Illegal logging causes damage to forests with consequences for climate, biodiversity, livelihoods and national economies. One of the causes is international trade driven by consumer-country demand. Since 2013, the European Timber Regulation (EUTR) prohibits the placement of timber and timber products from illegal sources on the European market. The implementation is still in progress in most EU Member States, and market operators are insufficiently aware of their respective duties. The study considers a causal chain necessary to result in the envisaged behaviour change of importing operators, i.e., a reduced import of timber products from illegal sources. Therefore, the extent to which importing operators meet the prerequisites of behaviour change (awareness, knowledge, compliance and change of timber trade activities) is analysed. Taking Germany as an example, an extensive survey is conducted on German importing operators. Operator characteristics are analysed to determine in how far the prerequisites of behaviour change are met. The study found gaps in the practical implementation process along the whole causal chain. While awareness, knowledge and compliance among importing operators in Germany is still low, those operators that show the envisaged behaviour changes cover the majority of total import value. The majority of operators import only small quantities of timber products, while a few operators dominate the market. Especially small operators outside the timber-related sector were found to be unaware of the EUTR and less often compliant. Their low information status hints on uneven information availability. Compliance was highest among larger enterprises, and those importing from risk countries. The study contributes to determining risk factors for better targeting gaps along the causal chain necessary for compliance with the EUTR, and the types of operators affected. Finally, needs and options for intervention and further research are discussed.
The United Nations acknowledged the important role of forest ecosystems in the context of climate change by addressing the source and sink functions of forests in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The aim of including climate change objectives within the UNFCCC was, on the one hand, to reduce current and expected emissions from forest ecosystems, mainly due to deforestation and forest degradation and, on the other hand, to incentivise the conservation and enhancement of existing forest carbon stock, e.g., through forest conservation, sustainable forest management, afforestation and reforestation. The reporting and accounting of carbon emissions and removals from the so-called land use, land-use change and forestry sector (LULUCF) was included in a binding policy framework under the Kyoto Protocol for industrialised countries. Detailed rules for reporting and accounting were implemented, which have undergone amendments since the first commitment period. For developing countries the adoption and implementation of a corresponding system is still in progress. The so-called REDD+ system ('reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries') is currently in preparation under the UNFCCC. This system aims to incentivise developing countries to implement forest-based climate change mitigation options, with a results-based financing by industrialised countries. The design of a detailed financing, monitoring, reporting and accounting framework is currently being worked out, which for developing countries is loaded with additional difficulties, given the lack of capacity and experience, insufficient data availability and weak monitoring systems. To guarantee global climate effectiveness, the entire forest-based climate change mitigation approach under the UNFCCC needs to be consistent. This means avoiding gaps, which could produce leakage, and insuring incentives are effective and properly aligned. These self-evident requirements are, however, not self-evidently inherent to a politicised system of such dimension and complexity. This thematic context of 'global climate change and the role of forest ecosystems' and of the 'political agreements to fight climate change' in industrialised and developing countries is introduced in the first part of the comprehensive summary of this cumulative dissertation. The underlying object of carbon accounting in the forest-related LULUCF sector are the natural and human-induced 'forest dynamics of carbon uptake and release through forest growth, forest management and forest cover change', which are summarised in the second Chapter. The details of 'the political design for accounting of carbon uptake and release by forests' are explained in the third part of the thematic context. Here the similarities and differences between the existing and envisaged accounting approaches between different land-use categories and mitigation activities and between industrialised and developing countries are addressed. Special attention is given to the implied incentive effect of different accounting options and the role of reference levels. The design and implications of different accounting approaches for the mitigation activities of forest management, afforestation and avoided deforestation are analysed by three scientific articles presented in the second part of the comprehensive summary. The first article analyses the incentive effect of different sub-national carbon accounting approaches for afforestations and forest management in industrialised countries by analysing the interactions of different carbon and timber prices and interest rates. The results show that additional carbon crediting, passed down directly to the forest owner, increases the optimal rotation period when carbon prices outperform timber prices. When harvests are immediately charged with debits (without including the harvested wood products' intrinsic carbon stock), harvesting becomes uneconomic at a given price level. The second article addresses the land-use change activity of deforestation by analysing national patterns of forest cover development on a global scale. For globally consistent accounting of land-use changes a quantifiably comparable forest cover development among the countries would facilitate a standardised approach for the accounting of land-use changes. The study, therefore, analyses recent data from developing countries and historic data from industrialised countries in a multi-national regression model. Regularities in the influence of certain drivers of deforestation on the forest cover decline could be detected and empirically quantified for 140 countries. The resulting global deforestation curve was included as a method for determining reference levels for a potential future REDD+ mechanism proposed in the third article. The third study applies national data of deforesting developing countries for the prediction of a business as usual forest cover development for REDD+ reference levels. The application of this uniform global deforestation curve for a REDD+ reference level approach provides the advantage of the consideration of individual national circumstances standardised by a uniform methodology. The three articles are each summarised briefly, stating the personal contribution, and their results are discussed in the thematic context described in the first part of the comprehensive summary. In the final conclusions the relevance of the results of the three articles for the overall thematic context is described. The results show which major implications politically designed carbon accounting rules have on the incentive effect, and thereby on the effectiveness of climate change mitigation options. The accounting approaches have to be carefully designed and matched with each other to avoid false incentives or incentive gaps. The results also show that on the operational level competing interests may outweigh the incentives. Furthermore, the feasibility of consistent carbon accounting is discussed and the connections and similarities of the different existing approaches are depicted. The transferability of the different accounting approaches, between the various activities addressed and between industrialised and developing countries, but also the empirical quantification of a comparable forest cover development between different countries, encourages the implementation of consistent carbon accounting. Stepwise approaches are, however, needed to overcome existing data and capacity gaps. The complete versions of the three individual articles are included in the Appendix, as well as a list of further publications.
AbstractThe European Union (EU) Timber Regulation (EUTR) formally requires EU operators to conduct due diligence along their supply chains to prevent illegally sourced timber products from entering the European market. Little is known about the regulatory behaviour and motivations of operators to comply with this regulation. We explore the regulatory behaviour of companies by applying a synthesis of behavioural theories of regulatory compliance and transnational market regulation. Informed by qualitative and quantitative mixed methods, this study finds that EUTR compliance is influenced by operators' regulative, economic, normative and cultural‐cognitive motivations. The empirical analyses reveal that larger, publicly exposed companies are driven to comply through social pressure and the deterrence effect of sanctions and control. Operators' perceptions of the costs and benefits do not explain compliance behaviour in a significant, quantitative way. The Internal values to abide by the law are found to be a stronger motivator than economic cost–benefit calculations.
In diesem Arbeitsbericht wird ein detailliertes Konzept zur Honorierung der Ökosystemleistungen der Wälder in Deutschland vorgestellt und konkretisiert, welches anstelle von Bewirtschaftungsmaßnahmen die tatsächlichen Leistungen der jeweiligen Wälder und Forstbetriebe honoriert und dazu deren Produktivität wie auch die gesellschaftliche Nachfrage nach den einzelnen Leistungen in den Vordergrund rückt. Das Konzept sieht zwei Stufen vor. Stufe 1 umfasst überregionale Leistungen, namentlich für den Klima- und Biodiversitätsschutz; die Ermittlung von Leistungsumfang und -vergütung wird hier, soweit möglich, aus entsprechenden internationalen Vertragswerken und den darauf aufbauenden nationalen Strategien abgeleitet. Stufe 2 umfasst weitere Erholungs- und Schutzleistungen, für die die Nachfrage stärkere regionale und lokale Unterschiede aufweist; Leistungsumfang und -vergütung werden hier über Einzelverträge bestimmt, die einen mindestens anteiligen Finanzierungsbeitrag der Interessenten voraussetzen. Durchgehend wird die demokratische Legitimation des Vorschlags selbst und seiner einzelnen Elemente anhand der Gesetzeslage und den Ergebnissen demokratischer Entscheidungsfindung begründet. Abschließend werden die absehbaren Anreiz- und Lenkungswirkungen des Vorschlags sowie die dafür nötigen Reformen des existierenden forstlichen Fördersystems diskutiert. ; This working paper presents and substantiates a detailed concept for rewarding the ecosystem services of forests in Germany. The concept accounts for actually provided services (rather than for management measures), and focuses on the productivity of the particular forests/forest enterprises as well as on society's demand for the individual forest services. The concept consists of two levels. Level 1 comprises global services, in particular for climate and biodiversity protection; here the amount of services provided and the respective payments are being deduced from international agreements and the corresponding national strategies, as far as possible. Level 2 comprises further recreational and protection services, where demand exhibits more pronounced regional and local differences; on this level, service amounts and the respective payments are determined by individual contracts, which require at least a pro-rata contribution of the interested stakeholders. Throughout, we legitimise the concept and its individual elements by relating it to the given legal situation, and to the results of democratic decision making. Finally, we discuss the conceivable incentive and steering effects of the proposal, and the necessary reforms of the existing subsidisation system for forestry.
In diesem Arbeitsbericht wird ein detailliertes Konzept zur Honorierung der Ökosystemleistungen der Wälder in Deutschland vorgestellt und konkretisiert, welches anstelle von Bewirtschaftungsmaßnahmen die tatsächlichen Leistungen der jeweiligen Wälder und Forstbetriebe honoriert und dazu deren Produktivität wie auch die gesellschaftliche Nachfrage nach den einzelnen Leistungen in den Vordergrund rückt. Das Konzept sieht zwei Stufen vor. Stufe 1 umfasst überregionale Leistungen, namentlich für den Klima- und Biodiversitätsschutz; die Ermittlung von Leistungsumfang und -vergütung wird hier, soweit möglich, aus entsprechenden internationalen Vertragswerken und den darauf aufbauenden nationalen Strategien abgeleitet. Stufe 2 umfasst weitere Erholungs- und Schutzleistungen, für die die Nachfrage stärkere regionale und lokale Unterschiede aufweist; Leistungsumfang und -vergütung werden hier über Einzelverträge bestimmt, die einen mindestens anteiligen Finanzierungsbeitrag der Interessenten voraussetzen. Durchgehend wird die demokratische Legitimation des Vorschlags selbst und seiner einzelnen Elemente anhand der Gesetzeslage und den Ergebnissen demokratischer Entscheidungsfindung begründet. Abschließend werden die absehbaren Anreiz- und Lenkungswirkungen des Vorschlags sowie die dafür nötigen Reformen des existierenden forstlichen Fördersystems diskutiert. ; This working paper presents and substantiates a detailed concept for rewarding the ecosystem services of forests in Germany. The concept accounts for actually provided services (rather than for management measures), and focuses on the productivity of the particular forests/forest enterprises as well as on society's demand for the individual forest services. The concept consists of two levels. Level 1 comprises global services, in particular for climate and biodiversity protection; here the amount of services provided and the respective payments are being deduced from international agreements and the corresponding national strategies, as far as possible. Level 2 comprises further recreational and protection services, where demand exhibits more pronounced regional and local differences; on this level, service amounts and the respective payments are determined by individual contracts, which require at least a pro-rata contribution of the interested stakeholders. Throughout, we legitimise the concept and its individual elements by relating it to the given legal situation, and to the results of democratic decision making. Finally, we discuss the conceivable incentive and steering effects of the proposal, and the necessary reforms of the existing subsidisation system for forestry.
Holznutzung verringert einerseits den Kohlenstoffvorrat im Wald, erhöht ihn aber andererseits in den Holzprodukten und trägt durch Substitutionseffekte zur Emissionsvermeidung bei. Aufbauend auf den Ergebnissen der Inventurstudie 2008 werden die CO2-Bilanzen dreier unterschiedlich intensiver Waldbewirtschaftungsvarianten (WEHAM: Waldentwicklungs- und Holzaufkommensmodell) im Zeitraum 2013 bis 2020 miteinander verglichen. Naturgemäß verringert sich der Kohlenstoffspeicher im Wald bei intensiverer Holznutzung. Dieser Verlust an Kohlenstoff wird durch die höhere Speicherwirkung in den Holzprodukten nicht voll ausgeglichen. Im Vergleich zum Basisszenario ist die CO2-Bilanz des Szenarios mit weniger Nutzung (D) deutlich schlechter (12,5 Mio. t CO2/a mehr Emissionen). Aber auch im Szenario mit mehr Nutzung (F) fallen mehr Emissionen als im Basisszenario an (7,8 Mio. t CO2/a). Von den drei verglichenen Szenarien weist somit das WEHAM-Basisszenario die beste CO2-Bilanz auf.
Population pressure and the suitability of the land for crop production are recurrently identified drivers of deforestation. The harmonization of international environmental policies with demographic strategies appears to be even more decisive than considering agricultural measures. Deforestation forces occur independently of political boundaries, indicating the need to adjust jurisdictional and landscape approaches. The implementation of policy instruments such as REDD+ requires flexibility to be modified and adapted to specific national, regional or local conditions.
• Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass Zahlungen für Umweltleistungen (PES) einen vernachlässigbaren direkten Effekt auf die Entwaldung haben, da sich Entwaldungsraten vor und nach der Umsetzung von PES nur geringfügig unterscheiden. • Insgesamt sind die jährlichen Netto-Entwaldungsraten in Gebieten mit PES niedriger als in Referenzgebieten ohne PES. • Wir haben jedoch einen positiven Spillover-Effekt in Pufferzonen festgestellt, da die Entwaldungsraten dort nach der Umsetzung eines PES-Programms zurückgegangen sind. • Die Berücksichtigung von (positiven) Spillover- oder (negativen) Leakage-Effekten erweist sich bei der Bewertung von Instrumenten der Landnutzungspolitik als entscheidend.
Wir haben die jährlichen Werte der Waldleistungen in Deutschland ermittelt (Holz, Klima, Erholung sowie Naturschutz und Landespflege) – und ihre regionale Verteilung•Der monetäre Wert jeder einzelnen Leistung übersteigt die Milliardengrenze•Zur Umsetzung der Ergebnisse in praktische Politik stellen wir ein ausgearbeitetes Konzept vor
Timber production, climate and nature protection or recreation: forests provide a wide range of benefits to society, many of them as public goods without a market price. The German Federal Government with its Forest Strategy 2020 aims at integrating the value of these ecosystem services into political decision-making processes – also by using economic valuation. A model of the Thünen Institute now facilitates this.
Timber production, climate and nature protection or recreation: forests provide a wide range of benefits to society, many of them as public goods without a market price. The German Federal Government with its Forest Strategy 2020 aims at integrating the value of these ecosystem services into political decision-making processes – also by using economic valuation. A model of the Thünen Institute now facilitates this.
Ob Holzproduktion, Klima- und Naturschutz oder Erholung: Wälder erbringen vielfältige Leistungen für die Gesellschaft, viele davon als öffentliche Güter ohne Marktpreis. Die Bundesregierung sieht mit ihrer Waldstrategie 2020 vor, den Wert dieser Ökosystemleistungen in politische Entscheidungsprozesse zu integrieren – auch mit Hilfe der ökonomischen Bewertung. Ein Modell des Thünen-Instituts macht dies nun möglich.
Timber production, climate and nature protection or recreation: forests provide a wide range of benefits to society, many of them as public goods without a market price. The German Federal Government with its Forest Strategy 2020 aims at integrating the value of these ecosystem services into political decision-making processes – also by using economic valuation. A model of the Thünen Institute now facilitates this.
