People-Private Partnership (PPP 2.0): Empowering Communities in Natural Resource Management

Why communities must lead nature-based solutions in the climate crisis

How rural communities, forest dwellers and farmers are the first line of defence against climate change.

By Sushil Kumar Singla

Public Private Partnership has took off with the advent of economic liberalization in 1990s but got wings in 21^st century in infrastructure building particularly in Highways and Energy sectors. Natural resources are often treasures with no individual or collective ownership but belong to humanity as a whole. Natural resources are to be managed India’s 2/3^rd population reside in rural areas and most of our national resources are located in these areas. The rural people including forest Dwellers and Tribals have symbiotic relationship with these resources. The local communities have played a stellar role in their conservation, protection and promotion as these resources are source of livelihood, wellbeing and provide buffer against onslaught of climate change and resultant global warming.

            Therefore, Nature based Solutions (NBS) can be and must be taken forward with People at the forefront as they are the most vulnerable and victims of Climate Change and resultant warming; and they must be placed in the fore-front as leading partners. This will help in bringing all the stakeholders Public, People or Private Entity on the same page as all of them will carry equal weight age which willhelp in creating inclusive and equitable societal order without any frills.

A case in point is the Forest Conservation Amendment Act, 2023 allowing the industries to take up plantation on forest land particularly degraded forest lands is aimed at enhancing green cover in the country. At the same time, industry can earn “Green Credits” by undertaking afforestation on degraded forest lands, which can be traded and used to meet compensatory afforestation obligations. This is in line with the National Forest Policy 1988 goal of bringing 1/3^rd of land area under forest or tree cover from the current level of approximately 1/4^th.

In the mountainous Himalayan State of Himachal Pradesh, two Ayurvedic Manufacturers, uses bio-resource material for production of plant based formulations have come forward to collaborate and work closely with the people residing in rural areas to cultivate medicinal and herbal species. One of these, a leading company shall provide free of cost plants to people for raising in their Private lands or farmers in growing in farm lands as per the feasibility assessments. Dabur India Limited has signed an MoA to supply 1.2 million plants every year without any charge to the local people and this free distribution shall continue for next 10 years. The company has agreed to create awareness, impart technical knowhow to the people in addition to have a buy back arrangement with the growers of these medicinal and herbal produce.

The Department of Forest and Ayurveda under the State Government shall have a limited mandate of facilitating and providing a common platform to People and Private entity to coordinate, collaborate and cooperate to take forward the objectives of mutually signed agreements.This will pave way for scientific propagation of herbal plants with the twin objective of enhancing local rural livelihoods and ensuring quality herbal produce for the manufacture and preservation of traditionally harvested forest and conservation areas.

Similar approach has been adopted by the Government of Himachal Pradesh in the field of Climate Change projects in the state such as India’s first State-supported Biochar production programme. Under the Biochar Project, forest based bio-resource will be used to convert it into biochar; which shall help in protecting the forests from wild fires but also create avenues for local people’s livelihood enhancements. A tripartite Memorandum of Agreement in this regard had been signed between University, the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department and a private entity. The initiative will not only create employment opportunities but also help the State to secure carbon credits. The company through the Forest Department will engage local communities in sustainable biomass collection and the participants will be paid for per kg of biomass collected, with performance-based incentives for maintaining quality and quantity.

The programme is expected to generate nearly 50,000 person-days of income annually through biomass collection, along with direct employment in plant operations. Skill development programmes will also be organised in partnership with the university on safe collection practices, biochar applications in agriculture, and climate change mitigation. Over its 10-year operational period, the project is expected to generate about 28,800 carbon credits, giving a boost to Himachal Pradesh’s green initiatives.

The Afforestation, Reforestation and Re-vegetation (ARR) project is being promoted on the land owned by people by roping in private investments. Under ARR, the private company will supply seedlings free of cost to the farmers for raising on private lands and after 5 years will be eligible to partake the carbon credits accumulated on account of these plantation undertaken on farm lands. Here, Government departments particularly the Forest department shall play a peripheral role. All these efforts collectively help in realizing the dream of achieving National Forest Policy objectives, international commitments pronounced under National Determined Contributions.

As the nature based solutions have longer gestation period, these require long term, consistent and continuous efforts to make them successful and sustainable. Now the stakeholders have to think from the perspective that People, Private Entity and Public Servants are sitting on the same side of the table and the table is not square or rectangular but round. National resource management has to graduate from Joint management to community led management which shall ultimately lead to sustainable management with the targeted aim of enhancing stake of the last person in the row or poorest of the poor.

The common prevalent notion is that the Government has no business to be in Business. Is it a time to move beyond and take a leap from PPP 1.0 to PPP 2.0 with Public being replaced with People as far as management of National Resources is concerned?

The writer is Secretary Environment, Science Technology and Climate Change Government of Himachal Pradesh. Views expressed are personal; views are personal