Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystem Services (FES) – TUEWAS (Transport, Environment, Energy and Water in Asia)

The Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystem Services (FES; project duration: 2021-2023) is a follow-on module of the project Himachal Pradesh Forest Ecosystem Services (HP-FES; project duration: 2016-2020). GIZ India is implementing the FES project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Forest Departments. The project supports the increased orientation of forest management towards FES with a focus on water availability at the partner states. This Technical Cooperation (TC) is an initiative for strengthening the paradigm shift in the forest developmental policies and procedures towards the FES and participatory forest management centric approach, so that forests are managed sustainably for the most important ecosystem services.

One of India’s most important ecoregions are the forest ecosystems of the Western Himalayas. They act as life support systems for millions of people residing in the uplands and lowlands of the Indo-Gangetic plains. The Himalayan forest ecosystems play a larger role in our survival, apart from being a timber source. In addition to a wide array of services critical for sustaining livelihoods, they also provide ecosystem services that enhance the supply of water that flows into streams and larger rivers. Therefore, it is important to strengthen the paradigm shift in the forest developmental policies and procedures that focus on FES and participatory forest management centric approach. The project goal is to strengthen the management of Forest Ecosystem Services (FES) with an emphasis on water availability in the Western Himalayas. It follows a holistic and landscape-related approach i.e., it considers different ecosystem services and extends beyond individual forest areas. It will also ensure the flow of other provisioning and ecologically sensitive tourism services focusing on water. This project is a step towards recognising that the services that emanate from the forest ecosystems are critical to the functioning of our life-support system and human welfare.