Incentivizing endemic biodiversity conservation under a warming climate through market-based instruments

This study investigates the potential of utilising payment for ecosystem services (PES) led incentives to support the conservation of endemic biodiversity and the development of alternative livelihood opportunities, specifically through ecotourism, in regions facing water scarcity. It highlights the ability of PES programmes to not only generate additional income for communities but also encourage land use practices that safeguard biodiversity and enhance water recharge. Moreover, when social norms adapt and transform as water availability improves and PES incomes increase, it may promote the emergence of community-driven ecotourism ventures. Using the case of the lateritic plateaus in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, India, we design a dynamic optimisation model of the local community's utility maximisation problem under land use choices that could potentially provide them with water security and alternative livelihoods through ecotourism. The findings indicate that when PES income is substantial, community norms and social enterprises undergo a synergistic transformation, thereby offering livelihood resilience in the context of a warming climate. Moreover, as rising temperatures diminish the productivity of conventional land use choices like mango orchards, timely intervention through PES programmes can effectively avert an irreparable degradation of the lateritic plateaus while ensuring sustainable water resources in the long run.