Forestry administration and policies in the Philippines

This article begins by summarizing the importance of the forestry sector in the Philippine economy It provides an overview of the multiplicity of Philippine governmental institutions involved in forestry in 1982 Then it discusses forestry laws in the country and concludes by examining fifteen critical forest policy issues: sustained yield management; area-specific logging bans; increased use of wood wastes; revision of forest charges; unprocessed log export ban; rationalization of the forest industry, acceleration of reforestation; protection of watersheds; recognition of the social dimensions of slash- and-burn agriculture; fuelwood supply; public land classification for forestry and agriculture, development of plantations for dendrothermal electricity; multiple-use management; preservation of mangrove areas, and improvements in administration and implementation.Research for this paper was supported by the East-West Center Environment and Policy Institute. The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Natural Resources Management Center of the Philippine Ministry of Natural Resources.     

A GAME THEORY APPROACH TO DECIDING WHO WILL SUPPLY INSTREAM FLOW WATER1

ABSTRACT: The resource management problem for the Middle Platte ecosystem is the insufficient water available to meet both instream ecological demands and out‐of‐stream economic needs. This problem of multiple interest groups competing for a limited resource is compounded by sharp disagreement in the scientific community over endangered species' needs for instream flows. In this study, game theory was used to address one dimension of this resource management problem. A sequential auction with repeated bidding was used to determine how much instream flow water each of three states — Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming — will provide and at what price. The results suggest that the use of auction mechanisms can improve the prospects for reaching a multi‐state agreement on who will supply instream flow water, if the auction is structured to discourage misrepresentation of costs and if political compensation is allowed.     

Resource diplomacy in a Canadian perspective

Concern for the supply of resources—renewable and nonrenewable—has been evident during the 1970s. All countries seek to increase the economic and social returns from the exploration, processing and distribution of minerals so as to improve the quality of life of their people. Proper resource management is imperative because of the interdependence of the mineral sector with other leading sectors of the economy and also because of the importance of minerals in the web of international economics. This paper emphasises the significance of recent international events as they affect the mineral industry and the Canadian position in the ever changing world of resource diplomacy.     

The raw material supply of the European Community : The importance of secondary raw materials

The availability and security of raw materials supply have taken on a new political dimension within the last few years. These issues influence the economic and political rank of nations, affecting their independence, their standards of living and the competitive position of their industries. The importance of raw materials supply will continue to grow, for both the developed industrial and the developing countries. The European Community depends on external sources for 50–100% of most of its raw materials. Although the degree of dependence varies considerably from commodity to commodity, sources are not diversified enough to guarantee supply. Yet 1700–2000 million tons of waste are generated annually in the Community, containing substances of potential value—including metals, glass, rubber, textiles, oil, plastics—of which 70– 80% are tipped. This represents a loss of materials as far as they could be reused economically. This article argues that efforts should be made to recover and reuse the maximum possible of these resources to reduce the Community's dependence on, and improve its security of, raw materials supplies, and to lower the balance of payments burden.     

Carbon sequestration,biological diversity,and sustainable development: Integrated forest management

Tropical deforestation provides a significant contribution to anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO₂ concentration that may lead to global warming. Forestation and other forest management options to sequester CO₂ in the tropical latitudes may fail unless they address local economic, social, environmental, and political needs of people in the developing world. Forest management is discussed in terms of three objectives: carbon sequestration, sustainable development, and biodiversity conservation. An integrated forest management strategy of land-use planning is proposed to achieve these objectives and is centered around: preservation of primary forest, intensified use of nontimber resources, agroforestry, and selective use of plantation forestry. The information in this document has been wholly funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It has been subjected to the agency's peer and administrative review and approved for publication of an EPA document. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.     

The environmental life cycle assessment of agricultural sector in Thailand: EIO‐LCA approach

Agriculture is one of the major sectors in Thailand, with more than half of the population employed in agriculture‐related occupations. This study evaluated energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the Thai agricultural sector by applying the economic input–output life cycle assessment (EIO‐LCA) approach. The model evaluates the entire agricultural sector supply chain. Based on one million Thai baht (approximately $27,800 U.S. dollars) final demand of the rice paddy sector, the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the electricity sector are responsible for 27% (1,246 kilograms [kg] CO₂) of the total CO₂ emissions, whereas the emissions from paddy activities associated with the fertilizers and pesticides sector account for 16% (760 kg CO₂) and 11% (513 kg CO₂), respectively. The top three largest GHG emissions from the total agricultural sector supply chain are associated with the oil palm, the coffee and tea, and the fruit sectors. The government should promote and encourage sustainable agriculture by reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides and by utilizing energy‐saving technologies.     

Development planning in Mexico: Case study of an oil-rich economy

The authors identify problems of political, economic and social development in Mexico, which has now become a net oil exporter. Aspects of Mexican society are analysed - possession of resources, population growth, agricultural and industrial sectors of the economy and development policy. The political and economic components of social change and policy limitations are considered. It is clear that the severity of Mexico's development problems present serious issues for the current administration.     

A MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY INVESTMENT PROBLEM IN RHODE ISLAND1

ABSTRACT: The traditional “requirements” approach to water system planning presumes perfectly inelastic demand and arbitrarily selects a fixed water requirement per capita per day as a planning target. Economists have often pointed out that such a policy leads to over-investment in water supply facilities; a superior approach would maximize some measure of net benefits incorporating price-sensitive demand. Using a dynamic programming model to depict an investment problem in Rhode Island, we find that ambiguities about how to incorporate price-sensitive demand into a decision framework may make such an approach as arbitrary as the requirements approach. Water conservation responses may be a function of other social parameters than water price; if so, variations in these social parameters should be regarded as economic alternatives to water supply investments.     

Cities vs. agriculture: A review of intersectoral water re-allocation

Water demand management, or making better use of the water we have — as opposed to augmenting supply — is increasingly proposed as a way of mitigating water-scarcity problems. Moving water away from agriculture to uses with higher economic value is one of the main measures widely seen as desirable. Sectoral "allocation stress" is seen as resulting from the disproportionate share, and inefficient use of water in the agricultural sector. This apparent misallocation is often attributed to the failure of government to allocate water rationally.
This paper revisits this commonly-accepted wisdom and examines the nature of urban water scarcity, showing the importance of economic and political factors, shaped by incentives to decision-makers, and sometimes compounded by climatic conditions. It shows that cities' growth is not generally constrained by competition with agriculture. In general, rather than using a narrow financial criterion, cities select options that go along the "path of least resistance," whereby economic, social and political costs are considered in conjunction. The question of allocation stress is thus reframed into an inquiry of how transfers effectively occur and can be made more effective.     

Foreign direct investment and institutional obstacles: The case of Russian forestry

This article examines why, in spite of vast forest resources, Russia has been unable to attract foreign investors into its forest industry. A survey of 32 influential Western European forest companies indicates that purely economic factors, such as labour or raw material costs, are not the main reasons these companies refrain from investing. Instead, the companies identify a number of institutional factors: ambiguous legal systems; difficulties in negotiating with local authorities; unfair tax enforcement; and general political instability as the main impediments to FDI in the sector. These factors have led many companies to abandon previously considered investments in Russia, and also to terminate existing business relationships with Russian partners. The survey results also indicate that, while many investors in forestry were attracted by the potential for a growing Russian market in the early days of the transition period, they have become more and more aware of the many institutional obstacles challenging growth in the sector. The article concludes, therefore, that FDI in the Russian forestry sector is likely to remain low until a fundamental change takes place in the legal and political systems.     

Sustainable forestry management in developing countries

The central message of this paper is that natural forests have multiple uses and multiple users. The paper describes the crisis in Asian forestry and four failures which lie behind the crisis. The first failure is related to economic policy which has consistently underpriced timber, not accounting for the true cost of replacing the felled trees or the value of non-timber goods and services (including environmental services). The second failure stems from the lack of community involvement in managing forests. The third failure is that of forestry institutions which have not been able to adapt to changes required to meet new challenges — away from timber extraction towards environmental services and social forestry. The fourth failure arises from technological constraints, including difficulties in carrying out long-term research (to cover the 20–40 year time horizon in the forestry sector) and ineffective application of research results. A number of specific suggestions for moving toward sustained yield management in Asia are presented. The sustainable management of forests in Asia is crucial not only for indigenous peoples, the environment and economies of the countries of Asia, but also for the biodiversity and health of the global environment.     

Towards a grand deal on subsidies and climate change

Recent studies have identified public subsidies as a principal cause of unsustainable development. Worldwide, governments are spending up to $U950 billion a year on subsidies. Many of these public subsidies fail to serve their purpose and in fact, often turn out as policy failures as they further distort trade and cause environmental harm. The energy sector is among the most subsidized sectors in the world, receiving over $U240 billion per annum of public subsidies. This article highlights current energy subsidies and their implications. The article examines: (i) the global size and distribution of energy subsidies in industrialized and developing countries; (ii) the impact of these subsidies on the economy, equity and the environment and their role as barriers for sustainable development; (iii) the political economy behind public subsidies and the various political and institutional barriers and lock-in mechanisms that cause subsidies to become entrenched in economic and public structures; and (iv) proposals for effective subsidy reform in energy policies, suggesting a global strategy to eliminate energy subsidies. OECD governments are in a position to take the lead, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change presents an excellent opportunity of striking a political grand deal and linking the reform of energy subsidies to a meaningful participation of developing countries to the Kyoto Protocol. Moreover, if sinks are to be included in the clean development mechanism (CDM), it is crucial to include the removal of forestry subsidies in the grand deal.     

Rural development and ecological management of endogenous resources: the case of mountain olive groves in Los Pedroches comarca (Spain)

In this paper, we explore the dissemination potential of organic farming in Andalucía, using the case of Olivarera de los Pedroches, a small farmer cooperative. This will be done in the search for an agroecological strategy in the olive tree organic agricultural sector. A comparative analysis of organic and conventional olive oil production is made: both in economic terms, and regarding employment creation, taking into account its environmental benefits. This will permit us to shed light on certain elements necessary in the design of rural policies linked to this economic sector, and in the family farming social stratum. After a brief analysis of the Andalucían inequality structure in rural areas—both historically and at present times—this work presents the following issues: (i) a systematic characterization of European olive cultivation, with special reference to the Spanish and Andalucían situations; (ii) an exploration of the socio-economic impact of the case study within the context of the major actors involved, and their relations in terms of its reproducibility, taking into account their relationships with institutional and policy arrangements. Organic agriculture in Spain has developed slowly since 1995—the year in which aid towards this type of production began to be established—and, at present, begins to show an exponential increase. Many farmers began the transition to ecological handling of olive groves. Consequently, the organic management of the olive groves and the sale of organic olive oil can be a stimulus to farmers to increase their profits. Hence, it can be a fundamental pillar on which to establish rural development in areas with a high level of importance concerning this crop. In this work, data clearly show that, in spite of high costs, organic olive farming has advantages over conventional agriculture in terms of incomes and employment. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Restitution of forest property in post-communist Bulgaria

After ten years of post-communist transformation, the current Bulgarian Government has only recently initiated the task of wholesale reform of the communist-era structures extant within the forestry sector. This is an unavoidably complex process, involving the reorganisation of tenure over forest resources (restitution to pre-communist era owners), the privatisation and decentralisation of commercial and related activities in the woods, the redefinition of the role of the State in oversight, management and planning, and the development of a supportive institutional context for the growth of small and medium private enterprise throughout the forestry production process. This paper discusses the legal, institutional, economic and environmental implications of forest restitution. The author argues that the particular Bulgarian solution to the reform of forestry tenure structures, based on a mix of private and public ownership, arises out of the crucible of Bulgarian historical geography and the requirements of contemporary neoliberal models of transition. On the basis of the analysis, a number of important implications for Bulgarian, and indeed all post-communist forestry sectors, are raised for major related processes, such as the development of a robust private forestry sector, the limitation of the role of the State to conservation, management and oversight, and the reconfiguration of timber as a resource for local economic development.     

脱贫攻坚视角下森林生态产品供给有效路径选择——基于黑龙江省的实证分析

以黑龙江省为例,在脱贫攻坚视角下,选取林业产业总产值、造林面积、林业固定资产投资完成额、林业系统年末从业人数、林业产业结构比例5个有关森林生态产品供给效率的测算指标,通过DEA模型对黑龙江省2001—2017年森林生态产品供给效率进行测算,并运用Tobit模型对该效率的影响因素进行分析。结果表明:(1)黑龙江省森林生态产品供给效率的综合效率总体良好。(2)森林生态产品供给效率的综合效率与规模效率密切相关。(3)林业旅游与休闲服务收入比重和林业生态建设实际到位金额与供给效率显著正相关,而火灾次数与供给效率显著负相关。     

Why institutional reforms in forestry? Lessons from international experience

Profound changes have taken place, worldwide, during the last decade. These political, economic, and institutional changes have contributed to redefine the role of the state in all sectors, including natural resources. This article discusses traditional shortcomings of forest departments and new challenges they face arising from the changes in national policies and global concerns. Worldwide trends, such as civil service reforms, decentralization of government, increased local community involvement in resource management, and divestiture of state-owned enterprises impact the forestry sector, already faced with shrinking forest areas, decreased revenues, and government downsizing. To survive, forest departments need to form strategic partnerships with other stakeholders, get out of forest activities where they do not have a comparative advantage, and focus on core functions that governments do best. Examples are given from countries in Asia and the Pacific. Two country case studies are presented discussing Nepal's experience with Forest User Groups and New Zealand's experience with privatization of forestry.     

A weighted fuzzy linear programming model in economic input–output analysis: an application to risk management of energy system disruptions

Climate change exposes economic systems to numerous risks, including reduced agricultural production and electric power supply shortages. The interdependent nature of economic systems causes disruptions in any sector to cascade to other sectors via forward and backward linkages. This work develops an optimization model with which allocation of scarce goods or resources can be optimized; the model uses an overall index of satisfaction of fuzzy economic output goals under conditions of scarcity caused by climatic disruptions. The proposed model includes a vulnerability measure that integrates information elicited from expert judgment. A case study based on a scenario of drought-induced electricity shortage in the Philippine economy is examined. Results show that trade, transportation and service-oriented industries suffer losses in gross domestic product in the Philippine case.     

The Use of Local Sustainability Indicators: case studies in two Swedish municipalities1

This article contributes to the debate on the role of local sustainability indicators in ongoing democratisation efforts. We examine the extent to which five different systems of local sustainability indicators within two Swedish municipalities—Stockholm and Sundsvall—are either expert or citizen oriented, and relate these findings to the indicator systems' profile, function and political/ administrative context. Even though three of the indicator systems can be classified as citizen oriented, there are few signs of true engagement and dialogue with the citizens over a longer period of time. The remaining two indicator systems are expert oriented with an environmental focus. Hence, we conclude that the systems in use are largely symbolic responses to the demands for democracy within the agenda for sustainable development albeit attempts to include environmental, economic, social and democratic perspectives of sustainability. Despite the fact that Stockholm and Sundsvall show differences in governing styles in their approaches to sustainability indicators it seems difficult for both municipalities to put sustainable development into practice in terms of citizen participation.     

Linking climate policy across economic sectors: A case for green growth in Nepal

While the energy sector is the largest global contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector account for up to 80% of GHG emissions in the least developed countries (LDCs). Despite this, the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of LDCs, including Nepal, focus primarily on climate mitigation in the energy sector. This paper introduces green growth—a way to foster economic growth while ensuring access to resources and environmental services—as an approach to improving climate policy coherence across sectors. Using Nepal as a case country, this study models the anticipated changes in resource use and GHG emissions between 2015 and 2030, that would result from implementing climate mitigation actions in Nepal's NDC. The model uses four different scenarios. They link NDC and policies across economic sectors and offer policy insights regarding (1) energy losses that could cost up to 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, (2) protection of forest resources by reducing the use of biomass fuels from 465 million gigajoules (GJ) in 2015 to 195 million GJ in 2030, and (3) a significant reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 relative to the business-as-usual (BAU) case by greater use of electricity from hydropower rather than biomass. These policy insights are significant for Nepal and other LDCs as they seek an energy transition towards using more renewable energy and electricity.     

Geological supply and economic demand: The unresolved equation

Whereas the ultimate world supply of minerals is controlled by geological factors, the actual supply at any particular time is controlled by economic factors. Mineral production is a function of investment in exploration, mining, and processing - and research in these fields. Given the long lead time between a decision to explore and actual production from any deposit found, the increasing difficulty of finding deposits in the well prospected parts of the world, the political barriers to exploration in the less developed countries, the energy barriers to mining and processing ever lower grade ores, and the lengthy time required to develop new exploration, extraction, and processing techniques, adjustments in supply in response to changes in demand cannot be assumed to be automatic.