FOREST INTERNSHIP REPORT

I. – Introduction

Ecosystem services are “the benefits generated by ecosystem for human well- being”, defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) (2005). The MEA took a step on for the future vision of ES and since then efforts to delivery it have been put it in practice (Daily, Polasky et al. 2009). ES are indispensable for life on earth, as well as indicating the actual ecosystem condition in a specific area (Haines-Young and Potschin 2008). Thus, policy makers and researchers have been focusing in ES. After the publication of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) (2005) aligned to the ES description in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (2012), the concept of ES gained more attention (Daily, Polasky et al. 2009) for its contribution in climate and climate change mitigation alternative, but specially for linking the relationship between the poor in rural areas with their natural environment and the dependency for livelihoods. The MEA (2005) grouped the ES in four different categories:  Provisioning (non-timber forest products (NTFP), food, and timber), regulating (climate regulation), supporting (nutrient cycling), and cultural services (spiritual and sacred places).  The rural people in Lao are heavily dependent in ES, 90% of people are engage in collection of NTFP, and is the second major contributor the livelihood after agriculture activity (Tong 2009).

According to international and Lao PDR legislation, all business and projects development in order to place and operate are required to have the social and environmental impact assessment (ESIA). ESIA is the way to “identify, predict and assess the type of scale of potential biodiversity impacts, and opportunities to benefit the conservation associated with any business activities or projects” (IFC 2016). Earth System is a multinational environmental and social consulting company established in 1993, with offices in Asia, Europe and Africa and Oceania with more than 500 projects developed all over the world and considerable number in Lao PDR. In the pathway to work with international standards, Earth Systems is updating his studies constantly, consolidating the ES chapter in the ESIA is one of the most recent project as the context of Lao PDR required further detail in the ES as they are more dependant in ES than many other countries in the region, it might result in difficulties and more complex studies but, the ES concept in becoming an important component for decision making in government bodies. Additionally, ESIA with inclusion of the ES is now required by the Environmental and Social Performance Standards (PS) of the IFC. This requirement is aligned with the recommendation of the CBD, thus this chapter will be aligned with this standards MEA (2005) (CBD 2012).

The inclusion of ES in an exclusive chapter in the ESIA is a new challenge for the company. The concept of ES has been cover in most previous ESIAs but included in different chapters with limited coverage. ES chapter in ESIA in not going to be an independent chapter because it cover all components of the project such as water, land, air etc. as one. ES are formed as a result of interacting biotic and abiotic components in the environment (MEA 2005). Thus, the information displayed in ES chapter depends heavily on that data obtained for other chapters in the report (including: socio-economic, biodiversity, soils, water quality and hydrology, cumulative impacts). However, more attention and broader information need to be collected in the Household survey in order to understand the importance of the different ES for the livelihood of villages affected by the project. The mentioned above lead us to the following project objectives.

II. – Project objectives

• To integrate Ecosystem Services (ES) concept into environmental Impact assessment.
• To Identify the ecosystem services for which project impacts could lead to a loss in human well-being
• To elaborate the baseline for the Ecosystem chapter in Social and Environmental Impact Assessment.

III. – Host Institution

Earth systems is a multinational environmental and social consulting company with more the 20 years of experience with private and public sector. The internship was based in Laos PDR – Vientiane one of the most important offices after Melbourne office for the company. Earth Systems is currently conducting the ESIA for a plantation company in located in two provinces in Central Laos, Bolikhamxay and Khammouane Provinces. The interest for the incorporation of ES for the company relies on the impacts that eucalyptus plantation are causing in the region. The fragmentation of the ecosystem due to introduction of exotic species (Eucalyptus) has been recorded by the Government of Lao PDR and previous ESIAs studies of Erath Systems

IV. – Background

Lao PDR is a country with rich in natural resources (Tropical forest, Mekong River and contributories). Offering a variety of ES as the main source for food, cash income for most households in rural Lao. Records from the government of Lao PDR shows that inhabitants directly depends on ecosystem services such as fertile soils, regular rainfall, natural pollination, and natural regulation of pests for successful agriculture, collection of NTFP. Also, more of the protein intake comes from the existence of wild animal and plant species available to hunt and gather for food and medicines, access to fresh drinking water, the availability of firewood for heating and cooking, and the maintenance of the ‘green infrastructure’ as a natural platform for resilience (e.g., natural forest land for protection from erosion, storms and floods) (FAO 2014).

4.1 IFC Performance Standards

IFC Performance Standard 6 outlines several requirements related to Ecosystem services including the requirement for a full consideration of project impacts on ecosystem services, an outline of management and mitigation measures to reduce these impacts and a determination of residual impacts likely to occur as a result of the Project’s implementation. This will also include an identification of priority ecosystem services, the criteria for which is outlined below. The following text from IFC (2012) outlines these requirements:

• The risks and impacts identification process as set out in Performance Standard 1 should consider direct and indirect project-related impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services and identify any significant residual impacts. This process will consider relevant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, especially focusing on habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, invasive alien species, overexploitation, hydrological changes, nutrient loading, and pollution
• As a matter of priority, the client should seek to avoid impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. When avoidance of impacts is not possible, measures to minimize impacts and restore biodiversity and ecosystem services should be implemented

Some areas of habitat and land use may be particularly important for the provision of ecosystem services and identified as priority areas/services for the Project. Priority ecosystem services are designated in IFC Performance Standard 6 (2012) as two fold:

• “Those services on which project operations are most likely to have an impact and, therefore, which result in adverse impacts to Affected Communities; and/or”
• “Those services on which the project is directly dependent for its operations (e.g., water). When Affected Communities are likely to be impacted, they should participate in the determination of priority ecosystem services in accordance with the stakeholder engagement process as defined in Performance Standard 1”

Where impacts on priority ecosystem services are significant or where the effects on ecosystem services are of relevance to affected communities, the Project should aim to avoid all adverse impacts (IFC, 2012) through an appropriate implementation of the mitigation hierarchy. Where these impacts cannot be avoided IFC PS6 outlines that “the client will minimize them and implement mitigation measures that aim to maintain the value and functionality of priority services.”

4.2 Ecosystem services Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

Ecosystems provide more than the resources needed for material welfare and livelihoods. In addition to supporting all life and regulating natural systems, they specifically provide benefits to people through services including the goods produced by the environment, the results of environmental regulatory processes, cultural benefits and supportive services. Thus, ecosystem services can be defined as the benefits humanity derives from natural ecosystems. See table 1 for more detail in ES definition and classification by the MEA (2005)

Table 1 Ecosystem Services

(Source: MEA 2005)

IFC Performance Standard 6 provides the following definition of Ecosystem services which are concurrent with categories outlined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment in 2005:

“Ecosystem services are the benefits that people, including businesses, derive from ecosystems. Ecosystem services are organized into four types: (i) provisioning services which are the products people obtain from ecosystems; (ii) regulating services, which are the benefits people obtain from the regulation of ecosystem processes; (iii) cultural services which are the nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems; and (iv) supporting services, which are the natural processes that maintain the other services.” (IFC, 2012)

4.3 Ecosystem Services as an evaluation tool in environmental sciences

The new regulatory and financial impact standards require that ESIA studies include impacts on ES. There are some efforts to provide technical guidance to address ES such as the WRI “Waving Ecosystem Services into Social and Environmental Impact Assessment” (WRI 2012) and the “Ecosystem Service Assessment- How to do one in practice” (Everard and Waters 2013), but there is no a regulatory legislation international or in Lao PDR for the incorporation of  ES in ESIA. Stakeholders are crucial in outlining the importance of ecosystem services, they need to be engaged in collaborative processes to identify all the priority ES, strategic options, and in the assessment of opportunities and risks. The MEA (2005) revealed that 60% of the assessed ES were being degraded or used unsustainably, causing disproportionate impacts, contributing to social disparities, increased poverty and social conflicts around the world. These are consideration for the inclusion of ES a as tool to reduce dramatic effects on the environment and humans that we depend of the functioning of ES.

4.4 Importance of ecosystem services in ESIA

The importance of the ES services rely on the coverage and he relationship between people and the natural environment, as many other approaches in the natural science, here are weaknesses and strength see table below. However, ES are not clear cut and context specific.

Table 2 Strengths and weakness of ES in ESIAs