Sustainable forest managementin the context of REDD+REDD

Ian Thompson
Canadian Forest Service
Sault Ste. Marie, CanadaTokyo, February 2014

Sustainable forest management (SFM) andREDD+• Under Cancun agreement,agreement REDD+ includes a provision
for improved forest management• UNFCCC chose to call this “sustainablesustainable management offorests” instead of SFM• SFM is defined as “aa dynamic concept to maintaineconomic, social and environmental values from forests”• SFM is applied at multiple scales: landscapelandscape, standstand, site• Involves planning, best management practices, inventory,and assessment of results vsvs. objectives (monitoring)Whyy do we need SFM for REDD+?
• The focus of REDD is for carbon, but for long-term storage ofcarbon we need functioning ecosystems, not plantations• SFM provides stable and multiple ecosystem services over time
• Priority actions for REDD+ in rank order of benefit to carbon
stored and services provided:
1. Protect primary forest
2. Manage forests sustainably
3. Reforestation, afforestation (on deforested land)
4. Other: improve agriculture production
4production,intensive agriculture, reduce fire, etc.

Carbon storage in a plantation and asustainably managed forest
Fastwood plantation forest

Carbonn stored

Carbonn stored

Sustainably managed forest

Time

Mean value inprimary forest

TimeAn example for a tropical dry forest
HighPrimaryy forestHigh

Sustainably managed forest

Carbbon storrage

Bioodiversity

Conventional logging

Multi-use landscape,p , agro-forestgEndemic species plantation
Exotic species plantation
Change in state to
shrubland, open
forest or savanna

Low

LowDeforested

High

Change vs. primary forest

LowFrom Thompson, Okabe, et al. 2013.
Ecology and Society 18 (2): 20.

Management paradigms haveevolved as a result of publicpressure and scientific advances:
Unplanned
multiplel i l goods
dImproved forestry
and services
Non‐declining
Nondeclining
flow of timber
Sustained yield ofwood products
Planning for
multiple use
Sustainable forestmanagement
I stole this slide from R. Nasi, CIFOR Investment (time, eenergy, cost)

Types of forest management

Sustainable Forest Management

Multiple Use Management

Exploitive forestry
Wood products

Wood productsSome habitats
CarbonSome species
Water
Some NTFPs

Forestt ecosystemsFtWood products
All habitats
CarbonAll species
WaterNTFPs
Social benefits
Tourism

Number of products and objectives

Lack of SFM leads to forest degradation• Loss of capacity of forest to provide goods and services• Opposite
ppof Sustainable Forest Management
g% of baseline

From Thompson, Okabe,
et al. 2013. Ecology andSociety 18 (2): 20.

Quantifying
y g sustainable forest managementg• Sustained yield of wood products and……
• Conservation of biodiversity, and social benefits• SFM measured through a series of criteria and indicators:
production, biodiversity, protected areas, social benefits,carbon, etc.
- At least 8 international processes (e.g., Montreal,Forest Europe, Laperatique, etc.)- Numerous independent forest certification processes(e.g., FSC, PEFC, SFI)
• Considerable technical and scientific advice available
from: ITTO, FAO, CBD, IUCN, etc.

However, SFM is mostly notpracticed
ti d ini tropicalt
i l forests:
ft•

Emphasis is still on wood products•f

Saw timber is the main desiredcommodity (from a small proportion oftree species)•Maximising short-term profits is the norm•

Forest conversion and degradationremain common•

Estimated 90% of tropical logging isunsustainable even though the area
under SFM has doubled since 2005
(Blaser et alal. 2011)

Logging in most tropical areas continues to be unsustainable:
saw and veneer log production as evidence

Shearman et al.
al2012; Data from
FAOstat 2011

So, why is there not more application of SFM?
1 Governance
1.
•
•
•
•

Lack of serious intent by governments, industry, or communities
High opportunity costs vs. maintaining forests as forests ¥Lack of tenure security or unclear tenure and resource rights
Illegal logging

2. Economic•••••

Weak global market demand for certified products ¥Incremental costs of SFM and high cost of certification ¥Lack of clear financial benefits for improved management ¥Global corporationsphave no stake in local forest qqualityy¥
No incentives for forest workers to do better ¥3 Knowledge and technical capacity
3.
• Inadequate transfer of knowledge about improved management• Lack of local capacity
py for SFM ¥• Improved management regulations appear too complicated(partly from: Nasi et al. 2011. Forests 2: 200‐217)

The future for global forest
conservation may be REDD
but….
•Fundamental issues remain:• Unsustainable forest use• Poor governance• Rights and tenure issues• ForestFt lossl•

Compounded by new issues:• Carbon-based management• SFM = degradation and ‘businessas usual’• Biofuels• Biochemicals

There are alternative visions for forest lands

Source: Balmford et al.
2002• first step is to properly value ecosystem goods and services• logging,
logging if done right (i.e.,(i e SFM),SFM) provides 18% higher value thanfarming in this example• this is where REDD
REDD+ can have a huge impact on C storage but also
on livelihoods and biodiversity conservation

Ecosystem services and biodiversity•

Recent science supports the clear relationship between biodiversity(species richness) and provision of ecosystem services•

An important aspect of SFM is the recognition that forests provide
multiple ecosystem services
Strength of linkage
to biodiversity

Quality of evidence

Pollination

HighHigh

Decomposition

HighHigh

Carbon sequestration

HighHighg
Carbon storage

MixedHighg

Erosion control

LowHigh

Pest control

HighHigh

Seed dispersalHigh (except wind)High

Water quality

Low

Poor

Water quantity

Medium to highSome

Ecosystem service

Sustainability means maintaining ecosystem functions• multiple functions in forest ecosystems• resilience is related directly to biodiversity in the forest ecosystem• a key objective of SFM is to maintain forest resilience – thecapacity to recover from disturbance
Canopy maintains moistureGap dynamics
Avian predation reduces
insect pests

Epiphytes increase nutrient
levels, moisture, and carbon
Pollination by animals

Zoochory = low tree
species density
Large carnivores reduceherbivory effects

Dung beetles, insect larvae,
fungi recycle nutrients

Long-term stable state

Resilience is an emergent
gecosystemyppropertyp y• most primary forest ecosystems are resistant andresilient to natural disturbances• a result of biodiversity at multiple scales: genes,species and regional diversity among forest types
species,• loss of biodiversity can alter the forest resilience• loss of resilience means increased uncertainty about
future forest condition….and carbon storage

Change in ecosystem state is not SFM

A key objective for SFM is not to exceed a tipping point
Ecosystems can have multiple
stable states, but require energy
to shift between the states
BBiodiversi
ity and ca
arbon in ecosysteemTipping points

Stable state

Stable state

Stable state(Energy to move the ecosystem to another state)X

Mechanisms for the linkage between biodiversity
and ecosystem stability and resilience• biodiversity provides functional connectivity in the system:e.g., pollinators
lli tadaptedd t d tto plants
l t• diseases and disturbances do not affect all species
equally, so, greater species richness = less losses• redundancyy amongg species: a previously
y less important
species may fill a vacated role
• landscapep heterogeneity
gy enables movement,, conservationof species, and insurance against disturbances

How to manage for resilience using
SFM in the tropics• Zoned landscapes: large protected areas,
areas SFM forests,forests
fastwood plantations, agriculture and agro-forests• Understand and emulate natural disturbances and otherecosystem processes• Maintain biodiversity – especially functional species• Reduce roads, reduce collateral impacts and secondary
effects (land clearing,clearing illegal logging
logging, mining
mining, etcetc.))• Promote convergence using best practices – e.g., ITTOGuidelines

Emulating natural disturbances for SFM• Concept is to understand natural processes and use
the pattern as a guide to management• E.g., in tropical wet forests, wind results in ‘gap-phasedynamics’ – mahogany grows on disturbed sites• Avoid fire or clear-cutting – not natural processes• Limited selection harvestingg is recommended,, asadapted and modified to local processes and species• Will onlyy work with stronggggovernanceXX

Examples of best practices• Retain some large trees – where most carbon is stored• Retain some carbon-dense trees as seed trees• Protect advanced regeneration• Protect key habitats to support landscape processes• ‘Reduced impact logging’ - can lower carbon emissions by
30% (vs. conventional logging) while reducing damage• Manage for high tree species diversity to enhance services• Increase return time (>30 yrs) to enable regeneration

What can reduced impact logging do forcarbon in a forest ecos
ecosystem?
stem?

Abbove‐ground biomaass Mg/haa

Comparing reduced impact logging (RIL) to conventionallloggingi (CL) iin A
Amazon wett ttropicali l fforestt
290
270
250

RIL230CL210

Control

190
170
150
1993 1995 1997 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009
Yeardrought
Graph from: West et al.
For. Ecol. Mngt. 2014

The need for more science
SFM is defined as a dynamic concept – we learn by doing
Obj tiObjective:
reduceduncertaintyt i t• UUnderstandingd t di hhow ecosystemtservices
iare affected
ff t d bbyspecies, species density, biomass, and interactions• UUnderstandingd t di optimal
ti l scalesl ffor ddeliveryli
off ecosystemtservices• ImprovingIi silviculture
il i lffor fforest restorationi• Understanding functioning in novel forest ecosystems• Defining ecosystem thresholds

SFM is valuable to REDD to……
1. ensure and enhance ecosystem functioning,
2. enhance the value of the forest to local communities,
3. increase carbon in the system
yas a co-benefit tomaintaining biodiversity, and
4. increase the longevity of carbon storage through4
developing/maintaining resilient forest ecosystems.