Protected Area Assessment and Establishment in Vanuatu

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Local causes, regional co-operation and global financing for environemntal problems: the case of Southeast Asian Haze pollution

Lack of action on cross-border environmental problems in developing countries is often ascribed to gaps in local capacity and resources, failure of regional cooperation, and lack of financial support from rich countries. Using the case of the Southeast Asian Haze pollution from forest and peat fires in Indonesia, we explore the challenges posed by environmental problems whose causes are closely linked to local development and livelihood strategies, and whose impacts are local, regional (haze) as well as global (carbon emissions). We assess whether there are real opportunities to implement effectively the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. To address the deep determinants behind haze pollution, we propose signatories to the Agreement refocus their efforts to controlling peat fires rather than strive for a zero-burning regime. We also recommend a new approach to financing sustainable development based on rules and incentives, with a regional pool of funds, contributed by rich countries through the Global Environment Facility and countries in Southeast Asia.ASEAN, climate change, fires, GEF, haze pollution, regional agreements

Forests, agriculture, poverty and land reform: the case of the Indonesian Outer Islands

This paper addresses the following questions. What are the empirical relationships among forest, poverty, agriculture and access to market and services in the Indonesian Outer Islands? What are the implications of these relationships for forest land reform? The analysis is based on: i) vegetation cover produced from remote sensing images for 2003, ii) population and poverty estimates respectively at the village and district levels, iii) the national forestry land use plan, and iv) spatial analysis. We show that the incidence of poverty is positively correlated with forest cover at the district level. The fact that agricultural suitability of land is negatively correlated with poverty jointly with the fact that agriculture provides higher financial returns than forestry indicates that clearing forests located on suitable agricultural land can contribute to poverty reduction. Smallscale forest management has positive financial returns and could also contribute to poverty reduction. This implies that forests not located on suitable agricultural land could be harnessed to contribute to poverty reduction or at least to support poverty mitigation. To conserve forests, appropriate policies to compensate the rural poor for the foregone benefits of deforestation will need to be developed.This item was commisioned by The Crawford School of Economics and Government, AN

Climate change and public policy

In the past decade climate change has become one of the world’s biggest public policy issues. Ten years ago no one would have predicted that the Nobel Peace prize would be awarded to 10,000 or so climate scientists (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and a populariser, Al Gore, of its possible impacts. In this Policy Brief three contributors examine the policy issues of climate change from a global (Will Steffen), regional (Luca Tacconi) and a national perspective (Frank Jotzo). Collectively, they offer a range of insights that will be of use to policymakers and all those interested in the climate-public policy dimension

Sustainable forest management in Cameroon needs more than approved forest management plans

One of the main objectives of the 1994 Cameroonian forestry law is to improve the management of production forests by including minimum safeguards for sustainability into compulsory forest management plans. As of 2007, about 3.5 million hectares (60%) of the productive forests are harvested following the prescriptions of 49 approved management plans. The development and implementation of these forest management plans has been interpreted by several international organizations as long awaited evidence that sustainable management is applied to production forests in Cameroon. Recent reviews of some plans have concluded, however, that their quality was inadequate. This paper aims at taking these few analyses further by assessing the actual impacts that approved management plans have had on sustainability and harvesting of commercial species. We carry out an assessment of the legal framework, highlighting a fundamental flaw, and a thorough comparison between data from approved management plans and timber production data. Contrary to the principles adhered to by the 1994 law, we find that the government has not yet succeeded in implementing effective minimum sustainability safeguards and that, in 2006, 68% of the timber production was still carried out as though no improved management rules were in place. The existence of a number of approved management plans cannot be used a proxy for proof of improved forest management

The process of forest conservation in Vanuatu : a study in ecological economics

The objective of this thesis is to develop an ecological economic framework for the assessment and establishment of protected areas (PAs) that are aimed at conserving forests and biodiversity. The framework is intended to be both rigorous and relevant to the decision-making process. Constructivism is adopted as the paradigm guiding the research process of the thesis, after firstly examining also positivist philosophy and ‘post-normal’ scientific methodology. The tenets of both ecological and environmental economics are then discussed. An expanded model of human behaviour, which includes facets derived from institutional economics and socioeconomics as well as aspects of neoclassical economics, is outlined. The framework is further developed by considering, from a contractarian view point, the implications of intergenerational equity for biodiversity conservation policies. The issues of intragenerational distribution and allocation are then considered. In this regard, cost-benefit analysis (CBA), as applied to the valuation of forests, PAs, and biodiversity, is critically reviewed. A participatory approach to decision-making, which may also include CBA, is then proposed. The resulting ecological economic framework may be thus summarised: (a) ecosystem use patterns should be chosen on the basis of their sustainability, distributional, and efficiency aspects; (b) systems of PAs should be established in order to achieve minimal intergenerational equity; (c) intragenerational equity requires the correction of the asymmetrical distribution of the costs and benefits arising from the establishment of PAs; (d) the institutional features relevant to the environmental-economic issues being analysed should be considered; and (e) the decision-making process should be participatory and action oriented. The framework is applied to two case studies in Vanuatu. These applications detail (a) stakeholders’ views and trade-offs faced in relation to forest management (b) modes of participatory research and decision-making, (c) forms of compensation that may be adopted in correcting asymmetrical distributions of the costs and benefits of PAs, and (d) institutional influences on ecosystems use and implications for conservation projects. The institutional arrangements developed for the establishment of the PAs are presented. The application of this ecological economic framework has resulted in the formal establishment of one PA and the identification and assessment of five other PAs

Policy forum: Institutional architecture and activities to reduce emissions from forests in Indonesia

The Government of Indonesia has developed the institutional architecture to deliver the emission reductions commitments stated in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted to the UNFCCC. It has also indicated a range of policies and activities that will be implemented to deliver those commitments. This paper outlines the architecture and provides an initial analysis of proposed activities to reduce emissions. It is found that proposed activities fall significantly short of the emissions reduction committed in the NDC. Policies and activities with the potential to further reduce emissions are highlighted drawing on the findings of the papers published in the Special Issue on Landuse Change in Indonesia.This research was supported by a grant from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (FST/2012/040

Reducing emissions from land use change in Indonesia: An overview

The goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change cannot be achieved without a significant reduction in emissions from forests. Reductions of emissions from land use, particularly forests, account for a quarter of the reductions pledged in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted by Parties to the UNFCCC. The papers included in this Special Issue of Forest Policy and Economics provide a contribution to the analysis of the design and implementation of the NDCs and REDD+ by considering aspects of reducing emissions from forests in Indonesia. Indonesia is the second largest emitter of greenhouses gases from forest after Brazil, but it becomes the largest emitter from forests in years when it experiences significant forest and peat fires.This research was supported by a grant from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (FST/2012/040)