Search

Non-technical summary Until the past half-century, all agriculture and land management was framed by local institutions strong in social capital. But neoliberal forms of development came to undermine existing structures, thus reducing sustainability and equity. The past 20 years, though, have seen the deliberate establishment of more than 8 million new social groups across the world. This restructuring and growth of rural social capital within specific territories is leading to increased productivity of agricultural and land management systems, with particular benefits for those previously excluded. Further growth would occur with more national and regional policy support. Technical summary For agriculture and land management to improve natural capital over whole landscapes, social cooperation has long been required. The political economy of the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries prioritized unfettered individual action over the collective, and many rural institutions were harmed or destroyed. Since then, a wide range of social movements, networks and federations have emerged to support transitions towards sustainability and equity. Here, we focus on social capital manifested as intentionally formed collaborative groups within specific geographic territories. These groups focus on: (1) integrated pest management; (2) forests; (3) land; (4) water; (5) pastures; (6) support services; (7) innovation platforms; and (8) small-scale systems. We show across 122 initiatives in 55 countries that the number of groups has grown from 0.50 million (in 2000) to 8.54 million (in 2020). The area of land transformed by the 170–255 million group members is 300 Mha, mostly in less-developed countries (98% groups; 94% area). Farmers and land managers working with scientists and extensionists in these groups have improved both environmental outcomes and agricultural productivity. In some cases, changes to national or regional policy supported this growth in groups. Together with other movements, these social groups could now support further transitions towards policies and behaviours for global sustainability. Social media summary Millions of geographically based new social groups are leading to more sustainable agriculture and forestry worldwide. more...

In the post-war era, insufficient production of food was the major cause of food insecurity in the world. Not only was it considered urgent to increase available cropland, but increasing yields was also seen as a strategic priority. The intensification of crop production around the world began in earnest with the Green Revolution, often referred to as the Second Agricultural Revolution. Beginning in the 1950s and expanding through the 1960s, crop varieties and agricultural practices changed worldwide (Royal Society, 2009). The production model, which focused initially on the introduction of improved, higher-yielding varieties of wheat, rice and maize in high potential areas (Hazell, 2018 and Gollin et al., 2005), relied upon and promoted homogeneity: genetically uniform varieties grown with high levels of complementary inputs, such as irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides, which often led to depletion of agroecological resilience and hence natural capital (FAO, 2011b). Fertilizers replaced soil quality management, while herbicides provided an alternative to crop rotations or other means of controlling weeds (Tilman, 1998). The high growth in food production in Asia during the Green Revolution was due largely to the intensive use of mineral fertilization, along with improved germplasm and irrigation. World production of mineral fertilizers increased almost 350 percent between 1961 and 2002, from 33 million tonnes to 146 million tonnes (World Bank, 2007). more...

In this article, the development and operationalisation of forestry-wood chain indicators within the frame of sustainability impact assessment are discussed. The analytical framework follows a distinction between indicator definition and selection in a first phase, and a second operational phase of indicator application in terms of interconnecting material flows, calculation of chain performance and utilisation within evaluation components. A clear boundary drawing effort in terms of the development of indicator definitions, related subclasses, and measurement units as well as the creation of conversion factors between indicator values and individual chain stages supports this. Economic, social and environmental indicators have to respond to data collection needs on individual process levels (that correspond to sub-divisions of the forestry-wood chain). For the usage of indicators within evaluation tools, a functional hierarchy has to be provided that supports clear preference elicitation as well as information on related externalities. In total, this paper aims at demonstrating an enhanced spectrum in the use of sustainability indicators, and the challenges that arise from a developing and applying multi-functional indicators in sustainability impact assessment. more...

The quality of governance is known to have effects on deforestation, together with other social and economic factors. However, assessing the impact of governance quality is a challenging task due to the complex and diverse mechanisms of deforestation as well as limited data availability. In this paper, interrelations between governance quality and deforestation rates are analysed on a global scale, using national data on governance quality and deforestation. Results indicate an increase in governance quality tends to be associated with a decrease in deforestation rates (i.e., a lower level of deforestation). The paper then discusses the limitations of the quantitative assessment, including data issues. more...

In recent decades the concept of ‘governance’ as interdependent coordination of actors as well as the normative concept of ‘good governance’ have increasingly influenced international forest policy, to varying degrees. Using the three dimensions of multi-actor, multi-sector and multi-level governance to analyse key aspects of governance in the follow-up of global policy after the UNCED conference in 1992, this paper shows that ‘multi-actor governance’ has received considerable attention in international forest policy, mainly through promoting national forest programs. Global forest policy initiatives were less able to develop concepts to address and improve ‘multi-sector governance’ and ‘multi-level governance’, although these two dimensions of governance are particularly relevant for local levels. A number of major international forest policy initiatives, both public and private, have also focused on improving various dimensions of ‘good governance’. A review of the degree to which these international governmental initiatives have been transposed and applied at the local or regional level reveals a major gap between concepts and forest policy initiatives developed and promoted at international and national levels and their application at the regional and local levels. This calls for better concepts addressing in particular the ‘multi-level’ dimension of governance in order to improve connectivity between these levels. A range of governance change approaches can be applied, including adjusting modes of interaction, instruments and institutions. more...

Sustainable bioenergy systems are, by definition, embedded in social, economic, and environmental contexts and depend on support of many stakeholders with different perspectives. The resulting complexity constitutes a major barrier to the implementation of bioenergy projects. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the potential of Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) to facilitate the design and implementation of sustainable bioenergy projects. Four MCA tools (Super Decisions, DecideIT, Decision Lab, NAIADE) are reviewed for their suitability to assess sustainability of bioenergy systems with a special focus on multi-stakeholder inclusion. The MCA tools are applied using data from a multi-stakeholder bioenergy case study in Uganda. Although contributing to only a part of a comprehensive decision process, MCA can assist in overcoming implementation barriers by (i) structuring the problem, (ii) assisting in the identification of the least robust and/or most uncertain components in bioenergy systems and (iii) integrating stakeholders into the decision process. Applying the four MCA tools to a Ugandan case study resulted in a large variability in outcomes. However, social criteria were consistently identified by all tools as being decisive in making a bioelectricity project viable. more...

In sustainability impact assessments the development of widely accepted indicators that structure the subject area and provide the framework for assessing sustainability impacts is clearly important. We argue that the development of sustainability indicators in science-based initiatives works across the science/policy interface where social and natural scientists as well as stakeholders and policy-makers both translate concepts and ideas to each other and thus make value judgments about the selection of indicators and related sub-classes. This explains why pure scientific indicator initiatives based on simple ‘knowledge transfer’ models are unlikely to succeed. Instead, sustainability indicator development requires a ‘knowledge transaction model’ which spans the boundary between the scientific and the political domains. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing. more...

This study aims to determine whether carbon sequestration policies could present a significant contribution to the global portfolio of climate change mitigation options. The objective is to model the effects of policies designed to induce landowners to change land use and management patterns with a view to sequester carbon or to reduce deforestation. The approach uses the spatially explicit Dynamic Integrated Model of Forestry and Alternative Land Use (DIMA) to quantify the economic potential of global forests. The model chooses which of the land-use processes (afforestation, reforestation, deforestation, or conservation and management options) would be applied in a specific location, based on land prices, cost of forest production and harvesting, site productivity, population density, and estimates of economic growth. The approach is relevant in that it (1) couples a revised and updated version of the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios with the dynamic development of climate policy implications through integration with the Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental Impact (MESSAGE); (2) is spatially explicit on a 0.5° grid; and (3) is constrained by guaranteeing food security and land for urban development. As outputs, DIMA produces 100-year forecasts of land-use change, carbon sequestration, impacts of carbon incentives (e.g., avoided deforestation), biomass for bioenergy, and climate policy impacts. The modeling results indicate that carbon sequestration policies could contribute to a significant part of the global portfolio of efficient climate mitigation policies, dependent upon carbon prices. more...

Around 80% of the Austrian forest area is private property. Recently, in addition to traditional and business economic research, sciences for sociology and innovation have also discovered the private forest property as a research subject. With respect to different property types, it is shown that the Austrian forest belongs more and more to non-traditional forest owners who show little interest in forestry. For years the actual wood production decreases significantly where rationalization (large forest properties) or adjustments of the timber production to price fluctuations (small forest properties) are taken as counter measures. In general, the intensity and type of innovation activity strongly depends on the size of the property. more...

This paper presents a framework that encompasses a full range of options for including land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) within future agreements under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The intent is to provide options that can address the broad range of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals as well as to bring the broadest possible range of nations into undertaking mitigation efforts. We suggest that the approach taken for the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period is only one within a much larger universe of possible approaches. This larger universe includes partially or completely “de-linking” LULUCF commitments from those in other sectors, and allowing commitments specified in terms other than tonnes of greenhouse gases. Such approaches may provide clarity and transparency concerning the role of the various sectors in the agreements and encourage participation in agreements by a more inclusive, diverse set of countries, resulting in a more effective use of LULUCF in addressing climate change. more...

This paper asks to what extent sectoral or other innovation systems support the innovation performance of forest holdings. Special focus is put on product and service innovations, as these tend to create new income and employment in forestry and therefore contribute to rural development. In the course of a joint, coordinated research project by research institutions from Central European countries, the innovation behaviour of forest holdings, innovation systems and cases of successful innovations were investigated in these countries. Analysis shows that the sectoral innovation systems in forestry, as is typical for innovation systems in traditional sectors, are focused mainly on process innovations. Support of product and service innovations by the forestry institutional system is limited to diffusion programmes for selected topics. The development of product and service innovations — as studied using the examples of nature conservation and bio-energy — is typically supported in cross-sectoral regional innovation arenas rather than in well-developed sectoral or regional innovation systems. Only the diffusion of these innovations is supported by forestry sectoral innovation systems. It is concluded that for the purpose of fostering product and service innovations in forestry, more systematic cross-sectoral interaction by the forestry institutional system with other sectors and support of innovations at an earlier stage would probably increase the rate of innovation in the sector. more...

Economic research has identified innovation as a key engine for economic growth, competitiveness and employment. This is not only relevant for high-tech industries but to all sectors and economies, including forestry and rural areas. There are different approaches to study innovation. One is to study innovation as a linear process. Another is to study innovation as a complex phenomenon from a systems perspective. The latter has been widely applied in innovation research over the last decade. The systems view has been very fruitful in describing the empirical realities in the emergence of innovations, including the role of a multitude of actors and interactions. In order to be able to provide policy relevant advise for innovation policy on the basis of a sound theoretical foundation that builds on empirical realities, however, the conceptual frameworks need further development and refinement. The objective of this paper is to link a linear innovation process concept on firm level with an innovation system model and to apply it to forestry. The empirical data was collected through nation-wide surveys amongst forest holdings, from institutional level actors and from case studies in seven Central European countries, undertaken in the context of the EFI Regional Project Centre Innoforce. Based on the two conceptual frameworks and the empirical findings from the innovation surveys and case studies, the paper identifies a range of weaknesses in the current set-up of innovation systems. Subsequently, it develops a set of innovation policy recommendations that are considerably different from current forest policy designs. The paper comes to the conclusion that the innovation systems model, despite the need for further development, is a promising approach for scientists to analyse innovation as a complex phenomenon and provides forest policy makers with a new perspective on how to promote innovation in forestry. more...

Systemic approaches to the analysis of empirical phenomena are not new, but have gained renewed attention by many disciplines over the last decade. While ecological systems and their dynamics are well established in forestry sciences, forest policy research has hardly made attempts to use a systemic approach in analysis. The objective of the paper is to show the feasibility and limitations in applying a systems-based approach to the evaluation of forest policy. Empirical data from Austria on forestry related innovation policy is used as an example. In Austria surveys of the innovation and entrepreneurial behaviour of forest holdings and different levels of the institutional systems as well as case study analyses have been conducted. The results show that the approach allows mapping policy actor networks active in implementation of policies and their interactions, policy outcome at different institutional levels (international to local) as well as perceived impacts on the target groups. The main strength of the systemic policy evaluation approach is the ability to deal with complex structures and non-linear, iterative processes which are typical in policy making. The approach does not work with pre-defined delineations of policy fields and procedural models but empirically studies the relevant networks of actors and their interactions. At the same time this quality reveals the difficulties in delineating policy systems and the systems' functions even when employing a systems perspective. In conclusion it can be said that a systems approach is well suited to evaluate a policy but the methodological toolbox still needs to be sharpened. more...

The Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) is an international policy-making platform on forest policy in Europe. Forty-four European countries and the European Community elaborate common views on forest policy issues and commit themselves to actions at periodic Ministerial Conferences. In addition, 41 observers representing various civil society groups, international institutions and scientific organizations contribute significantly to the work of the MCPFE. The MCPFE provides an active interface with forest science. This paper outlines the structure and working modalities of the MCPFE. It shows that the MCPFE working modalities allow easy access, broad and open consultative processes and contributions from various stakeholders, including forest science. It reviews how forest science has used this opportunity, how it has contributed with its competence to forest policy deliberations and implementation of political commitments in the past, and which opportunities arise for t... more...

Forest certification was introduced in the early 1990s to address concerns of deforestation and forest degradation and to promote the maintenance of biological diversity, especially in the tropics. Initially pushed by environmental groups, it quickly evolved as a potential instrument to promote sustainable forest management (SFM). To date about 124 million ha or 3.2% of the world's forests have been certified by the different certification schemes created over the last decade. Forest certification shares the aim of promoting SFM with another tool, namely criteria and indicators (C&I) for SFM. C&I sets are mainly developed for the national level to describe and monitor status and trends in forests and forest management. They also provide an essential reference basis for forest certification standards, which set performance targets to be applied on a defined area. Progress in developing these two different tools has been significant. After 10 years of implementation, it is evident that the original intention to save tropical biodiversity through certification has largely failed to date. Most of certified areas are in the temperate and boreal zone, with Europe as the most important region. Only around ten per cent is located in tropical countries. The standards used for issuing certificates upon compliance are diverse, both between certification schemes and within one and the same scheme when applied in different regions. However, they are at least equal to legal requirements and often include elements that set actually higher standards. While the quality of actual audits of the standards is of varying quality, there are indications that independent audits are an incentive for improving forest management. As a voluntary market-based tool, forest certification is depending on the ability to cover the costs incurred and thus on often-elusive green consumer sentiment. Regardless of many difficulties, forest certification has been very successful in raising awareness and disseminating knowledge on a holistic SFM concept, embracing economic, environmental and social issues, worldwide. It also provides a tool for a range of other applications than assessment of sustainability, such as e.g. verifying carbon sinks. more...

In this article we outline three different modes of natural resource governance that can be traced in international policy making and planning over the last 40 years. We show that a shift from the hierarchical to the heterarchical mode of governance can be found in natural resource governance. Agenda 21 introduced new planning ideas to the international decision-making process, with all countries and levels of government asked to assume responsibility for natural resource policy. Deliberation and participation of major groups is now emphasised, and forests are viewed at the international level as an inter-state matter of a transboundary nature. The deliberations and outputs of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF), the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) and the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) are an empirical validation of this. We further argue that different planning approaches were inspired by the hierarchical and heterarchical modes of governance. The Tropical Forestry Action Plan, aimed at reducing deforestation in tropical forest countries, was primarily a technocratic planning tool, implemented by external staff and focused mainly on the forestry sector. National Forest Programmes (NFP), on the contrary, are oriented at implementing international commitments to enhance sustainable forest management following deliberative and participatory approaches at the national level. NFPs can also be seen as a framework for national decision-making activities, hence this shift in the mode of governance is also reflected at the national level. We further outline what the international community expects NFPs to deliver, as referred to in the Proposals for Action issued by the IPF and IFF. Analysis indicates that those IPF/IFF Proposals for Action making reference to NFPs are in those categories calling for improved international co-operation and technology transfer, as well as the provision of financial assistance and the promotion of public participation. We propose a conceptual framework for assessing the implementation of the IPF/IFF Proposals for Action at the national level. This assessment can be used to identify and communicate relevant topics, priorities, implementation responsibilities and implementation gaps. It can also be used as an ex post-evaluation tool to analyse the implementation of international agreements. more...

Forest certification is an issue that changes the forestry sector more profoundly than many governmental initiatives. Governments have taken quite different approaches across the globe and over time in dealing with the phenomenon. In most regions, they have seemingly switched to a ‘wait and see’ mode when confronted with the complex and fast-developing issue of forest certification. This paper explores the usefulness of economic theories to come up with recommendations on the role of governments. The approach taken is mainly based on ‘new institutional economics’ theories, especially on economics of information and related agent issues. Data collected from policy makers are used to compare theoretical positions against empirical findings ( Werle, 1997 ). The paper shows that the economic theories applied provide rather clear indications on the role of governments. There are essential roles, such as ensuring compatibility with laws and international obligations. These have largely been fulfilled. Ensuring legal compliance, however, might well not be the only guiding function that governments should exert for the sake of market transparency, and thus market efficiency. That concerns both setting standards for forest management and roles in setting up and running private certification systems. more...

In the international discussion on labels for sustainably produced wood products based on the certification of sustainable forest management (SFM), little attention has been paid to what is probably the most crucial part of any market-based instrument: the potential impact on forest products markets. This paper analyses the potential impact of SFM-certification on forest products markets using a simulation model of the Western European forest sector. Two scenarios with assumptions regarding certification (chain-of-custody costs, timber supply reduction from certified forests) are projected for the period 1995–2015 and tested against the results of a base scenario (‘business as usual’). In general, the results show that rather modest changes are to be expected from SFM-certification in forest products markets. The market impact of a timber supply reduction from certified forest would be more distinct than the impacts of chain-of-custody costs. Industry gross profits would decrease more than production. Due to the large share of roundwood costs in total costs, the sawmill industry would be affected more by even small changes in raw-material prices than the panel and paper industry. more...

During the last two decades, the ecological, cultural and social values of forests have received stronger priority by society. To address the changes in values in a forest products context, major wood and non-wood retailers are being asked to develop a wood procurement policy which defines the sources from which a company or organization will or will not obtain the wood or wood products it requires. Many interest groups are actively advising companies and organizations that are currently developing wood procurement policies, and continue to urge other retailers to commit to developing such policies. However, there is a welter of inconsistent and confusing wood procurement policy terminology that has been created, and is unlikely to successfully advance the cause of sustainable forest management in the medium and long term, at least in North America. In many cases, the broader objectives of the policies are not clear and this, as well as the lack of discussion between all relevant parties, is likely to create difficulties in policy implementation and in consumer acceptance. This paper describes and analyzes the current and emerging stakeholders and the processes that are necessary for successful wood procurement policy implementation – setting objectives, developing terms and definitions, identifying indicators, linking with data available and verifying data. Particular attention is given to exploring the problems with existing terms and definitions. We conclude that definitions and data collection standards need clarification, regional differences in forests need to be recognized, methods for data validation developed, and target deadlines for full implementation of a wood procurement policy possibly extended. The next steps could be a series of meetings between key stakeholders, including the wood and non-wood industries, forest products industry, certifying and standard-setting bodies, and ENGOs. These meetings are needed to advance the discussion on definitions, standards, and data to use with the goal of effectively connecting wood procurement policy with sustainable forest management. Key words: policy, forest, wood procurement, definitions more...

The efforts to develop sustainability indicators have strongly increased since the beginning of the 1990s, often led by intergovernmental processes. More recently, a number of sustainability indicator development processes have been initiated within large research projects that aim to design tools for sustainability assessments, funded by the European Union. The development of sustainability indicators provides a particular challenge to scientists, given the essentially normative dimension of the concept of “sustainability”. Thus, we argue, the development of sustainability indicators is a process of both scientific “knowledge production” and of political “norm creation”, and both components need to be properly acknowledged. Based on a respective theoretical framework and comparing five cases of sustainability indicator development processes (three science-led and two led by intergovernmental processes), we find that the political norm creation dimension is not fully and explicitly recognized in science-led processes. The paper concludes by discussing a number of implications for the design of sustainability indicator development processes, in particular with regard to participation and representation as well as adjustment of indicators over time. more...

Deforestation is estimated to cause about one quarter of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Only late, in 2005, Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change decided to start exploring approaches to reduce emissions from this major source. We carried out a global analysis of the potential effects of financial mechanisms to avoid deforestation. Avoiding deforestation is a low cost option that could have considerable leverage in mitigating climate change. Our model results indicate that a 50% reduction of carbon emissions from deforestation over the next 20 years would require financial resources of some US$33 bn per year. Expectations that financial flows through international climate policy mechanisms would provide a golden opportunity to turn around a 20 year history of gridlock and indecision in international fora addressing deforestation, however, appear inflated. Introduction Deforestation is considered the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions (1) and is expected to remain a major emission source. The deforestation issue has been at the centre of the international environmental debate for two decades. Yet, despite a large number of studies, commitments, initiatives and strategy papers, this activity has had little impact on deforestation rates: deforestation continues at a rate of about 13 million ha per year (2). Apart from the loss of carbon, deforestation typically is associated with inter alia loss of biodiversity, disturbed water regulation and the destruction of livelihoods for many of the world’s poorest (3). Government and non-governmental attempts to slow down, or even reverse, current trends of disappearing forests have not been successful as the result of many pressures, both local and international. While the more direct causes are rather well established as being agricultural expansion, infrastructure extension and wood extraction (4-6), indirect drivers of deforestation are made up of a complex web of interlinked and place-specific factors. Some see a glimmer of hope for more effective policies with the rise of innovative financial mechanisms under a global climate policy regime (7-10, 20). Indeed, in 2005, Papua New Guinea has proposed to the UNFCCC that carbon credits be provided to protect existing native forests. The proposal triggered a flurry of discussion on the topic. The potential for synergies between forest and carbon policies is quite substantial. For instance, Soares-Filho et al. (11) suggest that protecting around 130 million hectares of land from deforestation in the tropical Amazon could reduce global carbon emissions by 17 GtC over the next 50 years. What is unclear, however, is how much it would cost to achieve this, and which types of policies could be most effective. This paper we use scenario modeling approaches to assess the costs of reducing global deforestation and examine different financial mechanisms to combat deforestation. Costs of cutting deforestation in half 1 FCCC/CD/2005?misc.1 11 November 2005. Baseline deforestation is estimated to be close to 212 million ha or around 5% of today’s forest area between 2006 and 2025 resulting in a release of some 17.5 GtC. The maximum allowable base-line deforestation rates were estimated statistically using forest share, agricultural suitability, population density and economic wealth as independent variables. Sub-Saharan Africa is modeled to be responsible for about 50% of global deforestation emissions over the coming 20 years, while Latin America contributes 35% and Asia 12% respectively (Table 1 and Figure 1). When aiming to reduce the deforestation rate by 50% until 2025, the financial resources required to balance out net present value differences on exactly those forests that would otherwise be converted rise from some US$0.16bn in 2006 to US$2.9bn in 2025 due to increasing geographic coverage of the carbon incentive scheme. The lack of precise information on areas that are about to be cut and principal-agent problems between parties involved, make it impossible to design a perfectly targeted instrument. In the contrarian case of complete absence of information on deforestation pressure, a global forest carbon conservation program aiming at avoiding half of baseline deforestation would require financial resources in the much higher order of US$197 bn in 2006 and US$188 bn in 2025 (i.e. on average US$6/tC/5years (Table 1)). More realistic assumptions of targeted payments to identifiable deforestation agents in areas of high deforestation pressure would cut average annual cost to an estimated US$33.5 bn per year. This large difference in costs indicates the magnitude of costs to be saved by designing targeted incentive schemes. Carbon tax schemes do not suffer as much from an information problem, as global earth observation systems can detect deforestation with some reliability already today. In tax scenarios, e.g. simulated introduction of a forest clearance tax, an average carbon tax of US$9/tC would reduce emissions from deforestation by half if we assume deforestation by slash and burn. If the carbon from the harvested wood is assumed to be temporarily sequestered in a timber products pool, a timber sales tax of US$25/tC would have a similar effect. In practice these two taxes would be additional, i. e. a timber sales tax on top of a land clearance tax. Revenues from such carbon taxes on deforestation would result in annual revenues in the magnitude of US$5.9 bn in 2006 declining to US$4.2 bn in 2025 (Table 1 and Figure 1). Results from the scenario analysis show that almost independent of the financial mechanism (incentive payments or tax), more than half (53%) of the forest carbon would be saved in sub Sahara Africa 30% in Latin America and 16% in Asia. Table 1: Scenarios of forest biomass saved according to financial mechanism. Deforestation Baseline shows the amount of forest biomass (GtC) lost through deforestation over the coming 20 years. Incentive payment and Carbon tax give the amount of avoided deforestation in GtC per 20years at the price/tax levels indicated. Slash-burn and timber sales assume that 100% of the biomass will either be burned on the spot or a harvested wood products pool respectively. Sale/burn is a more realistic and geographically differentiated combination of slash-burn and the wood products pool. The share is region specific, based on empirical evidence of region-specific deforestation drivers (2-3). more...

The MCPFE report “State of Europe’s Forests 2007”1 was presented at the fifth Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE), held in Warsaw from November 5–7, 2007. The report gives an overview of the state and development of sustainable forest management in Europe in the period between 1990 and 2005. It is a sequel to the coverage of previous ministerial conferences. The report at hand was compiled jointly by the MCPFE Liaison Unit in Warsaw, the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. more...

Tropical deforestation is estimated to cause about one-quarter of anthropogenic carbon emissions, loss of biodiversity, and other environmental services. United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change talks are now considering mechanisms for avoiding deforestation (AD), but the economic potential of AD has yet to be addressed. We use three economic models of global land use and management to analyze the potential contribution of AD activities to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. AD activities are found to be a competitive, low-cost abatement option. A program providing a 10% reduction in deforestation from 2005 to 2030 could provide 0.3–0.6 Gt (1 Gt = 1 × 10 5 g) CO 2 ·yr −1 in emission reductions and would require $0.4 billion to $1.7 billion·yr −1 for 30 years. A 50% reduction in deforestation from 2005 to 2030 could provide 1.5–2.7 Gt CO 2 ·yr −1 in emission reductions and would require $17.2 billion to $28.0 billion·yr −1 . Finally, some caveats to the analysis that could increase costs of AD programs are described. more...

Background: Global carbon stocks in forest biomass are decreasing by 1.1 Gt of carbon annually, owing to continued deforestation and forest degradation. Deforestation emissions are partly offset by forest expansion and increases in growing stock primarily in the extra-tropical north. Innovative financial mechanisms would be required to help reducing deforestation. Using a spatially explicit integrated biophysical and socio-economic land use model we estimated the impact of carbon price incentive schemes and payment modalities on deforestation. One payment modality is adding costs for carbon emission, the other is to pay incentives for keeping the forest carbon stock intact. Results, Baseline scenario calculations show that close to 200mil ha or around 5% of today’s forest area will be lost between 2006 and 2025, resulting in a release of additional 17.5 GtC. Today’s forest cover will shrink by around 500 million hectares, which is 1/8 of the current forest cover, within the next 100 years. The accumulated carbon release during the next 100 years amounts to 45 GtC, which is 15% of the total carbon stored in forests today. Incentives of 6 US$/tC for the standing biomass paid every 5 years will bring deforestation down by 50%. This will cause costs of 34 billion US$/year. On the other hand a carbon tax of 12$/tC harvested forest biomass will also cut deforestation by half. The tax income will decrease from 6 billion US$ in 2005 to 4.3 billion US$ in 2025 and 0.7 billion US$ in 2100 due to decreasing deforestation speed. Conclusions, Avoiding deforestation requires financial mechanisms that make retention of forests economically competitive with the currently often preferred option to seek profits from other land uses. Incentive payments need to be at a very high level to be effective against deforestation. Taxes on the other hand will generate budgetary revenues by the regions which are already poor. A combination of incentives and taxes could turn out to be a viable solution for this dilemma. Increasing the value of forest land and thereby make it less easily prone to deforestation would act as a strong incentive to increase productivity of agricultural and fuelwood production, which could be supported by revenues generated by the deforestation tax. more...

The complexities inherent in land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) activities have led to contentious and prolonged debates about the merits of their inclusion in the 2008–2012 first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Yet the inclusion of these activities played a key role in agreement on the general framework of the Kyoto Protocol, and LULUCF will likely continue to play a substantial part in negotiations on national commitments post-2012. The Marrakech Accords dictate which LULUCF activities are to be included under the Kyoto Protocol and provide rules on how they are to be accounted in the first commitment period. However, these rules have limitations and drawbacks that may be avoided in the structure of future commitments beyond 2012. Through adherence to the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the incorporation of several critical features, a future framework can more effectively address the mitigation challenges and opportunities of this sector. more...

Background: Global carbon stocks in forest biomass are decreasing by 1.1 Gt of carbon annually, owing to continued deforestation and forest degradation. Deforestation emissions are partly offset by forest expansion and increases in growing stock primarily in the extra-tropical north. Innovative financial mechanisms would be required to help reducing deforestation. Using a spatially explicit integrated biophysical and socio-economic land use model we estimated the impact of carbon price incentive schemes and payment modalities on deforestation. One payment modality is adding costs for carbon emission, the other is to pay incentives for keeping the forest carbon stock intact. Results: Baseline scenario calculations show that close to 200mil ha or around 5% of today's forest area will be lost between 2006 and 2025, resulting in a release of additional 17.5 GtC. Today's forest cover will shrink by around 500 million hectares, which is 1/8 of the current forest cover, within the next 100 years. The accumulated carbon release during the next 100 years amounts to 45 GtC, which is 15% of the total carbon stored in forests today. Incentives of 6 US$/tC for the standing biomass paid every 5 years will bring deforestation down by 50%. This will cause costs of 34 billion US$/year. On the other hand a carbon tax of 12$/tC harvested forest biomass will also cut deforestation by half. The tax income will decrease from 6 billion US$ in 2005 to 4.3 billion US$ in 2025 and 0.7 billion US$ in 2100 due to decreasing deforestation speed. Conclusions: Avoiding deforestation requires financial mechanisms that make retention of forests economically competitive with the currently often preferred option to seek profits from other land uses. Incentive payments need to be at a very high level to be effective against deforestation. Taxes on the other hand will generate budgetary revenues by the regions which are already poor. A combination of incentives and taxes could turn out to be a viable solution for this dilemma. Increasing the value of forest land and thereby make it less easily prone to deforestation would act as a strong incentive to increase productivity of agricultural and fuelwood production, which could be supported by revenues generated by the deforestation tax. more...

Background Global carbon stocks in forest biomass are decreasing by 1.1 Gt of carbon annually, owing to continued deforestation and forest degradation. Deforestation emissions are partly offset by forest expansion and increases in growing stock primarily in the extra-tropical north. Innovative financial mechanisms would be required to help reducing deforestation. Using a spatially explicit integrated biophysical and socio-economic land use model we estimated the impact of carbon price incentive schemes and payment modalities on deforestation. One payment modality is adding costs for carbon emission, the other is to pay incentives for keeping the forest carbon stock intact. Results Baseline scenario calculations show that close to 200 mil ha or around 5% of todays forest area will be lost between 2006 and 2025, resulting in a release of additional 17.5 GtC. Today's forest cover will shrink by around 500 million hectares, which is 1/8 of the current forest cover, within the next 100 years. The accumulated carbon release during the next 100 years amounts to 45 GtC, which is 15% of the total carbon stored in forests today. Incentives of 6 US$/tC for vulnerable standing biomass payed every 5 year will bring deforestation down by 50%. This will cause costs of 34 billion US$/year. On the other hand a carbon tax of 12 $/tC harvested forest biomass will also cut deforestation by half. The tax income will, if enforced, decrease from 6 billion US$ in 2005 to 4.3 billion US$ in 2025 and 0.7 billion US$ in 2100 due to decreasing deforestation speed. Conclusion Avoiding deforestation requires financial mechanisms that make retention of forests economically competitive with the currently often preferred option to seek profits from other land uses. Incentive payments need to be at a very high level to be effective against deforestation. Taxes on the other hand will extract budgetary revenues from the regions which are already poor. A combination of incentives and taxes could turn out to be a viable solution for this problem. Increasing the value of forest land and thereby make it less easily prone to deforestation would act as a strong incentive to increase productivity of agricultural and fuelwood production, which could be supported by revenues generated by the deforestation tax. more...

There is the concern among some countries that compliance costs with commitments under the Kyoto Protocol may be unacceptably high. There is also the concern that technical difficulties with the inclusion of land use, land-use change, and forestry activities in non-Annex I countries might lead to an effective exclusion of such activities from consideration under the Protocol. This paper is proposing a mechanism that addresses both these concerns. In essence, it is suggested that parties should be able to purchase fixed-price offset certificates if they feel they cannot achieve compliance through other means alone, such as by improved energy efficiency, increased use of renewable energy, or use of the flexible mechanisms in the Kyoto Protocol. These offset certificates would act as a price cap for the cost of compliance for any party to the Protocol. Revenues from purchase of the offset certificates would be directed to forest-based activities in non-Annex I countries such as forest protection that may carry multiple benefits including enhancing net carbon sequestration. more...