How is biodiversity protection influencing the potential for bioenergy feedstock production on grasslands?

Julia Hansson,Oskar Englund,Flávio L M De Freitas,Gerd Sparovek,Göran Berndes

doi:10.1111/gcbb.12568

Abstract

AbstractSustainable feedstock supply is a critical issue for the bioenergy sector. One concern is that feedstock production will impact biodiversity. We analyze how this concern is addressed in assessments of biomass supply potentials and in selected governance systems in the EU and Brazil, including the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED), the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the Brazilian Forest Act. The analysis focuses on grasslands and includes estimates of the amount of grassland area (and corresponding biomass production volume) that would be excluded from cultivation in specific biodiversity protection scenarios. The reviewed assessments used a variety of approaches to identify and exclude biodiverse grasslands as unavailable for bioenergy. Because exclusion was integrated with other nature protection considerations, quantification of excluded grassland areas was often not possible. The RED complements and strengthens the CAP in terms of biodiversity protection. Following the RED, an estimated 39%–48% (about 9–11 Mha) and 15%–54% (about 10–38 Mha) of natural and non‐natural grassland, respectively, may be considered highly biodiverse in EU‐28. The estimated biomass production potential on these areas corresponds to some 1–3 and 1.5–10 EJ/year for natural and non‐natural grassland, respectively (depending on area availability and management intensity). However, the RED lacks clear definitions and guidance, creating uncertainty about its influence on grassland availability for bioenergy feedstock production. For Brazil, an estimated 16%–77% (about 16–76 Mha) and 1%–32% (about 7–24 Mha) of natural and non‐natural grassland, respectively, may be considered highly biodiverse. In Brazil, ecological–economic zoning was found potentially important for grassland protection. Further clarification of grassland definitions and delineation in regulations will facilitate a better understanding of the prospects for bioenergy feedstock production on grasslands, and the impacts of bioenergy deployment on biodiversity.

Highlights

Bioenergy commonly makes a significant contribution to energy supply in global scenarios aligned with the objective to keep the increase in global average temperature below 2°C (e.g., Chum et al, 2011; IPCC, 2014)
EU: Non‐natural grassland masked with spatial data of Natura 2000 areas, Nationally designated areas, and high nature value farmland (EEA, 2017c) Brazil: Cells from Grassland (Brazil): Non‐natural grassland masked with spatial data of protected public land, private land protected by the Brazilian Forest Act, and unprotected land prioritized for biodiversity conservation
We assessed the legal framework for the protection of biodiverse grassland in Brazil and used the database constructed in Freitas et al (2017) to (a) estimate the extent of “non‐natural grassland” that is defined as the areas, including agriculture land, that are classified as grassland vegetation but are not native grassland and (b) estimate the shares of protected existing natural grassland on public and private lands

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

Bioenergy commonly makes a significant contribution to energy supply in global scenarios aligned with the objective to keep the increase in global average temperature below 2°C (e.g., Chum et al, 2011; IPCC, 2014). Companies can prove compliance through national systems or so‐called voluntary schemes recognized by the European Commission.1 In this context, Brazil is a potentially large bioenergy exporter to the EU with large grassland areas that potentially could support biofuel production (Berndes et al, 2016; Englund et al, 2015). This paper investigates how biodiversity protection may influence the potential for bioenergy feedstock production on grasslands This is done by analyzing how biodiverse grasslands are considered in (a) assessments of biomass supply potentials; and (b) selected governance systems in the EU and Brazil (including the RED, the CAP, the CBD, and the Brazilian Forest Act). The prospects for bioenergy from grasslands on the EU market and the biodiversity impacts of grassland conversion to bioenergy plantations are both uncertain, due to the lack of clear guidance in relation to the RED

| MATERIALS AND METHODS

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Findings

| DISCUSSION