Approaches for the Improvement of the Economic Sustainability of Natural Forest Management in the Tropics - including REDD+ Mechanism

Institute for World Forestry/Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute (Editor)
Approaches for the Improvement of the Economic Sustainability of Natural Forest Management in the Tropics - including REDD+ Mechanism
352 Seiten, DIN A 5, kartoniert, mit zahlr. Abb. und Tab., durchgehend farbig. ISBN 978-3-944101-16-3
Preis: 49,00 Euro. Rhombos-Verlag, Berlin 2014

Leading authors

Professor Dr. Michael Köhl, University of Hamburg
Dr. Thomas Schneider, Institute for World Forestry
Prem Neupane, University of Hamburg
Jutta Lax, Institute for World Forestry
Jutta Poker, Institute for World Forestry

Description

he need to protect tropical and sub-tropical forests from degradation and deforestation ?nds wide, societal agreement. In the past, miscellaneous initiatives were launched to protect tropical natural forests from depletion. Among those initiatives are the de?nition of standards for sustainable forest management (SFM), certi?cation, boycott of tropical timber, forest law enforcement, or abatement of illegal logging. Despite these initiatives, the global forest area decreased by almost 400 million hectares from 1948 to 2010. According to FAO, 5.1 million hectares (or 51100 km2) of forest were lost annually in the period from 2000 to 2010, most of which are located in the tropics. Deforestation and forest degradation occur as a result of direct or proximate causes (e.g., human activities and actions) which are generally underpinned by several other indirect or underlying causes. The indirect causes are produced through complex interactions among social, economic, institutional, political, and technological processes.

This book provides an overview and the major ?ndings of the project "Approaches for the Improvement of the Economic Sustainability of Natural Forest Management in the Tropics". The project was jointly conducted by the Thünen Institute for World Forestry and the University of Hamburg between 2011 and 2013. Additionally, it presents the results from the pilot studies conducted in 2009/2010 by the institutes in South East Asia. In the course of developing new ?nancial incentives to curb emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in international climate negotiations since 2005, REDD + has emerged as a promising mechanism which includes conservation and sustainable management of forests. As the overarching goal of the project is closely linked with the mechanism, this report also includes relevant outcomes of REDD+ project implemented by the Institute for World Forestry and the University of Hamburg in Madagascar and Nicaragua.

Contact:

Institute for World Forestry
University of Hamburg
Centre of Wood Science World Forestry
Leuschnerstraße 91
21031 Hamburg Germany
Telephone:+49 40/739 62-101
Fax: +49 40/739 62-199
E-mail: weltforst@uni-hamburg.de
Web: http://www.worldforestry.de

Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute
Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries
Bundesallee 50
38116 Braunschweig Germany
Web: https://www.ti.bund.de/
Contents

Acronymes and abbreviations XXXI
Terms and definitions used XXXVI
Tables XXXVII
Figures XXXIX
Box. XLII
Annex. XLII
1 Background 1
1.1 Initial position 1
1.2 Structure of the book 3
1.3 Problem statement 4
1.4 Objectives 8
1.5 Guiding themes 9
1.6 Approaches 10
1.7 Collaboration and partners 11
2 Theoretical framework 15
2.1 Tropical forest- major features 15
2.2 Sustainable forest management 17
2.2.1 300 years of sustainable forest management- from sustainable wood production to global multiple functionality 17
2.2.2 Sustainable forest management in tropical natural forests development of silvicultural systems 19
2.2.3 Sustainable forest management- status today 21
2.2.4 Sustainable forest management- socio-economic aspects.23
2.2.5 Sustainable forest management and the Rio Conventions.24
2.3 REDD+: a new mechanism to maintain tropical forests 25
2.4 EU FLEGT action plan: an approach to combat illegal logging 28

3 Methods 33
3.1 Introduction 33
3.2 Study sites 35
3.3 Description of study sites 35
3.3.1 Vietnam 35
3.3.2 Nepal 40
3.3.3 Suriname 43
3.3.4 Ghana 47
3.3.5 Madagascar 52
3.3.6 Nicaragua 55
3.4 Schematic diagram of the research components 61
3.4.1 Schematic diagram of the research studies in Vietnam 62
3.4.2 Schematic diagram of the research studies in Nepal 64
3.4.3 Schematic diagram of the research studies in Suriname 66
3.5 Coordination matrix 68

4 Enduring multi-functional management in modified and semi-natural forests, predominantly for subsistence purposes (managed by individual households) 73
4.1 Introduction 73
4.2 Forest resource assessment of Dinh Hoa District 74
4.3 Linkage between the government policy and land use changes in Dinh Hoa 83
4.4 Subsistence economy at the forest margin- an indispensable livelihood strategy 92
4.5 Criteria, indicators and verifiers for assessing sustainable forest management 96
4.6 Minimum compensation demanded for the natural forest conservation in Vietnam 101
4.7 Could forest management certification be an incentive to support SFM? 107

5 Enduring multi-functional management in modified and semi-natural forests, predominantly for subsistence purposes (community based forest management) 115
5.1 Introduction 115
5.2 Forest assessment in Chitwan District, Nepal 116
5.3 Forest increment - a comparative study of commercially important tree species in Nepal 124
5.4 Community forestry- enhanced sustainability through involvement of local stakeholders 130
5.5 Opportunity costs of natural forest management 135
5.6 Benefit-cost analysis of community forest management in Nepal 138
5.7 Developing C&I and verifiers for a sustainable community based forest management 142
5.8 Ecological and economic impacts of forest transformation 146
5.9 Economic analysis of community based forest management regimes under different silvicultural systems 149

6 Periodic (cyclic) forest utilization in large-scale contiguous primary and modified natural tropical forests 161
6.1 Background information on Suriname 161
6.2 Factors accounting for the regulation of allowable cuts 163
6.3 Age and growth of tropical trees and the productivity of tropical forests 181
6.4 Costs and efficiency in reduced impact logging (RIL) 188
6.4.1 Background and Problems 188
6.4.2 Concepts and methods 189
6.4.3 Results & Discussion 190
6.5 Potentials in the value chain for the improvement of SFM in the tropics 200
6.5.1 Challenges 200
6.5.2 Scope and objectives 201
6.5.3 State of the Surinamese timber industry 201
6.5.4 Value chain potentials for enhancing sustainability 209

7 Case study - Ghana 217
7.1 Introduction 217
7.2 Buffer zones contribute to the survival of tropical forests 217

8 Case study - Madagascar 223
8.1 Introduction 223
8.2 Project REDD-FORECA 223
8.3 Efficient methods for the quantitative determination of deforestation and forest degradation and its dynamics 225
8.4 Assessment scheme for human impact on forest under REDD+ 227
8.5 Sustainable Land Management in Madagascar (SuLaMa) 234

9 Case study - Nicaragua 241
9.1 Introduction 241
9.2 The development and implementation of locally adapted incentive schemes 242
9.3 Risk-zone modeling of forest degradation- an option for early action under the REDD+ mechanism 249
9.4 Quantifying forest fragmentation - using rapid appraisal methods on the national scale 251

10 Summary of the main findings 255
Developing C&I and verifiers for a sustainable forest management 257
Small-scale multi-resource forest inventories 258
Qualitative research (Participatory Rural Appraisal) coupled with remote sensing, geographic information system for historical forest cover analysis 258
Assessing forest dependancy on and willingness to accept compensation payment for the protection of allocated natural forest of local communtiies 259
Forest transformation and its' economic and ecological consequences 260
Forest increment- a comparative study of commercially important tree species 260
Economic analysis of community based forest management regimes under different silvicultural systems 261
Benefit-cost analysis of community forest management 262
Factors accounting for the regulation of allowable cuts 263
Cost and efficiency in reduced impact logging (RIL) 264
Potential in the value chain for the improvement of
sustainable forest management in the tropics 264

11 Adoption and expansion of the findings by national/local stakeholders in the countries 267

12 Further research 269

References 271