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Rewards for desirable behavior are increasingly being adopted in many regulatory settings. Nevertheless, there is no consensus on how rewards should best be crafted to achieve desired results. This paper focuses on the issue of regulatory design in the context of forest management in Thailand. We run lab-in-field experiments using a common-pool-resource game with villagers in northern Thailand. We study the impacts of varying the collective threshold for obtaining economic rewards on resource extraction, distribution of payoffs and cost efficiency. Three thresholds are studied—strict, moderate, and relaxed, corresponding to low, moderate, and generous targets for group extraction accordingly. We find that rewards are associated with positive conservation outcomes and that their effectiveness depends on the design of the reward instrument. In our setting, strict and moderate thresholds lead to the greatest gains in conservation but differ in important ways. The strict threshold leads to cost efficiency but induces free-riding behavior. The moderate threshold is not as cost-efficient but allows for a more equitable payoffs distribution. The relaxed threshold does not lead to any gain in conservation and is the least cost-efficient. Increasing the reward size can induce a faster achievement of the equilibrium outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An article coming from my pen has met with opposition. If the critics are to be believed, I put forth an erroneous conception on how to calculate the present value of a forest mill's total assets, including soil and standing timber. This reproach, however, is untenable. In fact, the economically correct solution brings to light that the principle of sustainable maximum yield is productively efficient and at the same time most lucrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of competing land uses is complicated by a range of issues and considerations. This is the case because of a concern for the long-term health of the earth and the obvious negative impacts of past and present human activities. Land use planning and management efforts have recognized this broader context and accordingly have devoted much care and attention to operational-level planning support. Spatial restrictions have long been recognized as central to limiting local impacts as well as ensuring landscape shape and structure irregularity. Unfortunately, planning to meet spatial restrictions may be disrupted, by fire, pests, or even on-the-ground conditions. For example, what if a fire destroys resources in a management unit that are adjacent to a unit(s) scheduled for harvest. In fact, this new opening/disruption may prevent the planned activity of any of its neighboring units. Disruptions do occur, but have rarely been addressed in any meaningful way in planning optimization problems. This paper details spatial optimization approaches to support better understanding of the range of potential outcomes when disruption and uncertainty are taken into account in land use planning involving forest resources. Application results highlight the significance of handling disruption risk and spatial data uncertainty, indicating that identifying and selecting planning alternatives that are consistent with goals and intended outcomes are a difficult task. However, improved modeling approaches are possible that better support land use decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring of forest pests and diseases is resource-intensive, requiring individual woodlands and trees to be visited and assessed for symptoms. Climate change and increased global connectivity are amplifying the scale of the monitoring challenge, with the number of new plant biosecurity threats increasing each year. Citizen science can increase the scale of pest and disease surveys. However, it is argued that citizen science data can be biased and inaccurate. This study examines potential biases in citizen science data by focusing on the case study of acute oak decline (AOD), a disease syndrome impacting native oaks within the UK associated with the beetle Agrilus biguttatus. Analysis was performed using two contrasting citizen science data set sources: the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas, which is a repository for citizen science data sets, and Tree Alert, a targeted citizen science project that encouraged landowners and the public to report the occurrence of AOD. For both data sets, detection was more likely in locations with higher Coleoptera reports, suggesting that there are hubs of recorder activity. For the NBN data set, A. biguttatus was more likely to be found in areas where historic parks and gardens were present. For the Tree Alert data set, A. biguttatus was less likely to be found on open access land, indicating that the programme was successful in engaging private landowners. These results indicate that understanding sources of bias within reporting schemes is an important step in data analysis and that the inclusion of structured survey designs would enable the extent of biases to be documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the problem of designing PES-type contracts to encourage participation and spatial coordination amongst private forest owners in Finland. The aim of the policy is to increase efforts to mitigate risks from invasive forest pests and diseases. Such control actions yield spill-over benefits to other landowners and to wider society, meaning that the level of privately-optimal disease control is likely to be less than the socially-optimal level. The policy designer may wish to encourage spatial coordination in the uptake of such PES-type contracts, as spatial coordination delivers an increase in the effectiveness of control measures on disease risks. We conducted a choice experiment with private forest owners in Finland in October 2016. The study elicited the preferences of woodland owners with respect to the design of forest disease control contracts, and gauged their willingness to cooperate with neighbouring forest owners within the framework of such programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical deforestation in Brazil is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Brazil has taken several steps to reduce emissions associated with deforestation including the development of policies to promote and reward cattle ranching intensification. Intensification practices are hypothesized to reduce the conversion of tropical forests while simultaneously increasing the productivity of ranching on current pasture lands. This paper assesses the impact of intensification on the demand for productive land. A theoretical model of land use, which considers the degree of intensification in the estimation of the derived demand for pasture, is tested with data from small-scale landowners who operate dairy farms and calving operations in the greater Ouro Preto do Oeste region of Rondônia. Results suggest different trajectories for beef and dairy production. The intensification of cattle production exhibits a nonlinear relationship with the demand for productive land: first as farms become more intensive the demand for newly cleared land increases, but then decreases with further intensification. The results are different for dairy intensification, which is found to be correlated with reduced deforestation. Findings suggest that the reliance on policies that promote intensification can be a risky way of achieving climate change objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1849, Martin Faustmann published a formula for determining the claim on an insurer if fallow woodland has been definitely destroyed. His evaluation is based on an even-aged plantation and a given logging time. The calculation has later been used to derive an allegedly optimal rotation period which nowadays predominates in forestry economics. In fact, the utilized objective function does not engender the superior harvesting strategy but the highest compensation for the damaged ground. However, Faustmann’s approach can be generalized in order to maximize the expected value of a timber company’s total assets comprising soil and existing stumpage. The best felling practice turns out to be the principle of maximum sustainable yield already decreed by Austria’s emperor Joseph II in 1788. As a result, the difference between profitability and efficiency is resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study welfare effects of environmental change, data from household surveys may be linked to remote sensing data. Using spatial aggregation to link risks ecological fallacy, since surveys are usually representative for areas larger than the spatial scale of decision-making units. This paper uses survey-to-census imputation to estimate welfare indicators for small areas to study the effect of deforestation on subsequent inequality in the rural Solomon Islands. This country depends on logging for almost half of foreign exchange and one-sixth of government revenue, and most forested land remains under customary ownership. A sharp increase in log exports, to seven times the sustainable yield, and a major shift in export destinations as other countries withdrew from the tropical log trade represents an exogenous shock that helps to identify effects of deforestation on inequality rather than the reverse relationship. A standard deviation increase in the rate of forest loss over 2000 to 2012 raises the Gini index of inequality in 2013 by one-third of a standard deviation. Mean incomes and poverty rates are also higher, implying that deforestation makes some households richer while others become poorer. These precisely estimated effects would be obscured using more spatially aggregated data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban afforestation programs are starting to act on the growing body of evidence that nature and greenspace are important determinants of well-being. However, there are a lack of credible investigations into the long-term returns on investment of afforestation inclusive of positive and negative externalities, project-related costs, and dynamic environmental feedbacks. Using the New York City forest canopy as an example, our integrated bioeconomic-health model illustrates that investments in afforestation produce per planted tree net benefits that are significantly lower than previous similarly comparable estimates ($12 vs. $172) and are nonlinear in canopy size. We also show that a reduction in urban air quality, such as those that may be produced by changes in national air quality policies and enforcement, can be mitigated through increased investment in urban afforestation. Our results have significant public policy implications for urban environmental quality initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its creation more than 25 years ago as a voluntary, market-based approach to improving forest management, forest certification has proliferated rapidly in developing countries. Yet we know little about whether and under what conditions it affects deforestation. We use rich forest management unit-level panel data—including information on deforestation, certification, regulatory permitting, and geophysical and socioeconomic land characteristics—along with matched difference-in-differences models to identify the effect of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification on deforestation in Mexico, the country with the third-highest number of FSC certifications in the developing world. We test for a variety of different temporal and subgroup effects but are unable to reject the null hypothesis that certification does not affect deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the role of use of community-managed forests as a means of improving economic well-being of rural Nepalese households. It utilizes a nationwide survey consisting of detailed questionnaires related to household welfare and employs instrumental variable (IV) approach to investigate the linkage between community-managed forests and food consumption in Nepal. Results show that households that use community-managed forests for firewood spend significantly more on food consumption than those dependent on government-managed forests. The study further finds that community-managed forest users appear to be more participatory and are more likely to find their food consumption adequate. Together, these results provide compelling evidence that community-managed forests can be an effective means of addressing food insecurity in a developing country setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global efforts to protect biodiversity and slow deforestation rely heavily on the establishment of protected areas; land set aside that cannot be deforested or developed. This paper studies the macro-level relationship between rule of law and variation in avoided deforestation from protected areas. Using recent global satellite data from 2000 to 2012, I estimate the country-level avoided deforestation of protected areas established in this period via nearest-neighbor matching. I then use weighted least-squares regressions to explain country-level variation in estimated avoided deforestation as a function of a country’s governance characteristics as well as other country-level controls. Across 71 countries in this study period, protected areas were more effective in countries with higher levels of corruption control and protection of property rights, protected areas were more effective in more democratic countries, and there appears to be no relationship between political stability and avoided deforestation from protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the price of carbon is used to incentivize a reduction in the release of CO 2 emissions and an increase in sequestration of CO 2 through forestry activities. Forest managers essentially have two options for increasing carbon sequestration (i.e., creating carbon offset credits): (1) avoid or delay harvest of mature timber; or (2) harvest timber and allow natural or artificial regeneration (with ‘regular’ or ‘seed-selected’ growing stock). A forest management model representative of the southern interior of British Columbia is described and used to examine forest conservation that prevents emissions of CO 2 , and even-flow and commercial harvesting where timber is processed into long-lived wood products that store carbon and residuals for energy. The objective of the model is to maximize net discounted returns to commercial timber operations plus the benefits of managing carbon fluxes. The model tracks carbon in living trees, organic matter, and post-harvest carbon pools. It also includes various parameters related to the weighting of future carbon flows, anticipated price of carbon, whether and to what extent use of biomass reduces fossil fuel emissions from generating electricity or production of non-wood construction materials, et cetera. The results demonstrate that the decision about which forestry activities generate carbon offset credits and how many is essentially a political and not a scientific one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource use in rural communities is an important factor affecting local livelihoods and forest conservation in Amazonia. In this paper, we estimate the income obtained from roundwood and irapay palm ( Lepidocaryum tenue Mart.) fronds by 79 households living in three Amazonian rural communities where harvest and trade of forest products is the main economic activity. These communities are found in the upper, mid-upper and mid-lower Nanay River Basin (northeastern Peru). We analyze data from a survey of these households conducted in 2009–2010. Results show that both work time and forest income are the highest in the upper Basin, the area furthest from the main urban market in the region, Iquitos. The highest forest income per hour worked, however, is found in the mid-upper Basin. The estimated incomes are equivalent to a low-to-mid level salary in Iquitos, suggesting that the economic incentive is not high enough for these rural households to move to an urban area. Our findings also indicate that the most remote community may be more vulnerable to resource access regulation changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite expansive research on Amazonian deforestation and its drivers, the role of local politics is not well understood. Using a panel data set that combines municipal-level deforestation and election data from 2002 to 2012, I estimate the effect of an incumbent mayor running for re-election on deforestation rates in election periods. I find that deforestation rates increase 8–10% in election years when an incumbent mayor runs for re-election, an amount equivalent to four percent of the total forest lost since the 2004 elections. Electoral deforestation cycles do not appear to be driven by changes in agricultural policy implementation and activity, but are linked to corruption and campaign finance, suggesting that weak institutional constraints facilitate electoral manipulation of forest resources. This phenomenon is not likely limited to Amazonian forests; re-election incentives could very well lead to misallocation of other natural resources in alternate geographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate cost-effective climate policy instruments for bioenergy and timber, adapted to the impacts on interdependent forest carbon pools, and applied in the EU climate policy to 2050. We develop a discrete time dynamic model including forest carbon pools in biomass, soil, and products, as well as fossil fuel consumption. The analytical results show that the optimal taxes on forest products depend on the growth in the respective carbon pool. The application to the EU 2050 climate policy for emission trading shows that total costs for target achievement can be reduced by 33 percent if all carbon pools are included, and the carbon tax on fossil fuel can be reduced by 50 percent. Optimal taxes on forest products differ among countries and over time depending on the potential for increased carbon sequestration over the planning period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding which aspects of forest governance have the potential to effectively reduce deforestation is central to reversing trends in global deforestation. There is a multitude of empirical studies examining this relationship using various measures of governance and study designs, coming to diverse conclusions. In order to identify the source of variation across studies, this article conducts a meta-analysis of 32 empirical cross-country studies in the field of economics, containing 227 estimates of the impact of different governance measures on deforestation. Using an ordered probit model, we find that the choice of the governance measure is the main factor in explaining variations in the outcomes of the studies. In particular, studies using environmental policy, ownership rights, presence of environmental NGOs, and rule of law as measures of governance, are more likely to find that better governance reduces deforestation. In contrast, studies using democracy and rights as a measure of governance are more likely to find that deforestation increases, when governance is improved. The finding that not all aspects of governance improvements are equally supportive of forest conservation suggests that more nuanced analyses of specific aspects of environmental governance are required to guide evidence-based policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic theory assumes that willingness to pay (WTP) increases with the quantity of the consumed good. This implies that there should be a scope effect in contingent valuation studies. However, in previous issues of Ecological Economics , several authors criticized the contingent valuation (CV) method for the absence of such effect or its inadequacy. In this paper, we contribute to this ongoing debate by proposing to systematically apply several WTP statistical distribution assumptions to test for scope effects and check its plausibility, following Whitehead’s (2016) recent recommendations. We perform this approach using data from a Swiss case study assessing the WTP for an increased surface of forest reserves. We find that both mean WTP and scope effects are sensitive to the statistical distribution assumption. Regarding plausibility, scope elasticities provide mixed result and also depend on the assumed statistical distribution of WTP. For small sample size CV studies, a non-parametric analysis, a spike model or an open-ended format can thus be better suited to reveal scope effects than the classical parametric dichotomous choice analysis. We thus recommend to systematically apply several statistical distribution assumptions of WTP to test for scope effects and their plausibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the effects of renewable energy consumption, agriculture production and forest on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission in Pakistan. To do so, we use annual data over the period of 1990–2014 and employ the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model to examine their long-run and short-run impacts on CO 2 emission. We find that in the long run, renewable energy consumption and forest have negative and significant effects on CO 2 emission, which indicates that CO 2 emission can be reduced by increasing renewable energy usage and forest area. In contrast, agricultural production positively and significantly affects CO 2 emission in the long run which implies that agriculture production is also a major carbon source in Pakistan. Moreover, in the short-run, renewable energy consumption and forest have shown similar results while the effects from agriculture become statistically insignificant. In addition, we also show that forest planting is more effective to reduce CO 2 emission relative to renewable energy and agriculture. Our results are robust to alternative model specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns over the expropriation of and encroachment on indigenous communities' lands have led to greater formalization of these communities' rights in a number of developing countries. We study whether formalization of indigenous communities' land rights affects the rate of deforestation in both the short and medium terms. Beginning in 1995, the Government of Brazil formalized the rights of several hundred indigenous communities whose lands cover more than 40 million hectares in the Amazon region and provided support for these rights’ enforcement. We study the program's impacts using a long time-series of satellite-based forest cover data. Using both plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of formalization and matched samples of treated and comparison communities, we find no effect of these protections on satellite-based greenness measures. This is true even for communities that received support for surveillance and enforcement of these rights. Notably, we observe low counterfactual rates of deforestation on communities' lands between 1982 and 2010, suggesting that indigenous land rights programs should not uniformly be justified on the basis of their forest protection, at least in the medium term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amenity values of private forests are implicit but play a critical role in decision and policy making. This study presents an innovative valuation approach integrating techniques of operations research and economic theory of pricing environmental goods. A forest planning problem was inversed through altering its reward function of timber values so that the observed harvesting behavior became optimal. The discrepancy between the original and new rewards uncovered amenities values which were linked to forest attributes via hedonic models. This method was applied to a case study of the U.S. southern pine region. Depending on forest conditions, total economic values of amenities varied from zero to just under one thousand dollar per ha. At a discount rate of 3%, a typically managed forest generated on average $243 ha −1 of amenities values per annum, more than twice of harvested timber values. Structural diversity and density of large pine trees were the key determinants to preserving forests for environmental amenities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a hybrid simulation model (‘SimPachamama’) designed to explore the complex socio-environmental trade-offs of alternative policy bundles and policy sequencing options for stemming deforestation and reducing poverty in tropical countries. Designed and calibrated to the initial conditions of a small forest village in rural Bolivia, the model consists of: (a) an optimising agricultural household module of heterogeneous agents that make individually optimal land-use decisions based on factor endowments and market conditions; (b) an encompassing general equilibrium ‘shell’ module that endogenously determines wages and links the agricultural labour market and rural-urban migration rates; and (c) a novel user-controlled policy-maker module that allows the user to make ‘real time’ choices over a variety of public and environmental policies that in turn impact land use, welfare, and migration. Over a 20-year simulation period the results highlight trade-offs between reductions in deforestation and improvements in household welfare that can only be overcome either when international REDD payments are offered or when decentralized deforestation taxes are implemented. The sequencing of policies plays a critical role in the determination of these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive alien species are known to be disruptive to the natural environment and can lead to sharp reductions in environmental quality, thereby affecting social welfare. However, little is known about how subjective well-being, in particular, is impacted by invasive species. This is troubling because it precludes credible empirical considerations of the full-range of social externalities when setting invasive species management policy. To address this knowledge gap, this paper provides the first estimates of invasive species impacts on subjective well-being using the life satisfaction (“happiness”) index. The approach is applied to the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB), a particularly virulent ash tree attacking pest in North America. Using a repeated cross-sectional fixed effects design, the impact of EAB detection on life satisfaction (LS) is estimated for individuals living in 189 counties in 15 US states over 2005–2011. Results suggest that after EAB detection, LS is reduced by 0.127 on a 4-point scale [95% CI: − 0.002, − 0.252]. The magnitude of impacts are greatest after a 5-year lag and are largest among young adults (18–24 years). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A great deal of biodiversity can be found in private forests, and protecting it requires taking into consideration the preferences of key stakeholders. In this study, we examine divergence in stakeholders' preferences for forest attributes across the general public, private non-industrial forest owners and public and private forest officials in Sweden by conducting a discrete choice experiment. Our results indicate that citizens have a positive valuation of biodiversity protection. Moreover, their valuation is statistically significantly higher than those of forest owners. Interestingly, our results suggest that both forest owners and forest officials have a strong orientation towards production, with higher valuation than the general public of the common management practice of even aged stands and clear felling. Even though the Swedish Forestry Act regards production and environmental goals as equally important, we find that forest officials prefer management practices that promote production rather than biodiversity protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic value of a rainforest is modeled as a dynamic asset subject to fire risk and potential increase in dryness. I solve two Bellman equations, for unburnt and for already burnt forest, to derive analytically tractable expressions for the total expected, spatially differentiated, asset value of the forest in each state assuming constant growth and forest loss rates over time. I derive the marginal expected discounted value loss when losing a small additional piece of forest, at any alternative site in the forest. Marginal forest value is found to increase when the risk of forest fire increases due to forest fragmentation when forest is lost locally; and also when forest dryness, affecting forest values negatively, increases upon forest fragmentation. Both forest fire risk and dryness serve as “multipliers” on the basic services return loss, both within and outside of the forest. Increased forest fire risk is found to reduce average rainforest value by reducing their future expected lifespans and current returns; but to increase marginal forest value by making primary forest loss avoidance more valuable. I calibrate the model including the impact of the forest fire risk component on forest value, with multipliers in a typical range 1.3–1.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 65 years, forest tenure in China has oscillated unpredictably between private and village property regimes. This policy-induced uncertainty has distorted the harvesting decisions of individuals granted rights to grow trees and has lowered the value of China׳s forest output. We provide an analytical framework for assessing these effects quantitatively. Understanding the consequences of this policy-induced uncertainty is particularly important since China is currently engaged in an ambitious plan to increase its domestic supply of timber. To conduct this analysis, we extend the literature on forestry economics when there is a risk of loss due to forest fire or pests. We (1) take account of the possibility that replanting can only resume after an interval of uncertain length (with immediate replanting as a special Case); (2) investigate the effects of compensation for such losses based only on the net value of the stand of trees at the time of the loss; and (3) compare it to compensation that would leave the wealth and rotation decisions of the farmer unaffected by the presence of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Procurement auctions are one of several policy tools available to incentivise the provision of ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation. Successful biodiversity conservation often requires a landscape-scale approach and the spatial coordination of participation, for example in the creation of wildlife corridors. In this paper, we use a laboratory experiment to explore two features of procurement auctions in a forest landscape: the pricing mechanism (uniform vs. discriminatory) and availability of communication (chat) between potential sellers. We modify the experimental design developed by Reeson et al. (2011) by introducing uncertainty (and hence heterogeneity) in the production value of forest sites as well as an automated, endogenous stopping rule. We find that discriminatory pricing yields to greater environmental benefits per government dollar spent, chiefly because it is easier to construct long corridors. Chat also facilitates such coordination but also seems to encourage collusion in sustaining high prices for the most environmentally attractive plots. These two effects offset each other, making chat neutral from the viewpoint of maximizing environmental effect per dollar spent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong links between the condition of the environment and the economy have recently resulted in a number of actions aiming to implement environmental considerations in economic calculations. This is accompanied by the development of the concept of ecosystem services, characterizing the benefits that the environment provides humankind with. The identification of these services is reflected in their economic values. Hence, the concept of the valuation of ecosystem services. Therefore, if the service provided by the environment takes on a financial value, we can consider it as income from the property containing the analyzed ecosystem. Of course, in order to speak in practice of the income approach in the valuation of such properties, there must be actual financial flow as income for the real estate owner. However, in the era of big economic changes and the implementation of a number of financial instruments (e.g., subsidies for a particular use of property, trade of CO2 emission rights), it seems reasonable to consider the possibility of property valuation by the valuation of ecosystem services. A part of this research focused on a service of forest ecosystems service that is carbon sequestration. The selection was made due to the implementation of the climate policy at the European level and its association with the trade of CO2 emission rights. The analyses were performed for two test sites characterized by different determinants (composition of species in the tree stand, age of the stand, degree of compactness of the tree stand, etc.). The low level of difficulty of the test methods used enables non-experts (persons with no qualifications in forestry) to carry out valuations themselves. The research is a contribution to the debate on the possibility of accounting for carbon sequestration in forest property valuation based on the income approach, but the issue still requires clarification of certain elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of changes in government spending level and composition on deforestation due to agricultural land expansion and related carbon dioxide emissions. Our theoretical model shows an unintended consequence from increased government spending and widening social safety nets in developing countries where agricultural land expansion significantly affects forest cover: there is an increase in deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions from land use change. Our empirical tests show that an increase in total government spending significantly increases forest land clearing for agricultural production in the short run leading to more carbon dioxide emissions. However, there is no long-run statistically significant effect on the steady-state forest cover and carbon dioxide emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an effort to reduce CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel burning, renewable energy policies incentivize use of forest biomass as an energy source. Many governments have assumed (legislated) the carbon flux from burning biomass to be neutral because biomass growth sequesters CO 2 . Yet, trees take decades to recover the CO 2 released by burning, so assumed emissions neutrality (or near neutrality) implies that climate change is not considered an urgent matter. As biomass energy continues to be a significant strategy for transitioning away from fossil fuels, this paper asks the question: To what extent should we value future atmospheric carbon removals? To answer this, we examine the assumptions and pitfalls of biomass carbon sequestration in light of its increasing use as a fossil-fuel alternative. This study demonstrates that the assumed carbon neutrality of biomass for energy production hinges on the fact that we weakly discount future removals of carbon, and it is sensitive to tree species and the nature of the fuel for which biomass substitutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze how governance may influence competing land uses for forests, and thus the occurrence of forest transitions, across different low and middle-income countries. We develop a model of competing land uses that allows for governance to impact the risk of future versus current agricultural and forested land allocations. The resulting hypothesis on the relationship between governance and the likelihood of a forest transition is then tested using cross-country data. The empirical analysis offers strong support for the competing land use framework, and indicates that rule of law, forest policy and regulatory quality influence forest transitions. These findings inform not only the ongoing debate on forest transitions but also policy options for managing such transitions in developing economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In France, the implementation of the EU biodiversity conservation policy within the Natura 2000 network combines regulatory tools and voluntary contracting. In this article, we empirically assess the cost-effectiveness of Natura 2000 contracts in forest areas. We simultaneously estimate a cost function for biodiversity conservation and the production set of biodiversity output and timber, while controlling for conservation measures. We show strong substitutability between biodiversity conservation and timber production. Estimate results on the cost-elasticity of biodiversity conservation also suggest the possibility of more ecologically ambitious contracts with lower average costs. Results also show that public owners are able to bear higher opportunity costs than private owners. Our findings may help to formulate policy recommendations in terms of contracts' targeting, likely to enhance the cost-effectiveness of the incentive scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deforestation is a major environmental issue in developing countries, and agricultural land expansion is its main cause. The objective of this paper is twofold:(1) to identify the macroeconomic determinants of ending deforestation; and (2) to explain cumulative deforestation and other land uses. To do this, we first study the probability of a turning point for deforestation (i.e., the switch from decreasing to expanding forest areas), based on the Forest Transition hypothesis. Second, we adapt a land-use model to explain the trade-off between forest and agriculture during development. To take the link between both phenomena into account, we estimate a dynamic panel seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) model along with a switching regression model, applied to a dataset of 57 developing countries observed over four time periods. The estimation results reveal that economic development and institutions play a significant role in long-term deforestation. Our results also suggest that after the first development stage, agriculture and forest are not always competing land uses. These results provide new insights into public policies such as REDD +. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the importance of anthropogenic determinants in forest ecosystems within Europe, the objective of the FFSM++ model is to link the evidence arising from biological models to socio-economic determinants, where the expected returns of forest investments represent the main drivers. Consequently, an inventory-based discrete-time Markov chain model of the forest resources is coupled with a partial equilibrium model of the market of forest products and with a microeconomic model of allocation of the harvested area to form a national-level forest sector model for France (FFSM++). In this paper, we present the model with emphasis on its spatial aspects, and we show that by only considering environmental heterogeneity and, therefore, the local characteristics of the forest under management, it is possible to realistically model management decisions such as forest investments. In particular, we propose an application that spatialises the forest growth rate, normally reported by inventory sources at the regional level, and we run long-term scenarios (until 2100) in order to simulate the effects on the forest dynamics of a potential increase in coniferous mortality in certain areas due to climate change when interactions between forest management strategies are explicitly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of countries covered by natural forests are developing countries, with limited ability to levy taxes and restrained access to international credit markets. Consequently, they are amenable to draw heavily on two sources of government financing, namely seigniorage and deforestation revenues. First, we develop a theoretical model emphasizing a substitution effect between seigniorage and deforestation revenues. Second, a panel-data econometric analysis over the 1990–2010 period confirms our findings. Consequently, a tighter monetary policy hastens deforestation. Third, we extend the theoretical model and show that international transfers dedicated to forest protection can upturn the positive link between tighter monetary policies and deforestation, and then discuss the relevance of this finding with respect to recent institutional arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the debate on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD +) and the relationship between land tenure and forest conservation. We investigate policies that create alternative livelihood options for people around REDD + forests who are forest users but not forest landowners. We compare the performance of a conventional integrated conservation and development policy (ICDP) with an alternative hybrid policy that combines features of ICDP and payments for environmental services. Through a survey-based experiment in Kenya, we compare the effectiveness of different REDD + payment schemes given rising opportunity costs of forest use. This study shows that hybrid approaches that provide alternative income opportunities to local people, target the local drivers of deforestation, are conditional on environmental outcomes, and account for changing opportunity costs could work as effective policy options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the welfare effects of community plantations in Ethiopia via contingent valuation. Both single-bounded and double-bounded survey methods were considered, and, with respect to double-bounded methods, the potential for anomalous response behaviour was also taken into account. The results generally confirm that there are statistically significant welfare benefits to be derived from community forestry; however, the range of the estimated benefits is large. After controlling for anomalous response behaviour, the range of estimated benefits narrows, and our preferred estimates place the welfare gain between Ethiopian Birr (ETB) 20.14 and 30.41 per household, which is much lower than the estimated benefits without controlling for anomalous preference responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At current usage levels, short rotation coppice (SRC) biomass could be considered as an untapped resource. There is a worldwide interest to extend its sustainable production significantly in a decade to come. However, the cultivation of energy crops is very site-specific and the exploitation of SRC biomass is a relatively new trend in biomass application for heat and power production with little information on its cultivation patterns and appropriate combustion technologies. In fact, documented biomass conversion technologies’ impacts in the energy sector and their commercialisation are limited. This paper aims to present a summary of technical characteristics for different biomass conversion technologies. These characteristics are not necessarily unique to all types and possible modifications of the biomass conversion technologies applied for many countries. However, the lack of technical knowledge have created situations that were previously impossible to be solved without the aid of numerous research and development activities. The developers did not capture all of the economic benefits that the technology provides which would help to reach its technical accomplishment and commercial execution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the effect of trade openness on deforestation. Previous studies do not find a clear effect of trade openness on deforestation. We use updated data on the annual rate of deforestation for 142 countries from 1990 to 2003, treat trade and income as endogenous, and take into consideration an adjustment process by applying a dynamic model. We find that an increase in trade openness increases deforestation for non-OECD countries while slowing down deforestation for OECD countries. There is a possibility that both capital-labor and environmental-regulation effects have a negative impact on deforestation in developing countries, whereas the opposite holds in developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The wild tiger population in tropical Asia has dropped from about 100,000 to 3500 in the last century, and the need to conserve tiger habitats poses a challenge for the Global Tiger Recovery Program. This paper develops and uses a high-resolution monthly forest clearing database for 74 tiger habitat areas in ten countries to investigate habitat threats for Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan and Sumatran tigers. The econometric model links forest habitat loss and forest clearing to profitability calculations that are affected by market expectations, environmental conditions and evolving patterns of settlement, among others. It uses new spatial panel estimation methods that allow for temporal and spatial autocorrelation. The econometric results emphasize the role of short-run market variables, including the exchange rate, real interest rate and prices of agricultural products in forest clearing, with considerable variation in the estimated timing for response and impact elasticities across countries. The results highlight a critical message for the conservation policy community: Changes in world agricultural-product markets and national financial policies have significant, measurable effects on tropical forest clearing, with variable time lags and degrees of responsiveness across countries. Measuring these effects and pinpointing areas at risk can provide valuable guidance for policymakers, conservation managers, and donor institutions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Community-based forest management (CBFM) is the internationally recognised model in which sustainable use of communal forest resources is assured. However, some authors have asserted that policy makers should understand the values communities hold towards forests before recommending strategies for CBFM. This study used Principal Component Analysis to identify the values rural households in KwaZulu-Natal hold towards forests. The Multinomial Logit Model was then used to investigate whether the values households hold towards forests, among other socio-economic and institutional factors, influence households’ decisions to participate in self-initiated CBFM programmes. The study found that households’ decisions to participate in community forest management depend, not only on the values they hold towards forests, but also on the forest management strategy being pursued. If a protection-oriented management strategy is pursued, households that hold more bio-centric values are more likely to participate, while households that hold more anthropocentric values towards forests are more likely to participate in managing forests when a utilisation-oriented strategy is pursued. Since rural households in KwaZulu-Natal are poor and overwhelmingly hold anthropocentric values towards forests, it was recommended that following the utilisation-oriented forests management strategy to meet the utilitarian needs of the communities would improve household participation, while reducing poverty and ensuring sustainable forest management. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Ecosystem services valuation has achieved considerable prominence in research and policy circles in recent years. This paper reviews the studies that have tried to estimate the value of forest ecosystem services. Broadly, this study addresses the following questions: (1) What insights do these studies provide on the value of forest ecosystems? (2) What lessons do they offer from an economic and policy perspective? (3) What are the shortcomings of the existing studies, and what are the challenges and issues for future research? Evidence from a cross section of forest sites, countries and regions suggests that not only the total valuation of ecosystem services varies widely across studies but also the valuation of individual services. This variation suggests that policies to conserve ecosystems and their services should emphasise local contexts and values. This paper concludes by discussing the shortcomings of existing studies, and suggests that, among other things, future research should focus on the neglected ecosystem services, ‘disservices’, assess the role of dynamic factors and environmental catastrophes on the provision of ecosystem services, and assess the benefits of keeping forests intact versus converting them to alternative uses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Many protected areas or parks in developing countries have buffer zones at their boundaries to achieve the dual goals of protecting park resources and providing resource benefits to neighbouring people. Despite the prevalence of these zoning policies, few behavioural models of people's buffer zone use inform the sizing and management of those zones. This paper uses a spatially explicit resource extraction model to examine the impact of buffer zone size and management on extraction by local people, both legal and illegal, and the impact of that extraction on forest quality in the park's core and buffer zone. The results demonstrate trade-offs between the level of enforcement, the size of a buffer zone, and the amount of illegal extraction in the park; and describe implications for “enrichment” of buffer zones and evaluating patterns of forest degradation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Patterns of forest cover and forest degradation determine the size and types of ecosystem services forests provide. Particularly in low-income countries, nontimber forest product (NTFP) extraction by rural people, which provides important resources and income to the rural poor, contributes to the level and pattern of forest degradation. Although recent policy, particularly in Africa, emphasizes forest degradation, relatively little research describes the spatial aspects of NTFP collection that lead to spatial degradation patterns. This paper reviews both the spatial empirical work on NTFP extraction and related forest degradation patterns, and spatial models of behavior of rural people who extract NTFPs from forest. Despite the impact of rural people's behavior on resulting quantities and patterns of forest resources, spatial–temporal models/patterns rarely inform park siting and sizing decisions, econometric assessments of park effectiveness, development projects to support conservation, or REDD protocols. Using the literature review as a lens, we discuss the models' implications for these policies with particular emphasis on effective conservation spending and leakage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although widely studied, deforestation remains a common research topic. The relationship between economic development and deforestation is still in question. This paper presents a meta-analysis of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) studies for deforestation. Using 69 studies, offering 547 estimations, we shed light on why EKC results differ. We investigate the incidence of choices made by authors (such as econometric strategy, measure of deforestation, geographical area, and presence of control variables) on the probability of finding an EKC. After a phase of work corroborating the EKC, we find a turning point after the year 2001. Building on our results, we conclude that the EKC story will not fade until theoretical alternatives are provided. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article examines how governance, particularly corruption control and political stability, affects deforestation due to agricultural land expansion. We estimate the short-run and long-run effects of corruption control and political stability on deforestation in South American and Asian countries using data from 1990 to 2003 where converting forest land into agricultural land is a significant problem. Political stability has a positive and significant effect on forest cover in the short run but an insignificant effect in the long run. In contrast, corruption control has a negative and significant effect on forest cover in the short run and the long run with a larger magnitude in the former. One possible explanation is that corruption control induces more technological productivity and, if technology and land use are complements, increases in technological development lead to agricultural land expansion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the role of forest-based carbon sequestration in a unilateral EU27 emissions reduction policy under a Global Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) framework. Forestry mitigation is introduced into the model relying on carbon sequestration curves provided by a global forestry model. The structure of the original CGE is extended to consider land use change and timber supply effects, resulting from the use of forest sinks to reduce carbon emissions. Results show that afforestation and timber management could lead to substantially lower policy costs. By using forest-carbon sinks it is possible to achieve the 30% emissions reduction target with an additional European effort of only 0.2% of GDP compared with the cost of a 20% emissions reduction without forestry. Carbon price is also reduced, by approximately 30% in 2020. European forest-carbon sequestration may have, however, the perverse effect of increasing timber production in areas of the world which already have high deforestation rates. A sensitivity analysis on main parameters confirms the robustness of our results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Through the implementation of a choice experiment valuation exercise, this study set out to identify the set of community plantation attributes that impact the welfare of potential community forestry program participants. We employed a combination of choice models to evaluate the preferences, welfare impacts and choice elasticities associated with alternative community forestry programs, allowing for different assumptions regarding heterogeneity. In line with economic theory, increased participation costs reduced the demand for community forestry, while increases in expected productivity raised the demand. With respect to preferences for the other alternatives considered: type of forest, area enclosure and type of land upon which the forest was to be situated, the results point to significant differences in preferences across the study population, suggesting that programs should be tailored to the communities in which the program is to be implemented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper develops an optimum forest program for even-aged and multi-age forest management when the carbon sequestration service of a forest has value. It is shown that for even-aged forest management, the optimum rotation might be longer or shorter than when the carbon sequestration service is not considered. For multi-age forest management, it is shown that the optimum steady state is characterized by the optimum rotation for an even-aged forest. The optimum rotation is affected by how to evaluate the carbon release after harvesting, which is a central concern for the issue of 'harvested wood products' in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Classical turnpike theory, as originally conceived by Samuelson, pertains to optimal growth theory over a large but finite time horizon with given initial and terminal stocks. In this paper, we present two turnpike results in the context of the economics of forestry with given initial and terminal forest configurations. Our results depart from the general theory in that they concern a transitional production set which does not satisfy the assumptions of inaction and free disposal, and rely on a recently discovered non-interiority assumption on concave (not necessarily differentiable) benefit functions that implies, and is implied by, the asymptotic convergence of good programs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]