ECOBARI – UPSCALING ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION THROUGH COLLECTIVE ACTION

ECOBARI – UPSCALING ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION THROUGH COLLECTIVE ACTION

On 19th November 2021, WOTR with IDH and eight other partners launched ECOBARI – a collaborative aimed to promote Ecosystem-Based Adaptation for Resilient Incomes. The event witnessed over 150 participants.

ECOBARI received huge support from the development fraternity; it is seen as a major step in fostering climate change adaptation and supporting the incomes of marginalized communities in rural India. We, at WOTR, are immensely proud of this development.

COP26 highlighted the increasing global concern over the adverse impact of climate change on our ecosystems that has especially disrupted the lives of the underprivileged. Frequent floods, forest fires, spells of drought and such natural calamities are fast becoming the new normal. While this is deteriorating the overall quality of life for everyone, climate change is majorly wreaking havoc on the livelihoods of rural and tribal communities where agriculture and forest produce are their lifeline. But that’s not where it ends.

The ripple effect is on the entire nation, as seen in the rising hunger and malnutrition, inflation, widening socio-economic gap and declining human development index.

Perhaps, the recent COVID pandemic is a wake-up call in this context. It is an urgent nudge to build resilience as we secure the health of the planet and its people. A collaborative approach to implementing nature-based solutions is indeed the only way to regain the ecological balance.

With nearly three decades of persistent NGO working for ecosystem restoration and building climate resilience, WOTR has successfully transformed the lives and livelihoods of people across several villages in India. On this robust foundation of extensive experience and a rich knowledge pool, WOTR is now ready to join hands with like-minded organizations and individuals, to successfully upscale Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in India. The aim is to accelerate our pace and amplify the impact of EbA to achieve sustainable development goals.

ECOBARI is a promising development in this direction.

“Collective action is the pressing need of the hour to address ecosystem degradation and climate change. India’s focus has always been on sustainable and equitable growth. We welcome initiatives such as ECOBARI to contribute to the goals of the Paris Agreement and UN Climate Change Conference, Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework and UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.” Jigmet Takpa (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change)

ECOBARI – Vision, Mission and Roadmap The concept of ECOBARI emerged from a series of workshops organized by WOTR and TMG Research between 2019 and 2021, where stakeholders representing the central and state governments, research and academia, practitioner organizations, donors, community representatives, media and others discussed Ecosystem-based adaptation as a means to addressing climate change.

ECOBARI is the abbreviation for Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Resilient Incomes. In many Indian languages ‘Bari’ means ‘Home’. Since we are all dependent on one ecosystem or the other, for us ECOBARI also represents ‘Ecological Home’. We present the Vision, Mission and Roadmap of the initiative.

Vision Empowered communities sustainably regenerate and manage their ecosystems, conserve biodiversity, derive resilient incomes and improve their quality of life through nature-based solutions, as they adapt to climate change.

Mission To be a leading platform that grounds Ecosystem-based Adaptation at scale through multi-stakeholder partnerships, policy enablement and resource provisioning, so as to contribute to the country’s SDGs, the Land Degradation Neutrality targets and climate change commitments.

The urgent need for a collaborative approach

During the event, Jes Weigelt (Head of Programs, TMG Research) acknowledged the impact of various organizations in reducing land degradation, improving afforestation and water conservation. He recognized the impact of climate-resilient agriculture that has reportedly increased farmers’ incomes by 35%, which has significantly reduced distress migration. There are various organizations, institutions, and individuals striving to strengthen the ecosystems in their respective geographies and domains. However, in current times, when climate change is ruining the ecological balance much faster than was anticipated, we do not have the luxury to wait and witness the organic growth of our efforts. We must upscale and do it fast.

Ecosystem restoration and climate change adaptation is a goal that requires consistent, long-term, strategic efforts. Considering the size and scale of challenges in rural India, any single agency or even a few working together, cannot respond effectively.

The requirement for every project differs depending on the geographical location, biodiversity as well as social and cultural fabric. ECOBARI catalyses the process of assessing these varied requirements and encourage organizations to share their expertise and knowledge for sustainable ecosystems to support the health of our planet and people. The collaborative also encourages an evidence-based approach that will play a crucial role in addressing policy-level changes.