Forest Plantation Projects Research Articles

Paricá (Schizolobium amazonicum) and embaúba (Cecropia sp.) as new raw materials for particleboards

In this work two potential new species for forest plantation projects in Northern Brazil were evaluated for their suitability in particleboard production. The main evaluated parameters of the laboratory boards were pH value and buffer capacity of the particles, compaction ratio, thickness swelling, modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rupture (MOR) and internal bond (IB). The results showed that both species are highly suitable for particleboard production as they presented low densities (400–430 kg/m³), light color, good compressibility and no apparent adverse reactions after UF-resination.

Carbon Credits on Private Lands in British Columbia

This study assesses the production potential of carbon credits on private land in Central British Columbiathrough pine forest plantation projects. This study identifies the quality characteristics for determining the quality standards for carbon credits, and then uses those quality characteristics along with the standardized procedure to assess the quality and quantity of carbon that can be fixed in forest projects and thus be registered on the carbon exchange as carbon credits or offsets for trading on per hectare basis. Using the Table Interpolation Program for Stand Yields (TIPSY) which is a tree growth simulation model, sites of various productivities (Site Index values of 24, 21, 18, and 12) in the PGTSA, BC, Canada were modeled to generate data related to stands of trees for timber volume, lumber production, and subsequent carbon credit/offsets generation. Using data and information from the industry and the Government of British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range (BCMoFR), cost-related data for forest stand establishment and maintenance was generated. Using market pricing methodology for offsets in the “over the counter” (OTC) market, Internal Rate of Return (IRR) calculations were performed. The results of the study indicated that rate of return varied in the range of 0.27% to 0.51% over a period of 57 to 100 years. Only three out of sixteen modeled production scenarios indicated positive rates of return. Overall, the study concluded that sequestering carbon in forest projects on private land inPGSTA,BCis not restricted by any production quality criterion, but that it is financially unviable given the current costing and carbon offset pricing regimes.

Application of Clean Development Mechanism to forest plantation projects and rural development in India

This paper analyses the prospects for establishing afforestation and reforestation Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in Karnataka State, India. Building on multi-disciplinary fieldwork, the aim is to: (i) establish what type of plantations and forests that would best suit a forest-based project activity, considering global climate benefits and local sustainable development objectives; (ii) identify the parameters that are important for ensuring sustainable development at the local level and (iii) develop a transparent ranking tool for the assessment of possible forest-based project activities. Using equal weights for the ranking parameters and a 30-year time horizon, the ranking shows that plantations managed with the shortest rotation period (5 years) would be most suitable for forest-based project activities. However, the performance of individual forest-based project activities will depend on local conditions, which need to be reflected in the weighting procedure. Sensitivity analysis shows that when weights are varied, other forest types can become the preferred option. Based on a combination of the sensitivity analysis and results from the fieldwork, it can be concluded that successful implementation of forest-based project activities will require local participation and are likely to involve multiple forest products and environmental services demanded by the local community.

Planting Trees to Mitigate Climate Change: Contested Discourses of Ecological Modernization, Green Governmentality and Civic Environmentalism

Forest plantations or so-called carbon sinks have played a critical role in the climate change negotiations and constitute a central element in the scheme to limit atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations set out by the Kyoto Protocol. This paper examines dominant discursive framings of forest plantation projects in the climate regime. A central proposition is that these projects represent a microcosm of competing and overlapping discourses that are mirrored in debates of global environmental governance. While the win-win discourse of ecological modernization has legitimized the inclusion of sink projects in the Kyoto Protocol, a green governmentality discourse has provided the scientific rationale necessary to turn tropical tree-plantation projects operational on the emerging carbon market. A critical civic environmentalism discourse has contested forest sink projects depicting them as unjust and environmentally unsound strategies to mitigate climate change. The article examines the articulation and institutionalization of these discourses in the climate negotiation process as well as the wider implications for environmental governance.

Accounting methods for carbon credits: impacts on the minimum area of forestry projects under the Clean Development Mechanism

The Ninth Conference of the Parties (COP-9) decided to adopt an accounting system based on expiring carbon credits to address the problem of non-permanent carbon storage in forests established under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). This article reviews and discusses carbon accounting methods that were under consideration before COP-9 and presents a model which calculates the minimum area that forest plantation projects should reach to be able to compensate CDM transaction costs with the revenues from carbon credits. The model compares different accounting methods under various sets of parameters on project management, transaction costs, and carbon prices. Model results show that under current carbon price and average transaction costs, projects with an area of less than 500 ha are excluded from the CDM, whatever accounting method is used. Temporary crediting appears to be the most favorable approach to account for non-permanent carbon removal in forests and also for the feasibility of smaller projects. However, lower prices for credits with finite lifetimes may prevent the establishment of CDM forestry projects. Also, plantation projects with low risk of unexpected carbon loss and sufficient capacity for insuring or buffering the risk of carbon re-emission would benefit from equivalence-adjusted average carbon storage accounting rather than from temporary crediting.

Carbon Thinks as a Measure against Global Warming

This article illustrates the possibility of contribution to the measure against global warming by Japanese Pulp and Paper industry and overseas forest plantation. While the vast majority of pulp wood used in paper making originates from saw mill residues and thinning, the industry has made a commitment to expand overseas forest plantations in order to secure wood supplies and to contribute to the world's environment.Japanese Pulp and Paper companies together plan to establish 550, 000ha of forest plantations, both inside and outside Japan by year 2010. As for Oji Paper Co. Ltd. it has a goal to establish 200, 000 ha of overseas forest plantations by 2010. Overseas forest plantation projects not only create jobs, but help the area in environmental improvements such as reduced salinity and reduced wind erosions. In addition, cultural exchanges between Japanese expatriates and locals take place. Recently, carbon absorption by forests is drawing more attention toward forest plantations. While it is not clear how carbon absorption is accounted and valued, Oji plans to help other companies which plan to develop overseas forest plantation projects. Overall. forest plantations mean recycling of wood, reducing the use of fossil energy while lessening the pressure to clear natural forests.

The effect of a teak ( Tectona grandis) plantation on the establishment of native species in an abandoned pasture in Costa Rica

Many tropical forest plantation projects, particularly those funded through governmental or development agencies are designed to provide secondary social or environmental benefits in addition to timber. The research reported here examined the ecological effects of establishing a teak ( Tectona grandis) plantation on an abandoned pasture in southwestern Costa Rica. The 10-year-old plantation’s understory was evaluated using a nearby non-planted area as a baseline for potential local recruitment of native tree species. The native trees in the teak plantation were significantly less abundant, less diverse, and more restricted to the lower height classes than the trees in the abandoned pasture. Furthermore, trees with shrubby growth forms dominated the plantation’s understory, whereas larger species were more common in the unplanted abandoned pasture. Several aspects of teak’s biology may contribute to the species’ exclusion of native trees. The primary goal of nearly all forest plantations is the production of timber. However, for those managers secondarily interested in the goal of providing habitat for native forest species, teak appears to be a poor choice of crop tree.

ACCOUNTING FOR TIME IN MITIGATING GLOBAL WARMING THROUGH LAND- USE CHANGE AND FORESTRY

Many proposed activities formitigating global warming in the land-use change and forestry(LUCF) sector differ from measures to avoid fossilfuel emissions because carbon (C) may be held out ofthe atmosphere only temporarily. In addition, thetiming of the effects is usually different. Many LUCFactivities alter C fluxes to and from the atmosphereseveral decades into the future, whereas fossil fuelemissions avoidance has immediate effects. Non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHGs), which are animportant part of emissions from deforestation inlow-latitude regions, also pose complications forcomparisons between fossil fuel and LUCF, since themechanism generally used to compare these gases(global warming potentials) assumes simultaneousemissions. A common numeraire is needed to expressglobal warming mitigation benefits of different kindsof projects, such as fossil fuel emissions reduction,C sequestration in forest plantations, avoideddeforestation by creating protected areas and throughpolicy changes to slow rates of land-use changes suchas clearing. Megagram (Mg)-year (also known as`ton-year') accounting provides a mechanism forexpressing the benefits of activities such as these ona consistent basis. One can calculate the atmosphericload of each GHG that will be present in each year,expressed as C in the form of CO2 and itsinstantaneous impact equivalent contributed by othergases. The atmospheric load of CO2-equivalent Cpresent over a time horizon is a possible indicator ofthe climatic impact of the emission that placed thisload in the atmosphere. Conversely, this index alsoprovides a measure of the benefit of notproducing the emission. One accounting methodcompares sequestered CO2 in trees with theCO2 that would be in the atmosphere had thesequestration project not been undertaken, whileanother method (used in this paper) compares theatmospheric load of C (or equivalent in non-CO2GHGs) in both project and no-project scenarios.Time preference, expressed by means of a discount rateon C, can be applied to Mg-year equivalencecalculations to allow societal decisions regarding thevalue of time to be integrated into the system forcalculating global warming impacts and benefits. Giving a high value to time, either by raising thediscount rate or by shortening the time horizon,increases the value attributed to temporarysequestration (such as many forest plantationprojects). A high value for time also favorsmitigation measures that have rapid effects (such asslowing deforestation rates) as compared to measuresthat only affect emissions years in the future (suchas creating protected areas in countries with largeareas of remaining forest). Decisions on temporalissues will guide mitigation efforts towards optionsthat may or may not be desirable on the basis ofsocial and environmental effects in spheres other thanglobal warming. How sustainable development criteriaare incorporated into the approval and creditingsystems for activities under the Kyoto Protocol willdetermine the overall environmental and social impactsof pending decisions on temporal issues.

森のリサイクル，王子製紙の海外植林

This article illustrates the reasons for Japanese Pulp and Paper industry to develop overseas forest plantations. While the vast majority of pulp wood used in paper making originates from saw mill residues and thinning, the industry has made a commitment to expand overseas forest plantations in order to secure wood supplies and to contribute to the world's environment. Japanese Pulp and Paper companies together plan to establish 550, 000 ha of forest plantations, both inside and outside Japan by year 2010. As for Oji Paper Co., Ltd. it has a goal to establish 200, 000 ha of overseas forest plantations by 2010. Overseas forest plantation projects not only create jobs, but help the area in environmental improvements such as reduced salinity and reduced wind erosions. In addition. cultural exchanges between Japanese expatriates and locals take place. Recently, carbon sequestration by forests is drawing more attention toward forest plantations. While it is not clear how carbon sequestration is accounted and valued. Oji plans to help other companies which plan to develop overseas forest plantation projects. Overall, forest plantations mean recycling of wood. reducing the use of fossil energy while lessening the pressure to clear natural forests.

The Current Status of Japan's Overseas Industrial Forest Plantation Projects

In Japan. the percentage of recycled paper in paper manufacturing and the percentage of imported pulpwood in all pulpwood both exceeded 50% in 1989, and these figures never appear going down again. Around that time. Japanese pulp and paper companies began overseas industrial forest plantation projects, and approximately ten years have passed since then. At this moment, projects are found in eight countries with the total area reaching to 258, 000 ha at the end of 1998. In the past, they were relying upon the imported wood materials out of natural and artificial resources. But nowadays in order to reduce its dependency, most of our overseas industrial plantation projects have been commenced by targeting to import wood chips out of own plantation.Meanwhile, an increasing number of electric power companies and automobile companies have begun to participate in overseas forestry projects after it was decided that the amount of CO2sequestration by forests would be internationally recognized as an offset to greenhouse gas emission at COP 3 conference in Kyoto (1997).Therefore, in order to promote further plantation it is required to get and to handle accurate information to settle many unsolved issues.

International Forest Projects: Trends, Profitability and Financing

International forest projects financed by development assistance agencies or international lending institutions, have evolved during the last 20 years from industrial forest management projects to agroforestry/watershed conservation projects. A 1985 World Resources Institute report calls for the investment of $8 billions US over the period 1987-91 to fight deforestation. International forest projects ex-ante rates of return are found to be well above 10%. Non-economic variables and economic variables are listed to explain a 50% discrepancy between those and ex-post rates of return of forest plantation projects in West Africa. The financial and economic analysis is defined and proposed to improve their financing. Key words: Tropical forestry action plan, rates of return, common property, externalities, private and public sectors participation.