Niels Elers Koch Niels Elers Koch Hrsholm, Denmark Hrsholm, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Niels Elers Koch Niels Elers Koch Hørsholm, Denmark Hørsholm, Denmark Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning Planning

The Marcus Wallenberg Prize Symposium The Marcus Wallenberg Prize Symposium September 29, 2006 September 29, 2006 Managing Forests for Social and Environmental Benefits Managing Forests for Social and Environmental Benefits Niels Elers Elers Koch Koch Niels IUFRO Vice- -President President IUFRO Vice Director of the Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning Director of the Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning with contributions from with contributions from Frank S Sø øndergaard ndergaard Jensen, Karsten Jensen, Karsten Raulund Raulund Rasmussen, Bo Rasmussen, Bo Jellesmark Jellesmark Thorsen Thorsen, and , and Frank IUFRO’ ’s s Special Project on World Forests, Society and Environment Special Project on World Forests, Society and Environment IUFRO

Forest ecosystem ecosystem services services Forest • Forests provide services to people and societies such as – maintenance of good air quality and climate – protection of hydrological functions, soils and biological diversity – provision of timber, non-timber forests products and genetic resources – other social, cultural, spiritual, aesthetic, recreational and educational benefits. • Forest ecosystems do not yield goods and services of the same quality or quantity at all locations. Source: IUFRO's Special Project on World Forests, Society and Environment, 2006.

A major paradigm paradigm A major change change • Payments for environmental services (PES) is a mechanism whereby those who benefit may financially compensate those who provide the services. • With these payments, the focus shifts from the control of forest management activities, to the value of environmental services to people. • PES systems are concrete instruments that incorporate the value of services into forest management for enhancing sustainable forestry. Source: IUFRO's Special Project on World Forests, Society and Environment, 2006.

PES – – an approach based on an approach based on PES market mechanisms market mechanisms • This approach incorporates the economic value of environmental services into the financial decision making process of producers and consumers. • It relies on the creation of markets for environmental services, in which providers and beneficiaries of those services interact in pursuit of their respective interests. Source: IUFRO's Special Project on World Forests, Society and Environment, 2006.

Payments provide incentives Payments provide incentives for sustainable management for sustainable management • Payments aim at influencing the decisions of the landowners towards practices that maintain or enhance the flow of environmental services, and away from unsustainable activities that diminish the flow of these services. • Shortcomings in direct regulation approaches to forest management, and declining government budgets for forest management activities emphasize the need for market-based instruments like PES schemes. • If markets are to produce welfare improvements, they need to be designed to provide the correct incentives. Source: IUFRO's Special Project on World Forests, Society and Environment, 2006.

Multifunctional Sustainable Sustainable Multifunctional Forest Management Management Forest Benefits Pressures • Climate change Production • Fiber • Air pollution • (Over)-exploitation • Non-fiber products Social services • Herbivore population • Stochastic disturbances • Recreation • Market / Cost • Rural development • Socio-economical Environmental services dynamics (e.g. CAP policy) • Biodiversity • Society demands • C-sequestration • Water protection Source: Gundersen et al., 2006

Forests and Outdoor Recreation Forests and Outdoor Recreation million vis sits its visits per hectare million vi visits per hectare per year per year per year per year USA 1 (1996): 859 > 10 United Kingdom (1994): 303 > 100 France 2 (1999): 90 > 1000 Denmark (1994): 75 > 150 1 (USDA Forest Service Land) 2 (Paris Metropolitan Area) Source: Moore & Driver 2005, Countryside Recreation Network 1996, Maresca 2000, Jensen & Koch 2004.

Living near near the the forest forest has a has a value value Living Results from a Danish from a Danish study study of of two two different different areas areas Results 30% 25% Increase in property value 20% % of price 15% 10% 5% 0% 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 Distance from forest (m) True Bakkely Source: Anthon et al. 2005.

Social services: Rural Development Development Social services: Rural About 1,6 billion people depend on forests to varying extents for their livelihoods Some 60 million people are employed in forestry and forest- based industries (3,4 million in EU) Forests provide a range of goods and services – especially in rural areas United Nations Forum on Forests: Global Objective 2 (out of 4): Enhancing forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits Source: IUFRO’s Special Project on World Forests, Society and Environment and UNFF 2006.

Forests Forests - protecting protecting biodiversity biodiversity - • The recreational values related to forests are large. - In Denmark for example corresponding to more than 150 Euro/hectare and year • At the same time the world’s forests provide habitats to about two-thirds of all species on earth • Research tells us that the value that the preservation of biodiversity has may outweigh the recreational values • In preservation and restoration projects, this value may exceed the recreational value by a factor 2 or even much more Source: Dubgaard 1998, Jacobsen et al. 2006, Pearce & Pearce 2001.

Biodiversity Biodiversity Functional Authentic Functional Authentic Harmful Harmful Rare and sensitive Rare and sensitive Conflicts and interactions with forest management Conflicts and interactions with forest management • Timber harvesting prior to mature phase Timber harvesting prior to mature phase • reduces biodiversity reduces biodiversity • Retention of dead wood for biodiversity Retention of dead wood for biodiversity • may constitute a sanitary risk may constitute a sanitary risk

Carbon sequestration sequestration after after afforestation afforestation Carbon Afforestation chronosequences chronosequences in Denmark and in Denmark and Sweden Sweden Afforestation t C ha -1 400 Carbon in trees and soil Carbon in soils alone Conflicts and interactions with 300 forest management • Tree species often influence 200 carbon sequestration (growth rate) • Rotation age influences carbon 100 sequestration 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 200 Age, yr Source: Vesterdal et al., 2006

Drainage regime and regime and soil soil C C stock stock Drainage Soil C in 0 C in 0- -50 cm in 50 cm in the the vicinity vicinity of of a a forest forest wetland wetland Soil 250 200 Soil carbon, t/ha 150 Conflicts and interactions 100 • Ditching reduces C sequestration 50 0 0 1 2 3 4 Elevation, m wetland oak stand Source: Vesterdal, 2006, unpub.

Water is a is a scarce scarce resource resource Water Source: Stockholm International Water Institute 2006.

Forest management influences Forest management influences water quality water quality Effect of clear cut on nitrate in seepage or run off water 25 3 -N / l, after clear cut 20 Conflicts and interactions with forest management 15 • Management (e.g. clearcutting) influences water quality (nitrate) 10 • The effect often declines after 3-5 mg NO years due to growth of other plants 5 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 mg NO 3 -N / l, before clear cut 51 observations collected by Gundersen et al., 2006.

Source: Rune, 1997.

1985 1948

Spontaneous invasion of spruce Spontaneous invasion of spruce on the desiccated bog on the desiccated bog The bog is desiccated because of - water abstraction in the surroundings - change of tree species from beech to spruce - ditching of the forest .

Conclusions Conclusions Forests are very important for recreation and rural development Forests are very important for biodiversity Forests sequester lots of carbon Water from forests is generally of good quality Forests are relatively thirsty and may reduce water in nature and for human use Trees do not grow into the heavens Forest management significantly influences the services And conflicts between the services and between different interest groups are unavoidable But optimization is possible – if you know how

Overall conclusions/statements Overall conclusions/statements Never before have so many people demanded so many different and often conflicting goods and services from the forests This calls for improved: - forest policies, - forest management, and - forest research And it calls for a better co-operation between forest politicians, managers and researchers We are on our way: - On the Global level: UNFF, FAO, IUFRO, etc. - On the European level: EU Forest Action Plan, Forest based sector technology platform, EFI, etc. But much more needs to be done