Incentive and market-based mechanisms for sustainable land management
Identification, development and up-scaling of incentive and market-based mechanisms for sustainable land management and UNCCD implementation in Mozambique.
This research initiative aims at analysing the GM/CATIE 14 incentive and market based mechanisms to promote sustainable land management in Mozambique. Review of existing and potentially applicable mechanisms including policy and legislation provisions, literature review and data collection in three provinces (Maputo, Sofala and Nampula) to document experiences in financing sustainable land use options. South Africa has examples of application of some of the mechanisms in the forestry sector and as such a field visit to MONDI forests will also be part of the study to gather such information. The final objective is to recommend a set of financing and partnership mechanisms that can facilitate implementation of the Action Plan on Combating Desertification.
Governments have traditionally relied on public budgets and bilateral and multilateral cooperation to support sustainable land management actions (SLM)* and implement National Action Programmes to Combat Desertification (NAPs) developed in the framework of the UN Convention the UNCCD (UNCCD). However, it is becoming evident that such support will not be sufficient or stable enough to stop and reverse land degradation, particularly in dry and degrading lands. Also, given that land use is an overwhelmingly private sector activity, there is increasing recognition that economic incentives are required for land users, including businesses, to invest in sustainable practices.
In order to address this challenge, the UNCCD 2008-2018 Strategy promotes economic instruments which do not directly finance actions to prevent, mitigate and reverse land degradation, but rather rely on private arrangements, regulation and markets to provide incentives for environmental stewardship. It calls for the identifying and exploring “financing mechanisms which include market based mechanisms, private sector, trade organisations and civil society organisations …”.
Accordingly, the financial mechanism of the UNCCD, the Global Mechanism (GM), has worked with Central American Research institution (CATIE) to develop a framework of relevant incentive and market based mechanisms (IMBMs) which can promote SLM. These include, for example, fiscal and regulatory instruments and mechanisms, the creation of local and global markets for sustainably produced and harvested natural products, and markets for environmental services such as GHG offsets, and watershed management. In addition, a tool has been developed to assess the applicability of the mechanisms in a given country or site context.
* These are practices that result in reduced soil erosion and salinization risk, conserve water and rangeland, and yield higher biological productivity. They include, but are not limited to, improved land-use management and zoning, agricultural practices such as no- or low-tillage, crop rotation, strip cropping or terracing, afforestation, and the establishment of protected and no-use areas.
The overall objective of this assignment is to identify opportunities for promoting incentive and markets based mechanisms (IMBMs) for SLM in Mozambique and elaborate recommendations for implementation.
Specific objectives
- Identify past and ongoing programmes, initiatives and stakeholders on IMBMs related to SLM in Mozambique, particularly in dry and degraded land.
- Exploring opportunities for dryland and natural products, including their market opportunities.
- Identify ongoing programmes, initiatives and stakeholders on IMBMs related to SLM in neighbouring countries such as South Africa, particularly those supported by private sector companies such as SAPPI, MONDI, NTC forest coop limited, etc. and examine how such initiatives can be replicated in Mozambique.
- Identify the IMBMs which are most appropriate and applicable in the national context, as well as stakeholder and capacity needs
- Raise stakeholder awareness of the range of IMBMs and the conditions for their successful application.
- Identify partnership opportunities in support of IMBMs including from financial institutions, the business community, international development agencies, and civil society.
- Provide recommendations for mainstreaming SLM into ongoing initiatives, upscaling good practices, develop new programmes, and/or creation of enabling conditions.
The study is aimed at coming up with a set of new and existing innovative mechanisms that can be implemented in Mozambique to promote sustainable land management. This will inform the Action Plan for the Convention on Combating Desertification in Mozambique through exploration of partnerships and leverage on various financing opportunities.