Forest management

Abstract

Sustainable forest management (SFM) is here considered as all practices to produce a continuous flow of desired forest goods and services without undue reduction in the forest’s inherent values and future productivity and without undue undesirable effects on the physical and social environment (according to ITTO (2006) Status of Tropical Forest Management 2005). SFM has often been regarded as a means for the salvation of the still declining tropical forests. In this chapter, I investigate under which circumstances the expectation of SFM being an option to preserve tropical forests may be true. This question is addressed in three parts, mainly based on the existing literature, but partly also through simulations. The topics addressed are: (I) the characteristics of SFM for tropical natural forests, (II) the characteristics of planted forests in the tropics, and (III) SFM embedded in a land-use model together with agricultural land-use options. The results for part I show that SFM of natural forests would basically lead to decreasing timber yield, moderately reduced carbon stocks, and only marginally disturbed biodiversity. The economic performance of SFM is relatively low and inferior compared to the economic performance of planted forests and agricultural alternatives. The planted forests, investigated in part II, promise high profitability, even in the case of some native tree species. However, simulations by means of an economically driven land-use model show that planted forests would expand their area into natural forests, if afforestation is not directed to abandoned lands and if natural forests are not preserved by means of conservation payments transferred to land users. These results lead to part III, where SFM in natural forests and afforestation of abandoned lands are considered as parts of a more comprehensive land-use portfolio, in this case designed for the example of Ecuador, considering croplands and pastures as agricultural options. The composition of the land-use portfolio is controlled by the economic yield and risk of the land-use options considered. SFM of natural forests generates little economic yield for the land users; however, because of the vast area under consideration, the necessary conservation transfers to land users may greatly be reduced if the management of natural forests is considered. The afforestation of abandoned lands also increases the profitability of the resulting land-use portfolio and sequesters additional carbon on top of that. However, the recultivation of part of the abandoned lands back to pasture turned out to be a very important option as well. It helps in producing enough food, which, and in turn, secures moderate food prices. Moderate food prices have the advantage being responsible for moderate conservation payments to compensate for the opportunity costs of the preservation of natural forests. As a result, strategies to produce enough food without additional CO2 emissions can be designed at a minimal conservation costs. The analyses show that SFM and afforestation can complement agricultural land-use portfolios. This is also shown in more detail based on a farm-level consideration. It is concluded that SFM in natural forests and planted forests is a valuable option to increase the efficiency of sustainable land-use portfolios. It is, ultimately, of utmost importance to embed these forestry options in comprehensive land-use models to avoid undue undesirable effects, which could potentially be caused by indirect land-use change.