TIMBER HARVEST ADJACENCY ECONOMIES, HUNTING, SPECIES PROTECTION, AND OLD GROWTH VALUE: SEEKING THE OPTIMUM

Spatial forest management models recognize that nontimber benefits cat1 be influenced by the status of adjacent land. For instance, contiguous old growth provides habitat, aesthetic value, and environmental services. Conversely, edge areas provide forage and cover habitat for game and non-game wildlife. However, adjacency externalities are not limited to nontimber concerns. Larger harvest areas generate average cost savings as fixed harvesting costs are spread across greater acreage, a problem excluded from most literature on optimal harvesting. Hence, it is typical that economies and diseconomies of adjacency in harvesting occur simultaneously. This complicates the determination of optimal ecosystem management behavior, which recognizes timber, aesthetic, wildlife protection, and hunting values. This paper conceptually portrays economies of adjacency in competing objectives using multiple management strategies.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Drivers of Advances in Mechanized Timber Harvesting – a Selective Review of Technological Innovation

Timber harvesting operations vary greatly around the world, as do the adaptations of technology to the complex, locally variable conditions. Similarly, technological innovations occur as a response to a large number of different situations. This review examines the three main drivers considered to generate substantial technological change in mechanized timber harvesting: 1) availability of new technology, 2) demand for new products and 3) introduction of new regulations. The main focus is on Nordic cut-to-length harvesting using a harvester and forwarder, partly due to its advanced level of technology and partly due to the authors’ backgrounds. Examining new technology, progress towards increased automation is highlighted with examples of entry-level products that provide computer-assisted motion control and semiautomation. Examples of unmanned machines and other high-level automation are also presented. Innovations in the field of bioenergy harvesting are presented as examples of advances addressing the demand for new products. Thus, illustrations span from harvesting of tree parts other than stemwood, to how such harvesting and transportation can be integrated into the traditional stemwood harvest. The impact of new regulations on technological innovation is demonstrated with advances aimed at reducing soil damage. Examples range from technical solutions for reducing soil pressure, to walking, flying and even climbing machines. Some predictions are given as to when certain advances can be expected to become reality. However, even though the main drivers are likely to change timber harvesting with new products and new rules, they will probably do so through a continued adaptation of technology to local needs

Infrastructure solutions to support decision-making in logging in the Amazon

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Julio Eduardo ArceCoorientadores: Prof. Dr. Renato Cesar Gonçalves Robert, Prof. Dr. Afonso Figueiredo FilhoTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Agrárias, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Florestal. Defesa : Curitiba, 10/05/2023Inclui referênciasResumo: A biodiversidade é uma das principais características das florestas tropicais, distribuídas em micro sítios com atributos biofísicos específicos. Estes fatores são muitas vezes pouco considerados no planejamento do manejo florestal na Amazônia, por meio da sistematização espacial da infraestrutura para as operações, geralmente não considerando na tomada de decisão a distribuição do estoque florestal das espécies comerciais e outros fatores bióticos. Este estudo teve como objetivo trazer avanços no planejamento e contribuições para a minimização da infraestrutura necessária nas operações de exploração madeireira, por meio da alocação racional de pátios de estocagem de toras e estradas secundárias, com o uso de restrições ambientais, operacionais e de produção, mantendo a mesma capacidade de produção para o manejo das florestas amazônicas. Foram utilizados dados concedidos pela empresa Mil Madeiras Preciosas que realiza manejo florestal em larga escala, com uso de base de dados de 06 UPAs (unidades de produção anual) consecutivas de exploração madeireira: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 e 2018. Os dados foram analisados em duas etapas: análise e planejamento em sistema digital de informações geográficas (QGIS) e melhorias de utilização da infraestrutura (pacote adicional qneat do QGIS). Ademais, foi feita uma análise complementar dos fatores climáticos e dos custos das operações. A análise geoespacial pretendeu classificar as áreas restritas com base nas condições ambientais e operacionais que foram excluídas da etapa de melhorias. Foram aplicados modelos para melhoria das infraestruturas (estradas, trilhas de arraste e pátios), com o objetivo de minimizar o uso do solo em infraestruturas de suporte à operação, sujeito a restrições operacionais e ambientais. Finalmente, os resultados foram incluídos em mapas de planejamento com ferramentas QGIS, demonstrando as melhorias do processo. A redução da infraestrutura exigida em pátios de madeira variou entre 24,6% e 65,6%, com uma média de 40,6%, o que é relevante, tendo em conta o processo ágil de melhoria do planejamento aplicado ao manejo florestal, neste estudo. A redução da infraestrutura exigida nas estradas secundárias variou entre 17,8% e 39,9%, com uma média de 24,2% menos estradas (em metros), o que é relevante quando se considera a área exigida para a construção de estradas (largura das estradas e remoção da vegetação de bordadura), com grande impacto ambiental e físico nas florestas tropicais. Além disso, as maiores despesas se concentraram entre os meses de Julho a Novembro. Essa é a época em que todas as operações estão ativas. O corte florestal, que é um dos estágios mais cruciais, termina em Novembro, para evitar o início das chuvas na região. As operações mais caras para a empresa foram, respectivamente, operações de pátio (27% do total), transporte (18%) e pré-arraste (18%). Concluímos que o estudo trouxe contribuições sensíveis para o planejamento da exploração madeireira na Amazônia, minimizando a infraestrutura necessária e mantendo a mesma capacidade produtiva. Este trabalho traz subsídios para a melhoria dos processos dessa atividade na Amazônia, bem como estimula a replicação de métodos e contribui para novos empreendimentos de manejo na região. Recomendamos o uso, a replicação e a disseminação desses métodos racionais aqui apresentados, para diferentes contextos de exploração madeireira na Amazônia, testando, se possível, diferentes valores para as variáveis, especialmente aquelas relacionadas ao raio máximo de arrasteAbstract: Biodiversity is one of the main characteristics of tropical forests, distributed in micro sites with specific biophysical attributes. These factors are often poorly considered in forest management planning in the Amazon, through the spatial systematization of infrastructure for operations, generally not considering in decision making the distribution of forest stock of commercial species and other biotic factors. This study aimed to bring planning advances and contributions for the minimization of the infrastructure required in logging operations, through rational allocation of log landings and secondary roads, with use of environmental, operational and production constraints, keeping the same production capacity for the management of the Amazon Rainforests. Data granted by the company Precious Woods Amazon, which carries out large-scale forest management, were used, using a database of 06 consecutive logging UPAs (annual production units): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The data were analyzed in two stages: analysis and planning in digital geographic information system (QGIS) and infrastructure utilization improvements (QGIS qneat add-on package). In addition, a complementary analysis of climatic factors and costs of operations was performed. The geospatial analysis was intended to classify the restricted areas based on environmental and operational conditions that were excluded from the improvement step. Models for infrastructure improvements (roads, skid trails, and yards) were applied to minimize land use in operation support infrastructure subject to operational and environmental constraints. Finally, the results were included in planning maps with QGIS tools, demonstrating the process improvements. The reduction of infrastructure required in log landings ranged from 24.6% to 65.6%, with an average of 40.6%, which is relevant considering the agile planning improvement process applied to forest management in this study. The reduction in infrastructure required for secondary roads varied between 17.8% and 39.9%, with an average of 24.2% fewer roads (in meters), which is relevant when considering the area required for road construction (road width and removal of bordering vegetation), with great environmental and physical impact in tropical forests. Additionally, the highest expenses were concentrated between months July to November. This is the time when all operations are active. Cutting, which is one of the most crucial stages, ends in November, in order to avoid the beginning of the raining season in the region. The most expensive operations for the company were yard operations (27% of the total), transportation (18%) and preskidding (18%), respectively. We conclude that the study brought sensible contributions for the planning of logging in the Amazon, minimizing the necessary infrastructure while maintaining the same productive capacity. This work brings subsidies for the improvement of the processes of this activity in Amazon, as well as stimulates the replication of methods and contributes to new management enterprises in the region. We recommend the use, replication and dissemination of these rational methods presented herein for different logging contexts in Amazon, testing, if possible, different values for variables, especially those related to the maximum radius of skiddin

Timber Harvest Adjacency Economies, Hunting, Species Protection, and Old Growth Value: Seeking the Optimum

WP 2000-10 July 2000Spatial forest management models recognize that nontimber benefits can be influenced by the status of adjacent land. For instance, contiguous old growth provides habitat, aesthetic value, and environmental services. Conversely, edge areas provide forage and cover habitat for game and non-game wildlife. However, adjacency externalities are not limited to nontimber concerns. Larger harvest areas generate average cost savings as fixed harvesting costs are spread across greater acreage, a problem excluded from most literature on optimal harvesting. Hence, it is typical that economies and diseconomies of adjacency in harvesting occur simultaneously. This complicates the determination of optimal ecosystem management behavior, which recognizes timber, aesthetic, wildlife protection, and hunting values. This paper conceptually portrays economies of adjacency in competing objectives using multiple management strategies.Financial support came from a Teresa Heinz Scholars for Environmental Research grant, Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station Hatch Project 456, and the Department of Agricultural, Resource, and Managerial Economics at Cornell University

Analysis of European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade Efficacy: A Multi-Scale Perspective

Since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the international community has launched several policy initiatives to address complex environmental problems, in particular illegal logging. One such initiative is the European Union (EU) Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan and its Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs). The scholarship on FLEGT has overwhelmingly focused on technical and governance aspects, drawing largely from a single institutional analysis theory. However, there is scant empirical research on a range of theories to understand FLEGT efficacy from a multi-scalar governance perspective. My dissertation research contributes to a multi-scalar forest governance analysis approach to FLEGT efficacy by using two strands of concepts—namely policy coherence and institutional capacity for good governance—to answer three of the most critical and under-researched questions: (a) How do the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) and the United Nations Strategic Plan on Forests (UNSPF) interlink with the FLEGT Action Plan at policy objective and policy instrument levels? (b) What are the potential and realized capacities of VPA processes for advancing principles of good forest governance and implementation of a Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) in Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Republic of the Congo (Congo), Ghana, and Liberia? (c) What are the different stakeholders’ perspectives on good governance as applied to VPA in Ghana? My dissertation is comprised of three interlinked studies with different methodological designs. An in-depth comparative analysis was employed to examine interlinkages among FLEGT, NYDF, and UNSPF (Chapter 2) and institutional capacity of the VPA process in Cameroon, CAR, Congo, Ghana, and Liberia (Chapter 3) using a review of policy documents. The review of policy documents was complemented with focal point interactions and meta-analysis of VPA cases for Chapter 3. Q methodology was used to examine stakeholder perspectives on good forest governance in Ghana (Chapter 4). The results show that FLEGT, NYDF, and UNSPF share inherent interlinkages of policy instruments such as information sharing, strategic plans, financial resources, and technical capacity support. The presence of common strategic agendas on finance for forests and good forest governance in FLEGT, NYDF, and UNSPF demonstrate cross-institutional coordination through the prioritization of policy instruments (Chapter 2). Managing interlinkages within the larger climate change governance architecture requires inter-institutional learning and international cooperation in the light of identified strategic agendas. The results also show that potential capacities exist for advancing governance and implementing TLAS, but that complex socio-political and technical challenges limit the realization of their capacities. These challenges have constrained the effective implementation of the VPA process. Political will and capacity building can impact on the realization of capacities (Chapter 3). Furthermore, the results reveal three distinct perspectives among stakeholders within Ghana’s VPA process, highlighting areas of disagreement or tension among key stakeholders. Engaging with and shaping these perspectives is an instrumentally and normatively appropriate governance action to advance the VPA in Ghana (Chapter 4). The results point to the fundamental conclusion that additional institutional efforts are needed to advance FLEGT globally and to achieve the VPA in Africa and beyond

Sustainability assessment of entire forest value chains : integrating stakeholder perspectives and indicators in decision support tools

The optimization of value chains is an important process to promote sustainable development, since value chains are closely linked to the satisfaction of human needs and combine different driving forces for environmental change. This article presents a methodological approach for the participatory development of value-chain wide sustainability indicator sets and their integration into a decision support tool in the specific case study of the chain "construction and refurbishment with wood". There are numerous indicator sets for sustainable development of forests and sustainable forestry available at different levels, ranging from local, regional and national to global scale assessments. Some efforts were also made to integrate later production stages of forest value chains (such as wood processing) in the assessment scope (e.g. for chain-of-custody certification). However, no indicator set has so far been available covering environmental, social and economic aspects for the entire value chain of building with timber. This gap was closed through applied sustainability research in the project "Holzwende 2020: Sustainable future markets for wood in the building sector"