| European
Tropical Forest Research Network |
CARBON AS A NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCT
By Margaret M. Skutsch
Under the Kyoto Protocol, forestry is permitted as a sink measure under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), but only in the form of 'afforestation' and 'reforestation'. These two forms are essentially plantation systems which, although cost effective in terms of carbon sequestration are in most cases not very beneficial to local populations, who depend on existing and bio-diverse forests for a large number of products. Many communities, however, transform unsustainable forest management practices (processes of degradation) to sustainable management under a variety of programmes unrelated to climate change policy. Examples include the Joint Forest Management programme in India, Forest User Groups in Nepal and community forest management in West Africa. This change to sustainable management has a two-way effect as regards carbon saving: it increases the sink capacity of the forest and, where harvested for firewood, it provides a perpetual renewable energy source. This form of forest management is, however, not recognised under the Kyoto arrangements.
Uncertainties
One of the reasons for not recognising the sink capacity of community-based
management initiatives under the Kyoto Protocol is undoubtedly the difficulty
of measuring the carbon saved and various uncertainties such as leakage and
permanence. There are strict rules about how carbon saved can be measured and
rigorous data will certainly be a prerequisite if such projects are to be accepted
as 'climate' projects in the future, so that communities may access funds for
them under Kyoto. However, the cost of employing professional scientific methods
to gather and process such data (the so-called 'transaction costs') are likely
to be prohibitive, meaning that any financial gains by the community as a result
of 'selling' their carbon, will be wiped out. The trick is then to find techniques
which can, at least, partially be carried out by the communities themselves
at much lower cost and also to demonstrate that these are as reliable as 'expert'
methods.
The utility of GPS/GIS
devices
A research project, sponsored by DGIS, is being carried out by the University
of Twente (the Netherlands), ITC and three regional research institutes (in
Nepal, Tanzania and Senegal) to test the use of handheld GPS/GIS devices in
conjunction with wide angle photography, as well as related methods used by
local communities that are already engaged in sustainable community forest management
schemes. The research institutes are working with local organisations involved
in community forest management activities in ten countries. The purpose of the
research is to demonstrate that such communities can make reliable assessments
of the increased sink values of their forest and monitor this over an extended
time period. Hopefully, data gathered in this way will also be acceptable to
international bodies responsible for verifying carbon offsets. If this objective
can be realised, the forest-based livelihoods of these communities may be supplemented
through the 'sale' of their carbon savings.
Further information:
Dr Margaret M. Skutsch
Technology and Development Group, University of Twente
PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, the Netherlands
E-mail: m.m.skutsch@tdg.utwente.nl