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Project name: Socio-economic impacts and market opportunities associated with land use and hydrological change in tropical montane cloud forest areas in Arenal, Costa Rica

Dates/Duration: 2002-2005

Project Purpose

The socio-economic impacts of biophysical changes in tropical montane cloud forests are poorly understood in terms of the sequence and significance of the drivers of land use conversion. Water from the cloud forest of Arenal is used to feed into the largest hydroelectric project in Costa Rica and is later used by the largest irrigation project in Central America. It is hoped that the project will provide detailed information that could be used in other countries with cloud forests.

This project aims to address the following issues:

•  What mechanisms for improved land use change in the upper parts of the watershed might increase productive flows of water for downstream users

•  How land use change policy/mechanisms might affect poor upper catchment farmers and stakeholders

Focus

Ina Porras began work in 2002 on this three-year project which is funded by DfID via the University of Newcastle. The project attempts to develop a step-by-step approach based on a Negotiation Support Systems (NSS) where stakeholders hold a key and interactive participatory role in defining feasible scenarios for land use change.   Understanding the human-hydrological-economic interface of land use conversion in the upper catchments will enable a more holistic analysis of who benefits and loses from differing policies that modify the incentives to conserve, reforest or convert upper catchment zones.

What we propose to do

To provide the basis of a negotiation support sytem to improve upstream-downstream coordination within the watershed. The main goal is to generate an interactive research process that could potentially be a replicable tool in similar situations elsewhere. This will be done through:

• Preparation of an interaction model that provides information on the effects of land use change from water flows and economic downstream effects in terms of hydroelectricity (managed by the Costa Rican Electricity Institute); complemented by qualitative information on social and economic benefits of the Arenal-Tempisque Irrigation Project.

• In-depth analysis of upstream livelihood strategies, and base estimations of how landholders (especially the poor) might be affected by further engagement in improved forestry and watershed activities.

• Local knowledge on stakeholders’ perceptions and beliefs regarding decisions about land use and how they have affected water flows over time. This will in turn provide useful information on what they might expect from a new land use policy.

• Provide base information and encourage discussion at local level to landholders, water users and policy makers on innovative watershed management mechanisms, such as markets for watershed services.

• Clear identification of the basic requirements that will guarantee mutal gains for the different interest groups (especially the poor) arising from improved watershed management.

Ina Porras is working on the “perceptions and beliefs” component of the project, and on the economic study. By means of a literature review, personal interviews, e-mail surveys, and focus groups she is looking at how the different stakeholders see the relationship between land use, water and livelihoods. For the economic study she will link the on-site model at farm level with externalities at watershed level in relation to hydroelectricity and irrigation. So far she has attended an inception workshop in August 2002 and has prepared part of an exploratory report.

The project is still at a relatively early stage stage, but it is expected that it will provide important policy recommendations on the viability of improved land use in the upper parts of the watershed from the point of view of: a) those who will be changing their patterns of land use; b) those who will have to pay for improved water flows; and c) the intermediary body who will facilitate the process within the watershed.

Partners and Donors

IIED – Ina Porras

Centre for Land Use and Water Resource Research, University of Newcastle - www.cluwrr.ncl.ac.uk

CINPE - Centro Internacional de Política Económica para el Desarrollo Sostenible, Costa Rica http://www.cinpe.una.ac.cr

Fundatec - www.itcr.ac.cr/Fundatec/lab.html

Funding comes from DFID (www.dfid.gov.uk) via Natural Resources International Ltd (www.nrinternational.co.uk )

Further Information

For more information on the project please contact Ina.Porras@iied.org.uk.

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