Privatizing the commons: impact on ecosystem services in Bangalore’s lakes

The incipient megapolis of Bangalore, India, has historically been dependent on ecosystem services provided by an extensive network of lakes. Today, many of these lakes have disappeared or been degraded due to pressures of development and urbanization. This paper assesses the impact of governance through Private-Public-Partnerships (PPPs) in three lakes, by examining the impacts on provisioning and cultural ecosystem services, by comparison with adjacent, state managed (public) lakes. Public lakes support a greater diversity of traditional livelihoods, non-commercial uses and cultural services as compared to privatized lakes. PPPs thus appear to exacerbate inequities in access, in particular for users dependent on traditional livelihood services and cultural ecological services from lakes. Results indicate that implementation of PPP approaches need reconsideration from an equity perspective in cities of the global South.