Mobilizing the private sector through PPP as an agent for Natural Resources Management,

leveraging NTFP Sustainable Livelihood interventions under Community Based Forest

Enterprise models in clusters would create a monumental impact that would complement the
ultimate objectives of Jal Jangal Initiatives in achieving its set goals.

There are numerous barriers to expanded private sector engagement in NRM and Livelihoods
projects, including Nepal’s lack of interest or capacity in involving the private sector, and a lack
of entry points for private sector stakeholders at the macro and micro level to address
environmental challenges and opportunities across the entire value chain.

In order to bring transformational change to the NRM environment in Nepal, the public and
private sectors must identify new ways of working together.

The new set public private sector partnership in NRM is moving towards a more holistic
approach that will mainstream private sector engagement. We draw on 3 different
interventions to promote PPP sector engagement in NRM:

• Convene multi-stakeholder alliances to develop, harmonize and implement sustainable

practices, creating alliances to promote environmental objectives in any sustainable livelihood
interventions.
• Strengthen institutional capacity and decision-making to improve information,
participation, and accountability in public and private decisions.
• Demonstrate innovative approaches, including validation of a technology, a policy
measure or an approach to address environmental degradation that can spur broader adoption.

Natural Capital Accounting

Forging public-private partnerships and coalitions, and using public policy incentives to better
measure, manage, and value natural capital. There has been widespread support for natural
capital accounting but there is now a sense of urgency to scale up efforts in the private sector
and government.

Nepal is running out of time (along with the rest of the world) because her natural resources
are degenerating at a very rapid pace. Natural Capital Accounting needs to be embedded in our
ambitions of how we are going to go about managing our economies and natural resources for
the future. Any meaningful activity to improve the health of ecosystem has to have a logical
relevance based on the current scenario and thereby plan a systematic roll out of the
conservation interventions.

Currently, experts from government, academia, international business, international

development agencies, statistics and accounting are discussing the challenges involved in
implementing such systems in a global economy (of which Nepal is a part of it, however small it
may be) and what it will take to achieve the vision of a world in which natural capital is valued
and managed responsibly.
The private sector has an important role to play in the appreciation of natural capital, Natural
capital management provides essential benefits for businesses and communities to improve
their performance in environmental and social risk mitigation, resource efficiency, access to
markets and financing, and improved reputation. At the same time, private sector need
guidance and tools on how to systematically measure, monitor, report, value, and account for
natural capital.

The forging of partnerships between public, private or non-profit groups is critically important,
and from an economic standpoint, companies may also need to shift their focus from short-
term performance to longer-term incentives.

Additionally, to reach the scale needed for real outcomes, public policy measures should be in
place to incorporate negative "externalities" into economic decisions.

Access to natural resources by the poor (land, forests, water, fisheries, pastures, etc.), is
essential for sustainable poverty reduction. The livelihoods of rural people without access, or
with very limited access to natural resources are vulnerable because they have difficulty in
obtaining food, accumulating other assets, and recuperating after natural or market shocks or
misfortunes. It will be very effective, if the main goal of Jal Jangal programme is to build
stakeholder capacity to improve poor people’s access to natural resources through the
application of sustainable livelihood approaches. We recommend the following thematic areas
to be incorporated in the sub-programmes of Community based cluster interventions of Jal
Jangal:
• Sustainable livelihood approaches (in clusters) in the context of access to different
natural resources
• Access to natural resources and making rights real
• Livelihoods and access to natural resources in a rapidly changing world

The Cluster Approach

The CBFE in local natural resources of NTFP if implemented in clusters in a given area under a
sustainable livelihood approach can synergise with the private sector to reach the scale needed
for real outcomes - ‘co impact sourcing’ of supply chain module can be a game changer in a real
scale where bigger business brand leaders could make Nepal the hub of ethical and sustainable
sourcing of medicinal botanicals. The partnership will be a sure conduit to ensure the access to
the natural resources by the poor.

Voluntary Certification:
Setting the standards for sustainable herbal practices for the production, processing,
manufacturing, quality controlling and purchasing is very vital for the community of growers,
the market and the environment. The Standards and its certifications thereof is a set of
guidelines that ensures the continued use and long-term survival of wild plant species in their
habitats. Any project of sustainable herbalism from the forests needs to incorporate a
customized standard of globally accepted standards. Nepal needs to be seen as a proactive
partner in protecting its natural bounty and immediately act upon practicing the certification
regime in any and all of its botanical extraction products. Setting the agenda for the
sustainability matrix should be no longer an option. Jal Jangal must insist on incorporating all
the international standards that is in place and should advocate for regulatory mandating of
various certifications on a time bound manner. The following certifications are to be
encouraged to be adhered to - Voluntary Certification for Good Agricultural and Collection
Practices (GACP), FairWild, EcoCert, USDA, FSC, etc.