Water and Nature – Phase 2 Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services into Water Management

  • Environmental Fiscal Reforms (EFR) can be a useful tool for the second phase of the Water and Nature Initiative (WANI 2), in order to garner funds for investing in ecosystem conservation as part of water infrastructure, as well as for poverty reduction.
  • They provide the means to ensure that ecosystems are counted as water infrastructure by providing incentives for sustainable water resources management and curbing pollution
  • They also mobilize funds needed to improve the access of poor to safe drinking water and investing in pro-poor development.
  • To make fiscal reforms for sustainable water resources management holistic and far-reaching, there is a need to not only consider water services, but also fiscal instruments for forests, land, fisheries and watershed management.
  • There is a need to ensure an enabling environment to institute EFR, which includes building government and administrative capacity, and involving all stakeholders.
  • Most importantly, they should be well-designed and should have pro-poor aspects built into them.
  • They should be a component of a comprehensive mix of regulatory and other measures and not a stand alone approach.

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