Suchergebnisse

Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, eine wissenschaftlich fundierte Grundlage für eine Integration des Waldes in die deutsche Klimaschutzstrategie abzuleiten. Dabei steht die Beantwortung der Frage im Vordergrund, ob es aus Sicht des Klimaschutzes sinnvoller ist, einen Wald intensiv im Rahmen der Nachhaltigkeit zu bewirtschaften oder durch Extensivierung der Bewirtschaftung höhere Vorräte in der Biomasse aufzubauen. Um jedoch das Thema 'C-Speicherung in Wäldern' in seiner Gesamtheit zu erfassen, ist es notwendig, verschiedene wissenschaftliche Disziplinen miteinander zu verknüpfen: Auf der einen Seite steht der Bedarf nach naturwissenschaftlich fundierten Erkenntnissen über die C-Speicherung im Ökosystem 'Wald' und in Holzprodukten, auf der anderen Seite hängt die Zielhierarchie der verschiedenen Waldfunktionen immer von den Ansprüchen der Gesellschaft und der Waldbesitzer an den Wald ab. Die resultierenden Zielkonflikte machen das Thema zum Gegenstand der Politikwissenschaft. In diesem Sinn soll die Arbeit zum Verständnis der C-Flüsse im Wald beitragen, die naturwissenschaftlichen Zusammenhänge erklären und diese Erkenntnisse in den politischen Kontext stellen. Daher besteht die Arbeit aus zwei gleichgewichtigen Teilen, einem naturwissenschaftlich-technischen und einem sozialwissenschaftlichen, die am Ende der Arbeit in einer Synthese zusammengeführt werden. Im naturwissenschaftlich-technischen Teil wird zunächst ein 'full carbon accounting'-Ansatz entwickelt, auf dessen Basis mit den besten verfügbaren Daten und Modellen sämtliche relevanten C-Speicher und Flüsse im Wald und im nachgelagerten Produktsektor berechnet wurden. Die Untersuchung beschränkt sich auf die Wälder von Baden-Württemberg und den Zeitraum zwischen 1987 und 2012. Die Methodik und verwendeten Modelle, die zum Teil im Rahmen dieser Arbeit entwickelt wurden, ist auch auf andere Regionen übertragbar, sofern die notwendigen Daten als Input zur Verfügung stehen. Grundlage für die Berechungen waren die IPCC-Vorgaben zur internationalen THG-Berichterstattung, der 'Guten Fachlichen Praxis' für den Bereich LULUCF. Die Veränderungen der C-Vorräte der Biomasse im Wald wurden nach der 'stock-change method' mit den Einzelbaumdaten der Bundeswaldinventurdaten quantifiziert. Dabei wurde das Verfahren der Volumenexpansion der Einzelbäume angewendet, um den gesamten Kohlenstoff (C) der lebenden Biomasse, also einschließlich der Äste und Wurzeln, zu erfassen. Zusätzlich wurde ein Holzproduktmodel entwickelt, um die Veränderungen der Holzproduktspeicher in die Betrachtung zu integrieren. Die theoretische Basis für dieses Modell ist der sog. 'production approach', der sich für eine Bewertung des Klimaschutzbeitrages eines nachhaltig bewirtschafteten Waldes besonders eignet, weil er das gesamte produzierte Holz berücksichtigt und Importe ausblendet. Auf dieser Basis konnten außerdem die Substitutionseffekte quantifiziert werden, die entstehen, wenn Holz als Material oder Energieträger eingesetzt wird. Obwohl die Vertragsstaaten über diese bedeutenden Speicher bislang nicht in ihren nationalen THG-Inventaren Bericht erstatten können, ist ihre Berücksichtigung für die Bewertung des Klimaschutzbeitrages eines Wirtschaftswaldes unerlässlich. Das Modell WEHAM wurde erweitert, um Aussagen darüber zu treffen, wie sich die C-Vorräte in den Speichern von 2003 bis zum Ende der ersten Kyoto-Verpflichtungsperiode entwickeln. Ziel war, die Auswirkungen verschiedener Bewirtschaftungsintensitäten zu untersuchen. Dazu wurden drei Szenarien definiert, die sich im Grad der Nutzung unterscheiden und zu stark differierenden Ergebnissen in den einzelnen Speichern und der Größenordnung der Substitutionseffekte führen. Im sozialwissenschaftlichen Teil der Arbeit wird der naturwissenschaftlich-technische Teil durch die Analyse des Diskurses zwischen den Befürwortern und Gegnern einer Integration der Forstwirtschaft in die nationale Klimapolitik in den politischen Kontext gestellt. Ziel ist die Untersuchung der Rolle der politikberatenden Wissenschaft in diesem Diskurs allgemein und der grundsätzlichen Eignung wissenschaftlich fundierter C-Bilanzen als Basis und Instrument für komplexe politische Entscheidungen. Diese Analyse soll aufzeigen, ob und wie beratende Wissenschaft dazu beitragen kann, den bestehenden Interessenkonflikt aufzulösen. Dazu wurden auf Basis einer Literaturstudie und problemzentrierten Leitfadeninterviews mit Experten aus Forst- und Holzwirtschaft, ENGO, Politik und Wissenschaft die Argumentationslinien des Diskurses identifiziert. Die Verknüpfung der beiden Untersuchungsteile schafft eine wissenschaftliche Basis für eine Integration von Wald und Forstwirtschaft in die nationale Klimaschutzpolitik, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Implikationen, die sich aus den internationalen Regelungen und der Speicherdynamik der Wälder ergeben. ; The objective of this study was to derive a scientifically sound basis for integrating forests and forestry into the German strategy for climate protection. In particular, the question should be answered, whether it is better in terms of carbon storage to intensively use forests within the limits of sustainable management or to increase standing biomass stocks by extensification. In order to gain a comprehensive view on the issue of carbon sequestration in forests, it is necessary to link different scientific disciplines: On the one hand, there is a need for consolidated findings from the natural sciences on carbon storage and fluxes in forests and wood products; on the other hand, decisions on the prioritization of forest functions are subject to the demands of society and forest owners. Varying interests and demands lead to conflicts which make the forest sink issue a subject for policy analysis. In order to gain a comprehensive view on the issue of forest sinks in German climate policy, the study consists of two equal-weighted parts – a carbon balance for the forest and wood products of a large region in Germany and a policy analysis. These parts are merged in a synthesis at the end of the study. The first part of this study is related to natural sciences: a 'full carbon accounting'-approach was developed to quantify all relevant carbon pools and fluxes in the forest ecosystem and in the techno-sphere (wood products) with the best data and models available. The scope of the investigation is the forested area of the state of Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany between 1987 and 2012. The methodology and the models used can be transferred to other regions as well, if the necessary data are available. The IPCC good practice guidance for LULUCF was used as basis for the calculations. Changes in the carbon stocks of the living biomass were calculated using the 'stock-change method' by applying volume expansion to the single tree data of the two national German forest inventories (1987 and 2002) for Baden-Württemberg. This allowed for calculating the carbon stored in roots and branches. Although parties of the Kyoto Protocol cannot balance and report on stock-changes in the product pools, their consideration is essential for the evaluation of the environmental service of carbon sequestration provided by commercially used forests. Thus a new wood product model was developed to integrate changes in the different wood product pools, which until now have not been considered in the national GHG inventories. The theoretical basis is the so-called 'production approach'. It is suitable to evaluate the contribution of sustainably managed forests to the efforts of mitigating climate change, because the entire wood produced for domestic use and export is included; imported wood and wood products are not considered. The model also allows for quantifying the substitution effects generated when wood replaces energy intensive materials or fossil fuels. Furthermore a new module for carbon was added to the model WEHAM which allows a forecast on how standing stocks will develop under changing utilization parameters and how much wood will go into the product pools. Three scenarios were developed to show by modelling how these pools are likely to develop until 2012 – the end of the first Kyoto commitment period. The scenarios show that management has strong influence on how the various C-pools develop and that the managed forests of Baden-Württemberg contribute significantly to mitigating climate change by sequestering C in biomass, product pools and producing substitution effects. The second part of the study is a social science study which aims at putting the results of the first part into the political context by analyzing the discourse between the advocates and opponents of an integration of forest sinks into the national climate policy. The objective was to examine the general role of policy consulting scientific studies in this discourse and the suitability of scientifically sound carbon balances as a basis and instrument for complex political decisions. Also, the question shall be answered, whether and how such studies can contribute to settle this conflict. Based on a literature analysis and structured, problem-focused interviews with German experts from universities and institutes, forestry, ENGO and politics, the main story lines were identified. The interviews were conducted by phone, verbally transcribed and interpreted by using a category-related content analysis. The linking of the two parts of the study helped to establish a scientific basis for the integration of forests and forestry into a national climate policy which takes into account the international regulations of the Kyoto Protocol and the dynamics of carbon stocks in forests.

Continuing depletion of forest resources, particularly in tropical developing countries, has turned vast areas of intact ecosystems into urbanized and agricultural lands. The degree of degradation varies, but in most cases, the ecosystem functions and the ability to provide a variety of ecosystem services are severely impaired. In addition to many other challenges, successful forest restoration of these lands requires considerable resources and funding, but the ecological, economic and social benefits have the potential to outweigh the investment. As a consequence, at the international policy level, restoration is seen as a field of land use activities that provides significant contributions to simultaneously achieving different environmental and social policy objectives. Accordingly, different policy processes at the international policy level have made ecological landscape restoration a global priority, in particular the Convention on Biological Diversity with the Aichi Target 15 agreed upon in 2010, which aims at restoring 15% of all degraded land areas by 2020. While such ambitious policy targets are important for recognizing and agreeing upon solutions for environmental problems, they are unlikely to be further substantiated or governed. The objective of this paper is thus to develop a complementary governance approach to the top-down implementation of the Aichi target. Drawing on collaborative and network governance theories, we discuss the potential of a collaborative networked governance approach and perspectives for overcoming the inherent challenges facing a rapid large-scale restoration of degraded lands.

Since its introduction in the National Environmental Policy Plan in 2001 the notion of 'energy transition' is firmly rooted in the Dutch energy debate. Despite political efforts to shift to a sustainable energy system, the Netherlands is lagging behind other European countries. Scholarly literature generally ascribes such slow developments to the dominant role of incumbents. In this paper we explore how prominent incumbents of the Dutch energy system discursively frame the energy transition by unravelling their existing and evolving storylines. Our results show that decarbonization in the context of a European energy market is currently seen as the dominant driver for the energy transition, linked to discursive elements on keeping the energy supply secure and affordable. We found tensions within this dominant storyline and emerging storylines with the potential to undermine the dominant one. In response, incumbents are discursively repositioning themselves, thereby restructuring coalitions - possibly indicating discursive regime destabilization.

Background. In the last decade, the demand for and supply of energy wood from forests has increased, and experts expect a further increase in the future due to political and societal changes. The objective of this paper was to provide a qualitative analysis of stakeholders' perceptions of current and future trade-offs as well as of synergies between energy wood production and use and other forest ecosystem services (ES). Methods. We developed an explorative research approach and conducted semi-structured interviews with a total of 103 interviewees of six selected stakeholder groups in five European countries: Finland, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Spain. For the analysis, we adopted a qualitative content analysis approach. Results. The results of this empirical study indicate that, across the five countries, stakeholders perceive similar trade-offs and synergies. Stakeholders perceive a strong synergy with employment whereas trade-offs regarding conservation of biodiversity are the most critical issue related to energy wood production in forests. Furthermore, stakeholders continue the classic debate about forest protection versus forest use in the energy wood context. Conclusions. Effects of energy wood production and use need to be taken into account in policy development and forest management in order to address current and future trade-offs and to tap the full potential of synergies related to other forest ES. Different characteristics of countries and regions need to be considered, and decisions need to be fostered by long-term and far-reaching political frameworks. ; The study was conducted within the COOL project (COmpeting uses Of forest Land), a project within the two ERA-Nets WoodWisdom-Net 2 and Bioenergy, and with financial support from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (programme manager: Project Management Jülich) in Germany, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland, the Research Council of Norway, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport in Slovenia, and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness in Spain. The article processing charge was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg in the funding programme Open Access Publishing.

Abstract Background In the last decade, the demand for and supply of energy wood from forests has increased, and experts expect a further increase in the future due to political and societal changes. The objective of this paper was to provide a qualitative analysis of stakeholders' perceptions of current and future trade-offs as well as of synergies between energy wood production and use and other forest ecosystem services (ES). Methods We developed an explorative research approach and conducted semi-structured interviews with a total of 103 interviewees of six selected stakeholder groups in five European countries: Finland, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Spain. For the analysis, we adopted a qualitative content analysis approach. Results The results of this empirical study indicate that, across the five countries, stakeholders perceive similar trade-offs and synergies. Stakeholders perceive a strong synergy with employment whereas trade-offs regarding conservation of biodiversity are the most critical issue related to energy wood production in forests. Furthermore, stakeholders continue the classic debate about forest protection versus forest use in the energy wood context. Conclusions Effects of energy wood production and use need to be taken into account in policy development and forest management in order to address current and future trade-offs and to tap the full potential of synergies related to other forest ES. Different characteristics of countries and regions need to be considered, and decisions need to be fostered by long-term and far-reaching political frameworks.