RBS FI mission is to build resilience of India’s ecologically critical landscapes and the vulnerable communities which reside within these. With this view, RBS FI has been supporting its partner CSO – FES since 2010 in the KPC landscape.
Overtime, RBS FI recognized that KPC is facing threats that hamper its functionality as a wildlife corridor, carbon sink, watershed, and livelihood source. These threats are multi-dimensional and to address these there is a need to get relevant stakeholders together and working towards a common goal. (esp. in absense of a single leading legal framework)
Multiiple stakeholders with varying interests and orientations exist and influence a landscape, including the community that resides within. It is thus critical to create a balance within these stakeholders. Getting stakeholders together requires a driving force - it can be an individual/ group /organisation/a set of organisations - they can be a public/private or a civil society.
RBS FI took a lead role in getting all the stakeholders together, including Forest Department, CSOs and other government agencies. Contributed self funds of USD 2.12 million and leveraged another USD 2.56 from UN Climate Adaptation Fund. RBS FI continues to contribute with time and resources towards the well being of KPC
- Long term engagement with the landscape, RBS FI has been working in the KPC since 2010.
- Continuous flow of financing for the project interventions. RBS FI, CSOs and government agencies have ensured that efforts are ongoing in the landscape through provision of sustainable financing
- Having a flexible approach
- Encouraging CSOs and government agencies with strong ideologies to work together requires having a flexible approach and engaging with the agencies involved regularly.
Continuous engagement, especially with government agencies is required, especially since corridors don’t enjoy a special legal framework. While they do get covered under a combination of them corridors comprise of protected areas, territorial divisions, revenue and private lands where there are multiple legal systems at work including Forest Department, Revenue Department and others.
Another challenge is that government officers keep getting transfered to other roles in the system, and we have to start rapport and context building with them from scratch.
Thus, creating institutions like the PSC and ensuring that they become robust is essential in initiatives like these. Such institutions put the onus on the government and its representations to ensure continuity of one streamlined approach in the landscape to address the most pressing issues.