Browsing by Subject "incentives"
Now showing items 1-4 of 4
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(2020)We analyse the forest reference level (FRL) projection in Finland. FRLs are included in the European Unions’ new land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) regulation (EU 2018/841) that is part of the actions towards the Paris Agreement’s climate mitigation targets. The regulation defines the accounting rules for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions within the sector. We build on the LULUCF regulation, the provided guidance documents on the FRL projection, national forestry accounting plans and the existing studies concerning the FRL projections. Business-as-usual reference levels were used for the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period. The parties of the Kyoto Protocol had an incentive to report high harvest levels (Frieden et al. 2012). Thus, the reference levels overestimated the harvests by including in assumptions about future policies. Some of the assumptions did not materialize and this led to windfall carbon credits (Grassi et al. 2018, Krug 2018). Such overestimation has happened, for example, in Finland. In this thesis we analyse, whether the new forest reference levels are able to avoid problems that occurred during the Kyoto Protocol. The LULUCF regulation is set for the compliance period (CP) of 2021-2030. The forest reference level is a baseline projection for the forest carbon sink, defined by the historical forest management practices of the reference period (2000-2009). Age-related dynamics of the forest can be taken into account but any anticipated policy changes need to be excluded from the projection. The FRL indirectly defines the level of harvests that are not considered as emissions. The excess carbon sink can be traded to other Member States or be used to compensate the effort sharing sector’s emissions. One of the suggested principles to project historical forest management is to utilize the intensity of management (Grassi and Pilli 2017, Grassi et al. 2018), which is calculated by dividing the reference period’s harvest by the amount of biomass that was available for the wood supply during the same period. The future harvest level is computed by keeping the intensity of management constant. This principle is used in Finland and in several other EU member states. To analyse the suggested principle, we utilize a partial equilibrium model for forestry and agriculture (Mitra and Wan 1985, 1986, Salo and Tahvonen 2004). Using this model, we are able to compute a FRL in a case where policy shock has increased harvest levels after the reference period. This resembles the situation in Finland. Our numerical results show that the choices on the biomass available for wood supply, interest rate and the starting year of the projection can have significant impacts on the FRL computation. By these choices, a member state is able to overestimate the harvest possibilities. Thus, the EU fails to set a regulation that fully excludes national incentives in specifying the FRL. The setting of the Finnish FRL includes a tendency of minimizing the restrictions on the future harvest levels. This outcome follows by choosing high interest rate, early starting year for the projection and a loose definition for the biomass available for wood supply.
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(2020)We analyse the forest reference level (FRL) projection in Finland. FRLs are included in the European Unions’ new land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) regulation (EU 2018/841) that is part of the actions towards the Paris Agreement’s climate mitigation targets. The regulation defines the accounting rules for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions within the sector. We build on the LULUCF regulation, the provided guidance documents on the FRL projection, national forestry accounting plans and the existing studies concerning the FRL projections. Business-as-usual reference levels were used for the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period. The parties of the Kyoto Protocol had an incentive to report high harvest levels (Frieden et al. 2012). Thus, the reference levels overestimated the harvests by including in assumptions about future policies. Some of the assumptions did not materialize and this led to windfall carbon credits (Grassi et al. 2018, Krug 2018). Such overestimation has happened, for example, in Finland. In this thesis we analyse, whether the new forest reference levels are able to avoid problems that occurred during the Kyoto Protocol. The LULUCF regulation is set for the compliance period (CP) of 2021-2030. The forest reference level is a baseline projection for the forest carbon sink, defined by the historical forest management practices of the reference period (2000-2009). Age-related dynamics of the forest can be taken into account but any anticipated policy changes need to be excluded from the projection. The FRL indirectly defines the level of harvests that are not considered as emissions. The excess carbon sink can be traded to other Member States or be used to compensate the effort sharing sector’s emissions. One of the suggested principles to project historical forest management is to utilize the intensity of management (Grassi and Pilli 2017, Grassi et al. 2018), which is calculated by dividing the reference period’s harvest by the amount of biomass that was available for the wood supply during the same period. The future harvest level is computed by keeping the intensity of management constant. This principle is used in Finland and in several other EU member states. To analyse the suggested principle, we utilize a partial equilibrium model for forestry and agriculture (Mitra and Wan 1985, 1986, Salo and Tahvonen 2004). Using this model, we are able to compute a FRL in a case where policy shock has increased harvest levels after the reference period. This resembles the situation in Finland. Our numerical results show that the choices on the biomass available for wood supply, interest rate and the starting year of the projection can have significant impacts on the FRL computation. By these choices, a member state is able to overestimate the harvest possibilities. Thus, the EU fails to set a regulation that fully excludes national incentives in specifying the FRL. The setting of the Finnish FRL includes a tendency of minimizing the restrictions on the future harvest levels. This outcome follows by choosing high interest rate, early starting year for the projection and a loose definition for the biomass available for wood supply.
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(2019)Small-scale commercial tree plantations are considerably increasing in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, and offer an alternative to large-scale plantations to reduce the increasing gap in supply and demand of roundwood. Currently, some donor-funded incentive schemes are taking place in the area to provide extension to farmers. This extension aims to develop rural areas by engaging farmers to plant and sustainably manage commercial tree plantations. Application of silvicultural activities up to the standards is essential for the profitability and productivity of commercial tree plantations. This study aims to characterize and analyze the factors influencing silvicultural management of smallholder tree plantations; in order to find the possible issues, which are currently hindering a better success of tree-planting initiatives. The research took place in twelve different villages, in the districts of Ludewa, Njombe, Makete and Mufindi. Data was collected through semi-structured questionnaires at household level and field surveys to cross-check the information given by the farmers. A total of 114 farmers were interviewed and 44 smallholder plantations were surveyed. Complete and adequate silvicultural management was generally low. However, nearly all farmers believed that their woodlots performed well. The results indicate that current silvicultural management satisfied most of the farmers since markets existed also for lower quality wood, and farmers were able to only allocate some of their labour for silvicultural management (tree planting was a secondary livelihood option for them). However, the current level of management did not provide higher quality wood required for industrial purposes. The management applied differed between woodlots of the same household and between seasons. External support from an incentive scheme (e.g. free/subsidized seedlings and extension), participation in tree-growers’ associations and favorable attitudes, influenced positively the level of certain management activities applied (i.e. site preparation, weeding and firebreaks). The age of the farmer, the number of household members, the number of children at school, the total household land area, and the number of years planting trees; also had an effect on the level of silvicultural management. The results suggest that training and technical advice given to farmers on silvicultural management should be more consistent, detailed (i.e. timing, frequency and intensity of activities) and dependent on the climatic conditions and the site characteristics of the tree plantations. To conclude, the creation and development of networks (such as farmers’ groups and company-community partnerships) aiming to provide support to farmers beyond tree-planting schemes is likely to offer the most long-term positive outcomes in smallholder commercial tree planting. Ultimately, for extension to be most successful it must be relevant to farmers’ needs. Farmers receiving extension and extension providers should share similar goals – i.e. extension should target to a specific group of farmers. Accordingly, it is advisable to consider if the extension for rural development can have the same target group and provide the same incentives as the extension for commercial tree planting.
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(2019)Small-scale commercial tree plantations are considerably increasing in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, and offer an alternative to large-scale plantations to reduce the increasing gap in supply and demand of roundwood. Currently, some donor-funded incentive schemes are taking place in the area to provide extension to farmers. This extension aims to develop rural areas by engaging farmers to plant and sustainably manage commercial tree plantations. Application of silvicultural activities up to the standards is essential for the profitability and productivity of commercial tree plantations. This study aims to characterize and analyze the factors influencing silvicultural management of smallholder tree plantations; in order to find the possible issues, which are currently hindering a better success of tree-planting initiatives. The research took place in twelve different villages, in the districts of Ludewa, Njombe, Makete and Mufindi. Data was collected through semi-structured questionnaires at household level and field surveys to cross-check the information given by the farmers. A total of 114 farmers were interviewed and 44 smallholder plantations were surveyed. Complete and adequate silvicultural management was generally low. However, nearly all farmers believed that their woodlots performed well. The results indicate that current silvicultural management satisfied most of the farmers since markets existed also for lower quality wood, and farmers were able to only allocate some of their labour for silvicultural management (tree planting was a secondary livelihood option for them). However, the current level of management did not provide higher quality wood required for industrial purposes. The management applied differed between woodlots of the same household and between seasons. External support from an incentive scheme (e.g. free/subsidized seedlings and extension), participation in tree-growers’ associations and favorable attitudes, influenced positively the level of certain management activities applied (i.e. site preparation, weeding and firebreaks). The age of the farmer, the number of household members, the number of children at school, the total household land area, and the number of years planting trees; also had an effect on the level of silvicultural management. The results suggest that training and technical advice given to farmers on silvicultural management should be more consistent, detailed (i.e. timing, frequency and intensity of activities) and dependent on the climatic conditions and the site characteristics of the tree plantations. To conclude, the creation and development of networks (such as farmers’ groups and company-community partnerships) aiming to provide support to farmers beyond tree-planting schemes is likely to offer the most long-term positive outcomes in smallholder commercial tree planting. Ultimately, for extension to be most successful it must be relevant to farmers’ needs. Farmers receiving extension and extension providers should share similar goals – i.e. extension should target to a specific group of farmers. Accordingly, it is advisable to consider if the extension for rural development can have the same target group and provide the same incentives as the extension for commercial tree planting.
Now showing items 1-4 of 4