Incentives for Ecosystem Services (IES) in the Himalayas: A ‘Cookbook’ for Emerging IES Practitioners in the Region

Baltistan in 2011–2014, compared with data recorded in prior years beginning in 1999. Wildlife population data in 2008–2009 for Ibex and Blue sheep were also higher than in 2006–2007. Furthermore, one study documented that in Bar Valley, uncontrolled hunting had been nearly eliminated, poaching had declined, and communities were displaying more positive attitudes towards wildlife and conservation in most areas with Community Trophy Hunting Programmes (Emerton et al., 2006). With regard to the Markhor, which IUCN declared endangered in 1998, its official population numbers rose from 275 in 1993 to 3,500 in 2015 due to its protected status in the CTHP. Following this increase, the IUCN down-listed the animal to ‘near threatened’ in 2015 (Khan, 2015). Possible improvements: There is clearly controversy about the benefits of trophy hunting worldwide, and scrutiny regarding how much reaches the affected households/community members. Without this information, it is not explicitly clear whether payments are invested in conservation and support local communities. Although local numbers suggest that the intensity of unregulated subsistence hunts has

been abated and there is local social pressure against poaching activity, it is difficult to document causation without control area examples for comparison. There is still a great need for more data and information in the local communities to support strong, local programme leadership. This may include technology transfer for monitoring, and surveys, methods of interaction with outfitters and hunters, and marketing of hunting in line with the conservation objectives. In cases of threatened and endangered species, extreme caution must be taken to prevent bottlenecks in population management, while in the face of possible broad-scale shifts such as climate change, a large population buffer must be established to prevent unintended consequences. Whereas there is some evidence for increased populations of trophy animals as a result of the programme, populations of non-trophy animals such as Ladakh urial and Musk deer are either stagnant or have declined. As some transfer of subsistence hunting pressure among species is likely occurring, strengthened management efforts are needed to ensure local ecosystem service food provision to the communities living in the area, as well as maintaining a sustainable wildlife population.

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Incentives for Ecosystem Services (IES) in the Himalayas