The value of Indian commons
In India, common lands constitute one-fifth of the country’s landmass, meet the critical subsistence and livelihood needs of more than 350 million of the rural population, and are of social and cultural significance to rural communities. Despite providing numerous ecosystem services, commons are at
risk of degradation and decline as a result of human
activities, insecure community rights, weak
governance, and unfavorable national policies.
Provisioning services
Regulating services
Supporting services
Cultural services
1. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
2. Medicines
3. Fuelwood
4. Food
5. Timber
6. Fodder
7. Livelihood
8. Water
9. Raw material
10. Biodiesel
11. Fisheries
12. Honey
1. Pollination
2. Soil fertility
3. Climate regulation
4. Soil erosion prevention
5. Air purification
6. Water regulation
7. Watershed
8. Water purification
9. Water conservation
10. Waste treatment
11. Biological control
12. Carbon sequestration
1. Soil formation
2. Habitat for species
3. Gene pool
4. Nursery function
5. Nutrient cycling
6. Grazing benefits
1. Recreation and tourism
2. Aesthetic
3. Religious and sacred value
4. Heritage
Types of commons
Forests
(33.0 million ha)
Culturable Wastelands
(12.5 million ha)
Permanent Pastures and Other Grazing Lands (9.1 million ha)
Barren and Unculturable Lands
(11.9 million ha)
include lands classed as forest, whether tree-dominant and wooded forest land, as well as areas within the forest that may be utilized for crops and open grazing.
Share of total common land area in district land area
What are commons?
Commons are shared natural resources such as water, forests, and pastures. They carry out many ecological functions that are essential for earth’s life support system and are at the core of the global economy. Unlike private property or government-recognized forms of common property, local land and water commons in India are usually formally “owned” by the state but managed collectively by state agencies and/or local user groups.
Commons provide many ecosystem services that support the livelihoods of about 2.5 billion people around the world. In India, many commons are still officially designated as “wastelands” — a relic of the colonial era, when uncultivated lands were called “waste” and taken over by the Crown, with the notion that converting those lands to cultivation would generate more land revenue. India’s commons face widespread degradation, with an estimated reduction in area of 1–32 percent across various districts. Expansion of economic activities, human encroachment, and land conversions, along with environmental pollutions have contributed to the loss, degradation, and fragmentation of common lands.
2.5
billion people
depend on commons
globally
350
million people
depend on commons
in India
Ecosystem services
Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from forests, freshwater, and other ecosystems — water supply and purification, soil fertility, pest regulation, pollination, and climate regulation among the most critical.
Provisioning services consist of all "the products obtained from ecosystems".
Regulating services are the "benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes".
Supporting services are the services that allow for the other ecosystem services to be present.
Cultural services relate to the nonmaterial world and are not easily quantifiable in monetary terms.
include both meadows and village common grazing lands.
are those lands that are available for cultivation but remain uncultivated for the last five years or more in succession. They may be either fallow or covered with shrubs and jungles, which are not put to any use.
include mountains, deserts, etc. These lands cannot be brought under cultivation.
Share of forest area in district land area
Forests
Forests are the most extensive type of commons, with the highest number of ecosystem services defined, and the highest estimated value of ecosystem services.
$1,704
Average value USD/ha/year
$2,108
Forests
Agriculture
Share of culturable wasteland area in district land area
Share of permanent pastureland area in district land area
Most valuable ecosystem service for culturable wasteland and permanent pastures
557
Food
Permanent Pastures and Other Grazing Lands
Pasturelands are vital for grazing and providing fodder, but also provide other valuable provisioning, regulating, and supporting services, including soil fertility, climate regulation, watersheds, waste treatment, nutrient cycling, as well as cultural services.
ha/year
66.5
million
hectares
Indian commons consist of
average value USD/ha/yr
Share of barren land area in district land area
Conclusion
Identifying spatial patterns and intersections of common lands with high biodiversity areas in India, coupled with estimating the values of ecosystem services from common lands, enhances appreciation of the importance of commons at the national, state, and district levels. In economic terms, commons provide material and nonmaterial benefits worth US$90.5 billion: $1,353 per hectare per year.
Common lands are spread out spatially across India, and are intertwined, with more than one type of commons often present within the same district. Communities, especially poor, marginalized and Indigenous communities such as Scheduled Tribes, rely on forests, pastures, and other commons not only for their livelihoods but for their social and cultural identity. While forest commons have the highest value, pastureland is vital to livelihoods, and communities derive various provisioning ecosystem services from culturable wasteland and barren land, including extraction of materials for housing, cooking, and grazing livestock.
The 34 ecosystem services associated with the commons in India not only support the local communities directly but also benefit wider society by regulating climate, sequestering carbon, providing biodiversity, and more. National Parks, for instance, are often found in districts with a high concentration of common lands, highlighting the critical role of commons as buffers to these areas of high ecological significance.
Valuation also demonstrates the loss of economic value when underlying ecological structures supporting the provision of ecosystem services are degraded, in turn impacting the livelihood of millions. We estimate that $750 million worth of ecosystem services can be lost each year over the next 30 years, reducing the total material and nonmaterial benefits to $68 billion by 2050. To reduce or stop this decline of ecosystem services, there is an urgent need to bring in policy incentives and develop decision-making tools to enable communities to manage the commons more sustainably and inclusively, building toward efforts for the 30x30 biodiversity strategy. One way is to use spatial analysis to target investments for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration in pockets of high commons concentration, rather than relying on national blanket policies. Yet, it is important to devise inclusive policies that strengthen community tenure to the commons they depend on, and recognize communities as the stewards of common lands.
Read the journal paper
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed by the parties.
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Read Descriptions of these identified ecosystem services
Most valuable ecosystem services:
1. Watershed
2. Food
3. Gene pool
$661
$216
$180
Average value USD/ha/year
Most valuable ecosystem services:*
1. Food
2. Soil fertility
3. NFTPs
$557
$91
$73
$861
Culturable Wastelands
Though culturable wastelands make up 8% or less of a large proportion of districts across India, they comprise up to 43% of numerous others, and provide valuable services similar to those derived from pastureland.
Average value USD/ha/year
Most valuable ecosystem services:
1. Soil fertility
2. Nutrient cycling
3. Climate regulation
$91
$43
$22
Forests
$196
ha/year
Agriculture
$1,704
Barren and Unculturable Lands
Although barren and unculturable lands have the lowest average economic value of ecosystem services compared to other types of commons, they still provide essential regulating and supporting services.
* Culturable wasteland and permanent pastures
$1,704
Comparisons of average value USD/ha/year in India
Agriculture
Commons
$1,353
Forests
$2,108
Average value USD/ha/year
$861
Most valuable ecosystem services:*
1. Food
2. Soil fertility
3. NFTPs
* Culturable wasteland and permanent pastures
The declining value of commons
India’s land commons are under threat of losing significant value. Based on the trends in the decline of land-based commons, we estimate the value of ecosystem services will decline to $68 billion by 2050: $750 million worth of ecosystem services may be lost each year over the next 30 years.
-$750
million each
year
$557
$91
$73
No data available
No data available
No data available
No data available
No data available
$90.5
billion worth of ecosystem services each year
Indian commons provide