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Rapid ecosystem service assessment of the impact of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve on wetland benefits to local communities

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Abstract

Wetlands are important for biodiversity and are critical for human livelihoods, providing ecosystem services such as clean water, food and global climate regulation. Many wetlands are threatened by land-use conversion, but creating protected areas to conserve them can benefit both biodiversity and people. However, protected areas can also have socio-economic costs for local communities. At Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in Nepal, there has been historical conflict over the creation of the reserve. In light of a recent proposal to expand the protected area, we explored the use of a rapid ecosystem service assessment tool (TESSA) to assess the impact of the reserve on some of the key ecosystem services the site provides. Based on the ecosystem services assessed we estimated that the economic value of KTWR as a protected area is $350,000 y−1 ($20 ha−1y−1) less than the value of the wetland in an unprotected state. However, this difference is relatively small and is affected by the limitations of the approach and sensitivity of the values to market prices and the assumptions made, so we cannot draw clear conclusions on the overall impact of the reserve in relation to local livelihoods. However, we found TESSA to be a useful tool for engaging with the stakeholder community and for highlighting the potential impacts that land use decisions can have on key ecosystem services. In the context of informing the potential expansion of the reserve, it is clear that further intensive socio-economic assessment of the potential costs and benefits is necessary.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the UK Darwin Initiative (contract 18-005). The ecosystem service assessment methodologies in TESSA used for this study were developed by BirdLife International, University of Cambridge, UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Anglia Ruskin University and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and involved input from more than 30 UK and international experts who attended a workshop in May 2010. We thank Andy Graham, Menuka Basnyat and Chandra Chaudhary for their assistance with fieldwork and Seb Buckton for his guidance at the outset of this work. We also thank Renu Sah of the Buffer Zone Management Council, the Buffer Zone User Committee representatives of Prakashpur, Madhuban, Bairwara, Badgama, Odaraha, Dharampur, Tapeshwori, Kushaha, Rabin Ghimire of UCHEP-NEPAL and Vivekananda Jha from the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands, Nepal UNDP/GEF project for their support with this research. Thanks to Andy Graham for his comments on an early draft of this paper and to two anonymous reviewers.

Funding

This work was funded by the UK Darwin Initiative (contract 18-005) from 2010 to 2013. http://www.darwininitiative.org.uk/project/18005/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BirdLife International, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK

    Jennifer C. Merriman, Stuart H. M. Butchart & David H. L. Thomas

  2. BirdLife International, Asia Regional Office, 354 Tanglin Road, #01-16/17, Tanglin International Centre, Singapore, 247672, Singapore

    Hum Gurung

  3. WWF Nepal, PO Box 7660, Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Shalu Adhikari

  4. Department of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

    Stuart H. M. Butchart

  5. Community Based Flood and Glacial Lake Outburst Risk Reduction Project, CFGORRP/Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Nagpokhari, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Top B. Khatri

  6. Plan International Nepal, Godhuli Marg, Morang, Biratnagar, Nepal

    Ravi S. Pandit

  7. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, G.P.O. Box 860, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Ashok K. Ram

  8. Bird Conservation Nepal, P.O. Box 12465, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Ishana Thapa

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  1. Jennifer C. Merriman
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Correspondence to Jennifer C. Merriman.

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Merriman, J.C., Gurung, H., Adhikari, S. et al. Rapid ecosystem service assessment of the impact of Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve on wetland benefits to local communities. Wetlands Ecol Manage 26, 491–507 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-017-9587-2

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