Biodiversity protection and economics in long term boreal forest management — A detailed case for the valuation of protection measures

Abstract

Increased protection of forest biodiversity implies reduced income from timber production both for society and forest owners, and consistent analysis of the relationships between biodiversity benefits and corresponding costs is important both for forest managers as well as policy makers. Using a complex dynamic forest optimization model, we analyse impacts on economy and biodiversity of forest management restrictions implemented to protect biodiversity. A reference scenario is compared to two preservation regimes based on 1) the current Norwegian forest certification system and 2) an expert judgement designed to put strong emphasis on biodiversity protection in boreal forests. Economic impacts are expressed as net present value and harvesting level, while impacts on forest structure are expressed by a vector of variables including old forest proportions, growing stock, number of retention trees, size of buffer zones and amount of dead wood. A rather detailed description of forest structure and biodiversity measures represents the main improvements compared to previous analyses. Different restrictions result in 10–45% decrease in economic value of the forest compared to no restrictions. The most costly measures are found to be 50% increased rotation and keeping old-growth proportions higher than 20%.