Long term impacts of transitions in charcoal production systems in tropical biomes

Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions through transitions to biomass-based renewable energy may result in higher land needs, affecting ecosystem services and livelihoods. Charcoal is a biomass-based renewable energy that provides energy for hundreds of millions of households worldwide and generates income for 40 million people. However, it currently causes up to 7% of the global deforestation rate. In the absence of affordable alternative fuels, it is necessary to identify conditions that foster sustainable charcoal production. In this study, we (a) develop a stylized model that simulates feedbacks between forest biomass and charcoal production, and (b) use the model to examine the effects of interventions that foster sustainable charcoal systems through transitions to communal management or private systems, increases in carbonization efficiency and charcoal demand reductions. Our model simulations suggest that at low demand, a transition is unnecessary. At intermediate to high demands, interventions that increase carbonization efficiency and/or reduce demand should be combined with transitions to communal management (at intermediate forest biomass levels) or private systems (at low forest biomass levels) to ensure long-term sustainability of charcoal systems and avoid collapse within 100 years. These results highlight multiple pathways for sustainable charcoal production systems tailored to meet supply and demand. All pathways are feasible across tropical biomes and could foster the simultaneous continuation of forests and charcoal production in the near future

Incorporating Ecohydrological Processes Into an Analysis of Charcoal-Livestock Production Systems in the Tropics: An Alternative Interpretation of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

In the tropics, livestock grazing usually occurs simultaneously with charcoal production, yet empirical understanding of the combined activities remains poor, especially in terms of their effects on hydrological functions. Given predicted growth in both charcoal and beef production in Sub-Sahara Africa, South East Asia, and Central and South America, understanding the potential effects of maintaining this dual production system on local and landscape level hydrological dynamics is paramount for ensuring long-term ecosystem sustainability. Based on a synthesis of existing literature, we propose a theoretical and conceptual framework for analyzing the interlinks between charcoal, livestock, and hydrological processes where they co-exist. As a silo approach, we first analyze the isolated effects of charcoal production and livestock on hydrological processes before exploring their combined effects (systemic approach). Given the scarcity of studies that explicitly address the influence of traditional small-scale charcoal production on hydrological processes, we base our findings on existing knowledge about deforestation, forest fire and grazing impacts on hydrology. We find that exclusion of the effects of companion activities and omission of information on the intensity of biomass harvesting (i.e., pruning branches, selective harvest, clear cutting, uprooting tree stumps) can lead to over-attributing changes in hydrological processes to charcoal, thus exaggerating the effects on ecosystems which might lead to inappropriate interventions. We also find that, in the case of livestock keeping, impacts on hydrological processes are highly dependent on grazing intensity, with low intensity grazing possibly having negligible or even positive effects on forest regrowth and thereby restoration of hydrological processes. Thus, the charcoal-livestock-water nexus may have a wide range of outcomes for hydrological processes from negligible to highly profound effects, depending on key decisions in management and practice. To test these findings, however, field studies are needed that explicitly treat the combined effects of different biomass harvesting practices and grazing intensities on hydrological processes across different scales. Albeit conceptual at this stage, we believe that our approach is a necessary first step in the process of diagnosing potential shortcomings of past approaches for studying charcoal production systems and developing new understanding of this three-way nexus

The pitfalls of plural valuation

This paper critically examines the current political context in which valuation studies of nature are undertaken. It challenges the belief that somehow, more and technically better valuation will drive the societal change toward more just and sustainable futures. Instead, we argue that current and proposed valuation practices risk to continue to overrepresent the values of those who hold power and dominate the valuation space, and to perpetuate the discrimination of the views and values of nondominant stakeholders. In tackling this politically sensitive issue, we define a political typology of valuations, making explicit the roles of power and discrimination. This is done to provide valuation professionals and other actors with a simple framework to determine if valuation actions and activities are constructive, inclusive, resolve injustices and enable systemic change, or rather entrench the status quo or aggravate existing injustices. The objective is to buttress actors in their decisions to support, accept, improve, oppose, or reject such valuations

Five steps towards transformative valuation of nature

The Values Assessment (VA) of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services shows that while a wide range of valuation methods exist to include nature's values in diverse decision-making contexts, uptake of these methods remains limited. Building on the VA, this paper reviews five critical steps in the evaluation of project or policy proposals that can improve the inclusion of nature's values in decisions. Furthermore, improving valuation practice requires guidelines that utilise quality criteria for valuation of nature and ensure a balance between them. This paper proposes three such quality criteria: relevance, robustness and resource efficiency. The paper argues that the five steps and three Rs can generate a practical checklist to support commissioning, evaluation and performance of more plural valuations. Such guidelines can provide the next steps needed to improve uptake of nature valuation in decision-making

Whose values count? A review of the nature valuation studies with a focus on justice

The Values Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services shows that multiple valuation methods and approaches exist to assess diverse value types. The evidence is based on the largest review of academic valuation studies on nature to date, developed for the Values Assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We evaluate studies according to environmental justice criteria. The results suggest that although diverse value types and indicators are assessed across studies, few individual studies are plural, and studies fail to provide evidence on distributive justice and score low on procedural justice indicators. We provide a set of recommendations for incorporating issues of justice in the design of valuation studies

Modelling carbon stock and carbon sequestration ecosystem services for policy design: a comprehensive approach using a dynamic vegetation model.

Ecosystem service (ES) models can only inform policy design adequately if they incorporate ecological processes. We used the Lund-Potsdam-Jena managed Land (LPJmL) model, to address following questions for Mexico, Bolivia and Brazilian Amazon: (i) How different are C stocks and C sequestration quantifications under standard (when soil and litter C and heterotrophic respiration are not considered) and comprehensive (including all C stock and heterotrophic respiration) approach? and (ii) How does the valuation of C stock and C sequestration differ in national payments for ES and global C funds or markets when comparing both approach? We found that up to 65% of C stocks have not been taken into account by neglecting to include C stored in soil and litter, resulting in gross underpayments (up to 500 times lower). Since emissions from heterotrophic respiration of organic material offset a large proportion of C gained through growth of living matter, we found that markets and decision-makers are inadvertently overestimating up to 100 times C sequestrated. New approaches for modelling C services relevant ecological process-based can help accounting for C in soil, litter and heterotrophic respiration and become important for the operationalization of agreements on climate change mitigation following the COP21 in 2015

Increased charcoal yield & production of lighter oils from the slow pyrolysis of biomass

In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions from solid fuels, a considerable amount of research is going into how improve the manufacturing processes and product properties of the products from pyrolysis. One aspect that is often overlooked is the production of charcoal for cooking and soil remediation, which is an inefficient conversion process. There is considerable interest into using additives to increase charcoal yields, and based on the observation from fast pyrolysis work that certain catalyst tar cracking pathways can deposit considerable amounts of coke on the surface of the catalyst, there is a potential application to slow pyrolysis processes producing charcoal. Alumino-silicate catalysts have been shown to have a relatively high tendency to do this. This work hypothesises that this catalysation can be applied to slow pyrolysis, with low cost alumino-silicate minerals, specially bentonite clay, which has been added to pine pyrolysis in concentrations up to 60% wt (against input biomass) at temperatures 300–700 °C. This study has shown that the use of bentonite clay minerals can be beneficial to the process, as there is an increase in the charcoal yield from biomass, whilst the proximate analysis of the charcoal shows little change from levels expected from biomass only pyrolysis. The conversion of oil to charcoal was more effective at high temperatures due to higher levels of oil cracking. At 700 °C with 60% clay loading, charcoal yield increased 16%wt (dry ash free basis) was seen, while at the same time 19% extra gas was produced at the expense of 35% of the oil from raw pine pyrolysis. This indicates fuel properties of the charcoal are predictable, and changes in yield considerable. At the same time, the abundance of lower molecular weight oils is increased (relative to 4-methyl phenol). It is though that pyrolysis oil reacts with the clay, causing the heavier tars to disproportionate into charcoal and gas

Plural valuation of nature for equity and sustainability: Insights from the Global South

Plural valuation is about eliciting the diverse values of nature articulated by different stakeholders in order to inform decision making and thus achieve more equitable and sustainable outcomes. We explore what approaches align with plural valuation on the ground, as well as how different social-ecological contexts play a role in translating plural valuation into decisions and outcomes. Based on a co-constructed analytical approach relying on empirical information from ten cases from the Global South, we find that plural valuation contributes to equitable and sustainable outcomes if the valuation process: 1) is based on participatory value elicitation approaches; 2) is framed with a clear action-oriented purpose; 3) provides space for marginalized stakeholders to articulate their values in ways that can be included in decisions; 4) is used as a tool to identify and help reconcile different cognitive models about human-nature relations; and 5) fosters open communication and collaboration among stakeholders. We also find that power asymmetries can hinder plural valuation. As interest and support for undertaking plural valuation grows, a deeper understanding is needed regarding how it can be adapted to different purposes, approaches, and social-ecological contexts in order to contribute to social equity and sustainability

Dealing with locally-driven degradation: A quick start option under REDD+

The paper reviews a number of challenges associated with reducing degradation and its related emissions through national approaches to REDD+ under UNFCCC policy. It proposes that in many countries, it may in the short run be easier to deal with the kinds of degradation that result from locally driven community over-exploitation of forest for livelihoods, than from selective logging or fire control. Such degradation is low-level, but chronic, and is experienced over very large forest areas. Community forest management programmes tend to result not only in reduced degradation, but also in forest enhancement; moreover they are often popular, and do not require major political shifts. In principle these approaches therefore offer a quick start option for REDD+. Developing reference emissions levels for low-level locally driven degradation is difficult however given that stock losses and gains are too small to be identified and measured using remote sensing, and that in most countries there is little or no forest inventory data available. We therefore propose that forest management initiatives at the local level, such as those promoted by community forest management programmes, should monitor, and be credited for, only the net increase in carbon stock over the implementation period, as assessed by ground level surveys at the start and end of the period. This would also resolve the problem of nesting (ensuring that all credits are accounted for against the national reference emission level), since communities and others at the local level would be rewarded only for increased sequestration, while the national reference emission level would deal only with reductions in emissions from deforestation and degradation

Forest-linked livelihoods in a globalized world.

Forests have re-taken centre stage in global conversations about sustainability, climate and biodiversity. Here, we use a horizon scanning approach to identify five large-scale trends that are likely to have substantial medium- and long-term effects on forests and forest livelihoods: forest megadisturbances; changing rural demographics; the rise of the middle-class in low- and middle-income countries; increased availability, access and use of digital technologies; and large-scale infrastructure development. These trends represent human and environmental processes that are exceptionally large in geographical extent and magnitude, and difficult to reverse. They are creating new agricultural and urban frontiers, changing existing rural landscapes and practices, opening spaces for novel conservation priorities and facilitating an unprecedented development of monitoring and evaluation platforms that can be used by local communities, civil society organizations, governments and international donors. Understanding these larger-scale dynamics is key to support not only the critical role of forests in meeting livelihood aspirations locally, but also a range of other sustainability challenges more globally. We argue that a better understanding of these trends and the identification of levers for change requires that the research community not only continue to build on case studies that have dominated research efforts so far, but place a greater emphasis on causality and causal mechanisms, and generate a deeper understanding of how local, national and international geographical scales interact.This work was funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (grant number 203516-102) and governed by the University of Michigan’s Institutional Review Board (HUM00092191). JAO acknowledges the 520 support of a European Union FP7 Marie Curie international outgoing fellowship (FORCONEPAL). LVR was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant agreement No. 853222 FORESTDIET). AJB acknowledges the support of an Australian Research Council Australia Laureate Fellowship (grant number 525 FL160100072). LBF acknowledges support from the European Union Marie Curie global fellowship (CONRICONF). PM was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant agreement No 677140 MIDLAND)