ASIA-PACIFIC WORKSHOP REDUCED IMPACT LOGGING: CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES AND STRATEGIES IN THE EMERGING FOREST CARBON ECONOMY

Transcription

1 ASIA-PACIFIC WORKSHOP REDUCED IMPACT LOGGING: CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES AND STRATEGIES IN THE EMERGING FOREST CARBON ECONOMY ROLE OF FOREST CERTIFICATION IN PROMOTING GREATER UPTAKE OF REDUCED IMPACT LOGGING AND IMPLICATIONS OF REDD+ FOR FOREST CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS by Yong TK Kota Kinabalu 3-4 May 2012

2 OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION 1. Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) & Forest Certification 2. Role of Forest Certification in Promoting Uptake of Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) 3. SFM in the Context of REDD+ 4. Implication of REDD+ for Forest Certification Programs 5. Conclusions

3 1. SFM & FOREST CERTIFICATION 1980s & 90s witnessed growing concerns for forest degradation & deforestation of tropical forests Calls for bans/boycotts of use of tropical timber Measures counter-productive - conflict with WTO rules - remove economic value of forests - render forests vulnerable for conversion to other competing land uses Realised efforts should be made to promote & encourage SFM - the way forward instead

4 1. SFM & FOREST CERTIFICATION UNCED (1992) addressed need to balance development with care for environment Resulted in formulation & adoption of Agenda 21 and non legally-binding Forest Principles Forest Principle 8(d) - deals with need to establish internationally agreed norms, C&Is for sustainable management, utilization & development of all types of forests in the world Numerous C&Is for SFM launched

5 Definition of SFM ITTO (1992) the process of managing forest to achieve clearly specified objectives of management, with regard to the production of a continuous flow of desired forest products and services,, without undue undesirable effects on the physical and social environment. United Nations (2007) a dynamic and evolving concept, [that] aims to maintain and enhance the economic, social and environmental values of all types of forests, for the benefit of present and future generations. 5

6 ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SFM ECONOMICALLY VIABLE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE

7 1. SFM & FOREST CERTIFICATION Merely adopting C&Is would not be adequate to ensure sustainable management of forest resources SFM needs to be demonstrated on the ground with implementation of sound forest management practices Forest certification proposed as market-linked tool to promote & encourage effective implementation of SFM Resulted in the development and implementation of international (e.g. PEFC, FSC) and national certification schemes (MTCS)

8 FOREST CERTIFICATION A process which results in a written statement (a certificate) attesting the origin of wood raw material, and its status following validation by an independent third party Two Components of Forest Certification Forest Management Certification (FMC) Chain of Custody Certification (CoC)

9 FOREST CERTIFICATION Forest Primary Processing Secondary Processing Final Products Sawn Timber Plywood Forest Management Certification Chain of Custody Certification

10 2. ROLE OF FOREST CERTIFICATION IN PROMOTING UPTAKE OF RIL Forest certification ensures that forest management planning takes into account possible impacts on the three pillars of sustainability; and measures are instituted to ensure that these impacts are minimised during forest management operations Forest harvesting regarded as key activity that could result in significant impacts on forest ecosystems and their surrounding environment Hence, use of RIL techniques paramount in minimising these impacts

11 Impacts of forest harvesting on the environment

12 2. ROLE OF FOREST CERTIFICATION IN PROMOTING UPTAKE OF RIL Components of forest harvesting planning: - pre-harvest planning and road alignment - field inspection on road alignment - construction of feeder roads and skid trails - selection of appropriate harvesting technologies - harvesting operations (tree felling and log extraction) - post-harvest assessment

13 COMPONENTS OF RIL Pre-harvest Planning and road alignment Tree tagging for felling Directional Felling Road construction Skid Trail Hauling of log

14 2. ROLE OF FOREST CERTIFICATION IN PROMOTING UPTAKE OF RIL RIL provides environmental dividend in terms of reduced damage to trees in the residual stand and reduction of ground area disturbed by heavy machinery Effective implementation requires RIL to be adopted by the national government, legislated and stipulated in the timber harvesting licence, and its implementation regulated and monitored by enforcement agency From certification perspective, effective implementation requires RIL to be incorporated into forest management certification standard and willingness of Forest Manager to subject its FMU to undergo forest certification

15 THE MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE Inclusion of Indicators related to Forest Harvesting in MC&I(2002) Indicator Details Provisions and management are made to maintain, restore or enhance the productive capacity and ecological integrity of the PRFs for Peninsular Malaysia and forest management areas for Sabah and Sarawak to ensure its economic viability Availability and implementation of guidelines for reduced/low impact logging to minimize damage to residual stand Application of log extraction operations that minimize product wastage, degrade and foregone revenue opportunities Availability and implementation of guidelines and/or procedures to identify and demarcate sensitive areas for the protection of soil and wat er, watercourses and wetlands Availability and implementation of management guidelines, where appropriate, to maintain and/or enhance the value of forest services and resources

16 Inclusion of Indicators related to Forest Harvesting in MC&I(2002) Indicator Details Harvesting is designed taking into consideration the need for biological corridors and buffer zones for wildlife Availability and implementation of harvesting procedures to protect the soil from compaction by harvesting machinery and erosion during harvesting operations Implementation of reduced/low impact logging to minimize damage to the environment Availability and implementation of guidelines for forest road lay-out and construction, including log landings and drainage requirements Availability and implementation of guidelines for conservation of buffer strips along streams and rivers

17 Inclusion of RIL as Verifiers in MC&I(2002) Region MC&I(2002) Sabah RIL Operation Guide Book Specifically for Crawler Tractor Use, 2001 Cable logging techniques Reference Manual for Timber Harvesting Operations in Commercial Class II Forest Reserves in Sabah, 1996 Comprehensive Harvesting Plan Sarawak Peninsular Malaysia Guidelines/Procedures on Reduced and Low Impact Harvesting Systems, 1999 Basic Chainsaw Maintenance and Directional Tree Felling 2001 Guidelines for Forest Road Layout and Construction, 1999 Procedures for Identifying and Demarcating Sensitive Areas for the Protection of Soil and Water, 1999 Guidelines for Reduced Impact Logging in Peninsular Malaysia, 2003 Forest Road Specification (Feeder Road and Skid Trails) for Peninsular Malaysia, 1999

18 Inclusion of RIL as Verifiers in MC&I(2002) Sabah

19 Inclusion of RIL as Verifiers in MC&I(2002) Sarawak

20 Inclusion of RIL as Verifiers in MC&I(2002) Peninsular Malaysia

21 2. ROLE OF FOREST CERTIFICATION IN PROMOTING UPTAKE OF RIL Compliance of FMUs to requirements of RIL assessed and monitored during forest management audits Forest certification therefore promotes the practice of RIL in the certified FMUs As forest certification is voluntary, more effort should be given to encourage more FMUs to undergo certification, for greater uptake and wider application of RIL

22 SAD REALITY! Based on Status of Tropical Forest Management: ITTO s 2011 report, in 33 producing member countries, less than 8% of the tropical production forest in the permanent forest estate is sustainably managed Key constraints to SFM: - SFM is less profitable as a land use ( increasing the financial viability of SFM) - confusion over ownership ( land use planning, security on tenure, access and use rights) 22

23 3. SFM IN THE CONTEXT OF REDD+ REDD+ is defined as policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest stocks in developing countries (UNFCCC, 2010) Scope of REDD+ covers sustainable management of forests

24 3. SFM IN THE CONTEXT OF REDD+ FAO, 2009 Concerned that lack of common understanding of terms sustainable management of forests and sustainable forest management (SFM) is confusing the REDD+ debate Many parties to UNFCCC seek comprehensive scope for REDD+ to enable all countries to eventually participate in a REDD+ instrument Other parties seek a more restricted scope; concerned that REDD+ might subsidise industrialscale timber extraction at expense of small-scale local enterprise or non-timber forest values, such as biodiversity

25 3. SFM IN THE CONTEXT OF REDD+ FAO, 2009 sustainable management of forests in Bali Action Plan context refers to application of forest management practices for the primary purpose of sustaining constant levels of carbon stocks over time in other contexts could mean applying specific management practices to achieving other goals (e.g. biodiversity, conservation, poverty alleviation, watershed protection) implicit in the term sustainable management of forests is that, regardless of the primary objective of management, the other values of the forest should not be disregarded

26 3. SFM IN THE CONTEXT OF REDD+ FAO, 2010 effectiveness of SFM practices in maintaining carbon stocks in production forests is clear from experiences in North America and European Union these regions contain most of the world s certified forests (90%) and have generally stable or increasing forest carbon stocks, even though they also account for more than 55% of global industrial roundwood production certification systems are not always explicit about the connections between SFM and carbon, although they share the major objective of achieving a long-term balance between harvesting and regrowth key practices by actors among the forest value chain that help maintain forest ecosystem carbon include SFM and chain of custody certification

27 3. SFM IN THE CONTEXT OF REDD+ Sasaki, 2011 switching from conventional logging to RIL could save up to 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions a year in tropical forest countries, while still producing 100 million cu m of end-use wood for commercial consumption shows that SFM can lead to reduction in carbon emissions while securing timber supply in the tropics if appropriate logging practices are adopted study results suggest that RIL combined with a longer cutting cycle, along with certification, is an appropriate SFM project activity for the REDD+ system- part of paper presented in 17 th COP of UNFCCC in South Africa in December 2011

28 4. IMPLICATIONS OF REDD+ FOR FOREST CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS REDD+ has potential to provide substantial new and additional funding for sustainable management of tropical forests International focus has been on avoiding deforestation, less on halting or reversing forest degradation Commercial selective logging will continue in tropical countries Given that deforestation and forest degradation account for about 20% greenhouse gas emissions and the fact that a sustainably managed production forest is carbon-neutral in the long term SFM is still the way forward in reducing carbon emission for areas designated for commercial forest harvesting

29 4. IMPLICATIONS OF REDD+ FOR FOREST CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS SFM projects should therefore be considered for support under REDD+ New and additional funding will provide the needed financial incentive to encourage FMU managers to undergo forest management certification. In 2010, only 10% of the total global commercial forest area (374 million ha) has been certified. New and additional funding would encourage the remaining 90% of commercial forest area to be managed sustainably and to undergo forest certification Additional workload for FMU to take into account the need for forest carbon inventory and accounting

30 Achievement of SFM and implementation of forest certification is a much bigger challenge in tropical forests compared to temperate and boreal forests Forest certification which promotes SFM does play an important role in encouraging the uptake and wider application of RIL REDD+ has potential to provide new and additional funding for sustainable management of tropical forests It is hoped that all certification schemes, including the MTCS will be in a position to benefit from the inclusion of sustainable management of forests as one of the components of REDD+

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