Achieving the Sustainable Management of Forests PDF
Preview Achieving the Sustainable Management of Forests
Sustainable Development Goals Series Life on Land Alastair Fraser Achieving the Sustainable Management of Forests Sustainable Development Goals Series Series editors R. B. Singh, Delhi Sch of Econ, Univ of Delhi, Dept of Geography, Delhi, Delhi, India Suraj Mal, Department of Geography, Shaheed Bhagat, University of Delhi, Delhi, India Michael E. Meadows, EGS, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa World leaders adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Providing in-depth knowledge, this series fosters comprehensive research on the global targets to end pov- erty, fight inequality and injustice and tackle climate change. Sustainability of Future Earth is currently a major concern for the global community ans has been a central theme for a number of major global initia- tives viz. Health and Well-being in Changing Urban Environment, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, COP21, Habitat III and Future Earth Initiative. Perceiving the dire need for Sustainable Development, the United Nations and world leaders formulated the SDG targets as a com- prehensive framework based on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The goals call for action by all countries, poor, rich and mid- dle-income, to promote prosperity while protecting the planet earth and its life support system. For sustainability to be achieved, it is important to have inputs from all sectors, societies and stakeholders. Therefore, this series on the Sustainable Development Goals aims to provide a comprehensive plat- form to the scientific, teaching and research communities working on various global issues in the field of geography, earth sciences, environmental science, social sciences and human geosciences, in order to contribute knowledge towards the current 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Volumes in the Series are organized by the relevant goal, and guided by an expert international panel of advisors. Contributions are welcome from scien- tists, policy makers and researchers working in the field of any of the follow- ing goals: No Poverty Zero Hunger Good Health and Well-Being Quality Education Gender Equality Clean Water and Sanitation Affordable and Clean Energy Decent Work and Economic Growth Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Reduced Inequalities Sustainable Cities and Communities Responsible Consumption and Production Climate Action Life Below Water Life on Land Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions Partnerships for the Goals The theory, techniques and methods applied in the contributions will be benchmarks and guide researchers on the knowledge and understanding needed for future generations. The series welcomes case studies and good practices from diverse regions, and enhances the understanding at local and regional levels in order to contribute towards global sustainability. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15486 Alastair Fraser Achieving the Sustainable Management of Forests Alastair Fraser Consultant in Forest Policy and Economics Perthshire, UK ISSN 2523-3084 ISSN 2523-3092 (electronic) Sustainable Development Goals Series ISBN 978-3-030-15838-5 ISBN 978-3-030-15839-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15839-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2019935525 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To the Fraser Forestry Foundation, Indonesia. v Preface As undergraduates, studying forestry in the mid-1950s we were taught about the principles of sustainable forest management, and these have not really changed over the years. At that time, “sustainability” was not much talked about outside forestry circles, and so life as a professional forester became a battle between the principles and the reality of a society that valued the short term over the long. Having become deeply involved in international forestry affairs, it has been distressing to see so much of the world’s forests being destroyed, largely for short-term financial gain, with little thought for all the other living organ- isms that rely on forests for their habitat. The livelihoods of communities that live in or near forests have been destroyed or compromised through loss of access to a multitude of resources that they can obtain from the trees, other plants, and animals that live in forests. Many such organisms are now either extinct or are seriously endangered. An enormous amount of time and effort has been put into international meetings and fora to discuss the definition of, and need for, the sustainable management of forests, but with a few notable exceptions there is little to show for it on the ground. The reasons for this lack of progress are manifold, but they can be boiled down to a few key issues that need to be addressed. The usurpation of land by the state in many countries has tended to lead to a “trag- edy of the commons” and overexploitation. The separation of responsibility for timber production, conservation, and forest industry within government hierarchies has led to contradictions and confusion in policies. The attempts to promote sustainable forest management by market-oriented instruments such as “certification” and Voluntary Agreements have resulted in leakage and the displacement of the curse of illegal logging. There are some notable examples of initiatives that have achieved some sort of sustainability, and the features that they share are strong leadership, multi-stakeholder involvement, and the sustaining of effort and funding over a very long time period: over 20 years. Too many development initiatives have a short, politically determined time frame and so never achieve sustainability. vii viii Preface This book is very much a practitioner’s perspective and draws on much research conducted by others as well as an analysis of the main global forestry database developed by FAO over many years. It concludes with a “to-do list” of things for various stakeholders. It hopes to inspire young people consider- ing a career in forestry to do what is needed and perhaps a few “Champions” for the cause to devote some time and effort to persuading politicians and the public about the need for action. Perthshire, UK Alastair Fraser Contents Part I Background 1 Introduction � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3 2 The Definition and Meaning of Sustainable Forest Management � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 7 3 The Current Status of Sustainably Managed Forests � � � � � � � � � 11 Assessing Sustainable Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Changes in Forest Area in the Last 5 Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Illegal Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Property Rights and Land Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Supply and Demand for Forest Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Market Failure in Forest Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Institutional and Financial Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Is Sustainable Forest Management Possible? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Part II Institutional Issues 4 Policy and the Political Will � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 31 The Politics of Sustainable Forest Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 The Benefits of Managing Forest Resources Sustainably . . . . . . . . 33 The Need to Achieve Consensus Among Stakeholders . . . . . . . . . 33 Forest Policy and the Instruments to Implement It . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 The Politics of Land-Use and Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The Politics of Incentives for Sustainable Forest Management . . . 42 5 Institutions and Policy Instruments Required to Ensure Forests Are Managed Sustainably � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 47 Institutional Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Policy Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Legal Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Financial Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Technical Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Human Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 ix x Contents 6 L and Rights Issues and Rural Poverty � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 59 Land Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Rural Poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Community Forestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Part III Sustainabiliity 7 T he Sustainability of Biodiversity � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 69 Landscape Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Protected Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Baseline Biodiversity Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 International Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 8 E nvironmental Sustainability and Climate Change � � � � � � � � � � 75 Soil Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 The Contribution of Forests to Climate Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Potential Impacts of Global Warming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Changes in Sea Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Extreme Weather Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Changes in Hydrological Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Distribution of Agro-ecological Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 The Contribution of Forests to Solving the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Incentives for Avoiding Deforestation and Forest Degradation . . . 87 9 S ustainability of the Supply of Timber and Non-timber Forest Products � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 93 Consumption of Timber Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Production Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Forest Timber Growing Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Supply–Demand Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Trade-in Timber Forest Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 The Structure of the Timber Processing Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Forest Management for Timber Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Adding Value to Timber Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Non-timber Forest Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Wood-Based Energy: Fuelwood and Charcoal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Properties of Wood as an Energy Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Wood Energy Conversion Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Other Non-timber Forest Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Forest Grazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 10 I llegal Logging � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 115 Definition of Illegal Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Extent of Illegal Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Drivers of Illegal Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Impact of Illegal Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Combatting Illegal Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Technological Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
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