Essays on the economics of forestry-based carbon mitigation
2005
Benítez-Ponce, P.C.
Keywords:climate change, carbon costs, afforestation, risk, secondary forests, conservation payments, ecosystem servicesThis thesis is a collection of articles that deal with the economics of carbon sequestration in forests. It pays special attention to the comparison of forestry alternatives for carbon sequestration, carbon supply curves at regional and global levels and the impact of risk on payments for ecosystem services. Case-studies inEcuadorandLatin Americacontribute to a better understanding of these issues. Policy implications of this research are: (1) Natural regeneration of secondary forests is a cost-efficient activity for carbon sequestration in the humid tropics and should be included as part of the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. (2) Country-risk is a relevant factor to be considered in climate change mitigation assessments. When accounting for country risk―associated with political, economic and financial risks ― the potential carbon sequestration at a global level is reduced by more than half. (3)Potential carbon sequestration through afforestation ranges from 5% to 25% of the emission reduction targets of different policy scenariosfor stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, andtherefore is relevant in a global context. (4) Farm-level decisions are influenced by risks associated to price and yield volatility of land-use alternatives. Efficient conservation policies that aim at enhancing carbon sequestration, biodiversity and other environmental services should look at both net revenues and risks. Combining payments for conservation with risk-hedging strategies is a policy option to be considered by conservation agencies worldwide.
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