Sustainable Finance for Sustainable Forestry: Is Cooperation Possible among Nations?

Abstract

Countries in the world might be classified for discussion purposes at international meetings using definitions such as small island developing states, low forest cover countries, rich forest cover countries, forest product exporters, importers, donors, etc. that use their forestry characteristics. While some countries generate income from forests, some have to compensate deficit on revenue to sustain their forests. Nations have rights and responsibilities to cooperate in sustainable forest management at the country level and global scale. Some mechanisms, such as the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), were generated by international institutions to support various countries' needs to solve local problems related to global concerns including sustainable forest management. The suitability of these mechanisms is under discussion at international meetings. Green economy and green accounting terms have also been discussed using mechanisms for payment for ecosystem services (PES). The aim of this study is to develop a method to compute the financial contribution levels for cooperation among countries with different characteristics regarding forestry activities and common forest values. Using general equilibrium models, a balance equation consisting of variables dealing with country rights and responsibilities for sustainable forests is offered as a method to hypothetically classify nations. This equation was tested using random hypothetical data. The results indicate the equation may be used to understand the relative classification of the countries.