Because ecosystems are so central to sustaining our water, there is an increasingly urgent need now to focus on ecosystems as natural solutions to global water management challenges. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Water and Wetlands report, published in 2013, lays out a raft of recommendations that must slow and ultimately halt and reverse the degradation of wetlands.
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India has initiated The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity – India Initiative (TII) to bring in focus the values of nature and consequences of loss of ecosystem services on human well-being. Wetlands International South Asia is one of the core partners of the initiative, and inland as well as coastal wetlands have been identified as priority ecosystems. TII is supported by the Indo-German Biodiversity Programme of GIZ-India (Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).
During the 12th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), hosted by Republic of Korea in October 2014, the first interim report of the TEEB India Initiative was released, containing a description of the assessment framework and pilot sites identified for primary assessments. This report follows the Working Document released by the Ministry during 11th Conference of Parties Meeting held in Hyderabad, India in October 2012 containing the outcomes of scoping studies commissioned under the initiative.
Dr. Ritesh Kumar, Conservation Programme Manager at Wetlands International South Asia, sees this report as a major contribution to highlight the economic consequences of loss of biological diversity and associated decline in wetland ecosystem services. "TII will be a major support to bringing in focus on values of ecosystem services of wetlands" he said.
The interim report can be downloaded here.
More on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) global initiative here: http://www.teebweb.org/.
