Sustainable Forest Management and markets for environmental services

Sustainable Forest Management and markets for environmental

servicesDavid Brand

Hancock Natural Resource Group (Australia)

SUMBER: www.fs.fed.us/.../Sustainable%20Forest%20...

Sustainable Management of Forests

Countries vary in their priorities and perceptions of the purpose of forests

Globalisation of forests—both markets and competing ideas about SFM

Private sector capital is increasingly important

No sustainable forestry without social capital

Could the environment become a profit centre in forest management?


Per Capita Income

Per Capita Natural Resources

Subsistence

Conservation andProtection

SustainableDevelopment

Economic Development

Perceptions of forests vary from country to country….

Source: Jag Maini, UN IPF


Sustainable Forest Management

Do we share a set of values related to forests?

Reducing conflict and addressing equity in wealth distribution—without an equitable society, social capital breaks down

Legal and institutional framework to address inter-generational issues

What do we sustain and how do we sustain it?


Forests

Biodiversity

Soil and Waterconservation

Ecosystem HealthAnd Productivity

The carbon cycle

Industry andTradeSocial Benefits

How do we conserve and enhance these critical values….


Forests and Agriculture Forests and agriculture have often

been seen as being in conflict Can we create an integrated

approach to sustainable land management?

Is there a win-win scenario?



Investment and Sustainable Forest Management

Forests have been a source of capital in the past, but sustainable management implies we invest back into the forest

Growing trend towards plantation forests as native forests are depleted

How do we attract capital flows into the forest sector and ensure that capital contributes to sustainable forest management?


A ‘natural infrastructure’ model

Forests provide both goods and servicesMany environmental services like carbon

sequestration, water purification and biodiversity conservation are unpriced, undervalued and therefore we under-invest in them

Emergence of market mechanisms and price signals for environment is an important trend


The concept of a commercial market for an environmental service..


Carbon Sequestration The threat of climate change is the first

global driver for an environmental service market

Forests grow by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it as wood

Many emissions regulations recognize reforestation of areas cleared in the past as a credit against emissions

Substantial work has occurred to operationalize this new product


There is a growingtechnical, legal and commercial basis forforest-based carbonmarkets…



Water Quality Forests are critical to regulation of

water quality, water yield and hydrological cycles

Often a disconnect between upstream land management and downstream water users—leads to inefficient capital allocation

Good example of dryland salinity in Australia





Biodiversity Global trend towards homogenization of

ecosystems and loss of diversity This can lead to unstable or unhealthy

systems—insect and disease outbreaks, spread of weeds, loss of services like pollination and waste decomposition

Growing number of instruments to use markets for both species and ecosystem conservation




Outlook and Conclusion

Sustainable Forest Management is leading to a different way of viewing the value of forests

A dis-functional society cannot manage its forests sustainably—need to address social issues before environmental

In a ‘sustainable society, forests will increasing be seen, and valued, as a key part of the natural infrastructure


Documents

Sustainable Forest Management and markets for environmental services