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Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Options for Sustainable Financing of Mahausakande: A Regenerating Rainforest in Sri Lanka
February, 2012. Ranasinghe, T., and Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. Mahausakande Tropical Rainforest Regeneration Initiative, Research Paper No.3, 28 pages
Summary
The Mahausakande tropical rainforest regeneration program is a pioneering conservation effort initiated by the Ellawala Foundation Trust (EFT) in 2003. Recognizing the significance of this program, the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in Sri Lanka joined with EFT in 2007 to further enhance the promotion of conservation and sustainable livelihoods in Mahausakande. The Mahausakande regenerating forest (MRF) located in Kiriella provides a unique opportunity to study the ecosystem services generated from a regenerating forest. A valuation study was conducted in MRF to estimate the monetary value of selected ecosystem goods and services generated at present, and the potential value that can be generated from sustainable management of forest resources. The financial requirement to operate the Mahausakande programme, and viable options for sustainable financing were also evaluated.
The value of the selected provisioning services under the present condition was estimated at Rs.147,281 (US$ 1,292) per hectare per year, supporting services Rs. 53,694 (US$ 471) per hectare per year, regulating services Rs. 56,053 (US$ 495) per hectare per year and cultural services Rs. 54,902 (US$ 482) per hectare per year. Under the current scenario, MRF generate a minimum of Rs. 312,379 (US$.2,740) worth of provisioning, supporting, regulating and cultural ecosystem services per hectare per year. According to the estimates predicted for MRF under the scenario of adopting the proposed sustainable management options, the average value of ecosystem services, including the provisioning, supporting, regulating and cultural services considered would be around Rs. 1,268,383 (US$ 11,126) per hectare per year at its maturity stage. It should be noted that these per hectare values are the minimum values as many of the services are not captured in the analysis due to valuation constraints and limitations.
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Keywords: Other Publications, s. Economic valuation & PES, Asia, carbon sequestration, economic value, ecosystem services, forest regeneration, PES, plant biomass, Sri Lanka, standing carbon, sustainable financing