and accounts for such costs
in developmental planning.
• The science is evolving.

6. UTTARAKHAND – PIONEER (GEP)
•PIL in High Court by HESCO.
•High Level Committee.
•Study instituted by “Economics and
Statistical Dept.” for evaluation of ES and
GEP.

7. UTTARAKHAND FORESTS
104 billion rupees per annum
(943 billion rupees per annum from IHR)
(Prof. SP Singh)

8. ECO-SYSTEM SERVICES FROM INDIAN
FORESTS
• The total economic value has been estimated at 6.96 lakh
crores annually, which is approximately 6.86% of the GDP
and represents the bare minimum approximate values of
goods and services generated by forests.
• Valuation of certain services such as waste treatment,
biodiversity, cultural and traditional values of trees and
forests could not be assessed due to lack of proper
methodologies; therefore the total value may be even
higher than what has been projected here.

9. FOREST-ECOSYSTEM
TIGER RESERVES
(STUDY BY THE CENTRE FOR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES MANAGEMENT AT IIFM FOR
NTCA)
• 80% OF BIODIVERSITY
• 3500 tigers with approx. 50% in India.
• TIGERS are apex-predators and their conservation results in the
conservation of lower trophic level.
• 48 Tiger Reserves with 2% of geog. Area.
• Quantitative and qualitative estimates of 25 ecosystems services
from six tiger reserves in different Tiger landscapes across the
country.
• Cost of re-creation of a tiger reserve has also been worked out.

10. STYDY BY CENTRE FOR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES MANAGEMENT AT IIFM
FOR NTCA
SERVICES
Standing wood-stock, employment generation,
gene-pool protection, carbon-storage, water-
purification, pollination, waste assimilation,
recreation, water provisioning, habitat, nutrient
recycling etc.

11. STUDY BY CENTRE FOR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES
MANAGEMENT AT IIFM FOR NTCA
Corbett TR – 14.7 billion rupees or 1.14 lakh/ha
annually of flow-benefits.
(Tangible – 107 million rupees/year and intangible –
14,615 million rupees/year).
For every rupee spent in CTR, flow benefits of 368
rupees are realized within and outside the tiger
reserve.

12. STUDY BY CENTRE FOR ECOLOGICAL
SERVICES MANAGEMENT AT IIFM FOR NTCA
•Kanha TR – 16.5 billion rupees or 0.80
lakh/ha annual flow-benefits.
•Sunderbans TR – 12.8 billion rupees or 0.50
lakh/ha annual flow-benefits.

13. STUDY BY CENTRE FOR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES MANAGEMENT AT IIFM
FOR NTCA
Cost of recreating a Tiger Reserve
1069 sq. km.
491,800 million rupees
or
4.62 million rupees/ha

14. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
• TEEB
• REDD+
(20% of Global Green House Gases come from Forestry sector)
• NAPCC
• SHE – Sustainable Himalayan Ecosystem Mission.
• National Mission on Himalayan Studies.
• Biodiversity Conservation – access and sharing.
• Green Bonus.

15. ROAD AHEAD
•Strong networking - ECOLOGISTS,
ECONOMISTS, STATISTICIANS,
PLANNERS, COMMUNITIES.
•URGENCY.

16. THANKS !
pccf.p.uk@gmail.com
9412053604