Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8kt4b Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T10:45:06.816Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Community forests, carbon sequestration and REDD+: evidence from Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2015

Abebe D. Beyene ,
Randall Bluffstone  and
Alemu Mekonnen
Abebe D. Beyene
Affiliation:
Environmental Economics Policy Forum for Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. E-mail: abebed2002@yahoo.co.uk
Randall Bluffstone
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751, USA. Tel: +503-725-3938. Fax: +503-725-3945. E-mail: bluffsto@pdx.edu
Alemu Mekonnen
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. E-mail: alemu_m2004@yahoo.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

REDD + is one of the tools under development to mitigate climate change, but it is not yet clear how to appropriately bring in the approximately 25 per cent of developing country forests that are managed by communities. Drawing on the economics of collective action literature, the authors attempt to shed light on whether forest collective action itself sequesters carbon. Using satellite imagery combined with household and community data from Ethiopia, they examine whether community forests (CFs) with high levels of collective action attributes known to be associated with better management have more carbon than other systems. Although these results should be considered indicative due to the nature of the data, the analysis suggests that in the absence of dedicated sequestration policies the quality of local-level collective action offers at best marginal carbon benefits. Specific incentives like REDD + may therefore play important roles in delivering climate change benefits from CFs in low-income countries.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , April 2016 , pp. 249 - 272
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agarwal, B. (2010), Gender and Green Governance: The Political Economy of Women's Presence Within and Beyond Community Forestry, Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agrawal, A. (2001), ‘Common property institutions and sustainable governance of resources’, World Development 29(10): 1649–1672.Google Scholar
Agrawal, A. and Angelsen, A. (2009), ‘Using community forest management to achieve REDD+ goals’, in Angelsen, A. (ed.), Realising REDD + : National Strategy and Policy Options, Bogor, Indonesia: Centre for International Forestry Research.Google Scholar
Agrawal, A., Chhatre, A., and Hardin, R. (2008), ‘Changing governance of the world's forests’, Science 320: 1460–1462.Google Scholar
Barrett, C. and Carter, M. (2010), ‘The power and pitfalls of experiments in development economics: some non-random reflections’, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 31(4): 515–548.Google Scholar
Bekele, M. (2011), ‘Forest plantations and woodlots in Ethiopia’, African Forest Forum Working Paper, No. p1–12.Google Scholar
Bluffstone, R. and Köhlin, G. (2011), ‘Agricultural production in East Africa: stagnation, investment, and poverty’, in Bluffstone, R. and Köhlin, G. (eds), Agricultural Investment and Productivity: Building Sustainability in East Africa, New York: RFF Press.Google Scholar
Bluffstone, R., Boscolo, M., and Molina, R. (2008), ‘Does better common property forest management promote behavioral change? On-farm tree planting in the Bolivian Andes’, Environment and Development Economics 13: 137–170.Google Scholar
Bluffstone, R., Robinson, E.J.Z., and Purdon, M. (2014), ‘Introduction: local forest reform – theory and experience’, In Forest Tenure Reform in Asia and Africa: Local Control for Improved Livelihoods, Forest Management and Carbon Sequestration, New York: RFF Press/Routledge.Google Scholar
Bouma, J., Bulte, E., and van Soest, D. (2008), ‘Trust and cooperation: social capital and community resource management’, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 56: 155–166.Google Scholar
Chaiyo, U., Garivait, S., and Wanthongchai, K. (2011), ‘Carbon storage in above-ground biomass of tropical deciduous forest in Ratchaburi province Thailand’, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 58: 636–641.Google Scholar
Chazdon, R. (2008), ‘Beyond deforestation: restoring forests and ecosystem services on degraded lands’, Science 320: 1458–1459.Google Scholar
Chhatre, A. and Agrawal, A. (2009), ‘Tradeoffs and synergies between carbon storage and livelihood benefits from forest commons’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106(42): 17667–17670.Google Scholar
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) (2014), World Factbook, [Available at] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/et.html.Google Scholar
Cooke, P., Köhlin, G., and Hyde, W.F. (2008), ‘Fuelwood, forests and community management – evidence from household studies’, Environment and Development Economics 13: 103–135.Google Scholar
Cronkleton, P., Bray, D.B., and Medina, G. (2011), ‘Community forest management and the emergence of multi-scale governance institutions, lessons for REDD+ development from Mexico, Brazil and Bolivia’, Forests 2: 451–473.Google Scholar
Derero, A., Mamo, N., and Kelemu, K. (2010), Strategic and Action Plan for Integrated Forest Development in Ethiopia, Forestry Research Center, Addis Ababa.Google Scholar
EFAP (Ethiopian Forestry Action Program) (1994), The Challenge for Development, Vol. II, Addis Ababa: Ministry of Natural Resources Development and Environmental Protection.Google Scholar
Ellis, E. and Porter-Bolland, L. (2008), ‘Is community-based forest management more effective than protected areas? A comparison of land use/land cover change in two neighboring study areas of the Central Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico’, Forest Ecology and Management 256: 1971–1983.Google Scholar
Fafchamps, M. and Hill, R.V. (2005), ‘Selling at the farmgate or travelling to market’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 87(3): 717–734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAO (2010a), Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 – Country Report Ethiopia, No. FRA2010/065 Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Google Scholar
FAO (2010b), Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 – Main Report, FAO Forestry Paper No. 163, Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Google Scholar
Gallup, J.L., Sachs, J.D., and Mellinger, A.D. (1999), ‘Geography and economic development’, in Pleskovic, B. and Stiglitz, J.E. (eds), Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics, Washington, DC: World Bank, pp. 127–172.Google Scholar
Gautam, A., Webb, E., and Eiumnoh, A. (2002), ‘GIS assessment of land use/land cover changes associated with community forestry implementation in the middle hills of Nepal’, Mountain Research and Development 22: 63–69.Google Scholar
Gillis, J. and Broder, J., (2012), ‘With carbon dioxide emissions at record high, worries on how to slow warming’, New York Times, 2 December.Google Scholar
Glaeser, E., Laibson, D., and Sacerdote, B. (2002), ‘An economic approach to social capital’, The Economic Journal 112(483): F437–F458.Google Scholar
Gobeze, B., Lemenih, M., and Kassa, H. (2009), ‘Participatory forest management and its impacts on livelihoods and forest status: the case of Bonga Forest in Ethiopia’, International Forestry Review 11(3): 346–358.Google Scholar
Gordon, H.S. (1954), ‘The economic theory of a common-property resource: the fishery’, Journal of Political Economy 62(2): 124–142.Google Scholar
Grieshop, A., Marshall, A., and Kandlikar, M. (2011), ‘Health and climate benefits of cookstove replacement options’, Energy Policy 39: 7530–7542.Google Scholar
Hyde, W., Amacher, G., and Magrath, W. (1996), ‘Deforestation and forest land use: theory, evidence and policy implications’, World Bank Research Observer 11(2): 223–248.Google Scholar
IPCC (2006), Good Practice Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Geneva: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Google Scholar
IPCC (2013), Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers, Geneva: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Google Scholar
Jodha, N.S. (2008), ‘Some places again: a restricted revisit to dry regions of India’, in Ghate, R., Jodha, N.S. and Mukhopadhya, P. (eds), Promise, Trust, and Evolution: Managing the Commons of South Asia, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
MacCarty, N., Ogle, D., Still, D., Bond, T., and Roden, C. (2008), ‘A laboratory comparison of the global warming impact of five major types of biomass cooking stoves’, Energy for Sustainable Development 12: 5–14.Google Scholar
Mekonnen, A. and Bluffstone, R. (2008), ‘Is there a link between common property forest management and private tree growing? Evidence of behavioral effects from highland Ethiopia’, RFF Discussion Paper No. EfD 08-29, Resources for the Future and Environment for Development, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Mekonnen, A. and Bluffstone, R. (2014), ‘Forest tenure reform in Ethiopia’, In Forest Tenure Reform in Asia and Africa: Local Control for Improved Livelihoods, Forest Management and Carbon Sequestration, New York: RFF Press/Routledge.Google Scholar
Narayan, D. and Pritchett, L. (1999), ‘Household income and social capital in rural Tanzania’, Economic Development and Cultural Change 47(4): 871–897.Google Scholar
Nepal, M., Bohara, A., and Berrens, R. (2007), ‘The impact of social networks and household forest conservation efforts in rural Nepal’, Land Economics 83(2): 174–191.Google Scholar
Nyangena, W. (2011), ‘The role of social capital in sustainable development: an analysis of soil conservation in rural Kenya’, in Bluffstone, R. and Köhlin, G. (eds), Agricultural Productivity in East Africa: Investment, Sustainability and Poverty Reduction, New York: Resources for the Future Press.Google Scholar
Ostrom, E. (1990), Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ostrom, E. (2000), ‘Collective action and the evolution of social norms’, Journal of Economic Perspectives 14(3): 137–158.Google Scholar
Ostrom, E. (2009), ‘A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems’, Science 325(5939): 419–422.Google Scholar
Ostrom, E. and Gardner, R. (1993), ‘Coping with asymmetries in the commons: self-governing irrigation systems can work’, Journal of Economic Perspectives 7(4): 93–112.Google Scholar
Pan, Y., Birdsley, R., Fang, J., et al. (2011), ‘A large and persistent carbon sink in the world's forests’, Science 333: 988–993.Google Scholar
Peskett, L., Huberman, D., Bowen-Jones, E., Edwards, G., and Brown, J. (2008), ‘Making REDD work for the poor’, Briefing paper prepared on behalf of Poverty Environment Partnership (PEP), Overseas Development Institute, London.Google Scholar
RECOFT (2008), ‘Community-based forest management: a key element of effective REDD methodologies’, Submission to the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) to the UNFCC meeting in Poznan, Poland, [Available at] unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/smsn/ngo/110.pdf.Google Scholar
Rights and Initiative, Resources (2014) What Future for Reform? Progress and Slowdown in Forest Tenure Reform Since 2002, Washington, DC: Rights and Resources Initiative.Google Scholar
Robinson, E.J.Z. and Lokina, R.B. (2012), ‘Efficiency, enforcement, and revenue trade-offs in participatory forest management: an example from Tanzania’, Environment and Development Economics 17: 1–20.Google Scholar
Saatchi, S., Harris, M., Brown, S., et al. (2011), ‘Benchmark map of carbon forest carbon stocks in tropical regions across three continents’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108(24): 9899–9904.Google Scholar
Shyamsundar, P. (2008), ‘Decentralization, devolution, and collective action – a review of international experience’, in Ghate, R., Jodha, N.S. and Mukhopadhya, P. (eds), Promise, Trust, and Evolution: Managing the Commons of South Asia, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Skutsch, M. and McCall, M.K. (2012), ‘The role of community forest management in REDD+’, Unasylva 63: 51–56.Google Scholar
Sunderlin, W., Hatcher, J., and Liddle, M. (2008) From Exclusion to Ownership? Challenges and Opportunities in Advancing Forest Tenure Reform, Washington, DC: Rights and Resources Initiative.Google Scholar
Tumcha, B. (2004), ‘The vision of Ministry of Agriculture on natural resources of Ethiopia by 2025’, in Mengistou, S. and Aklilu, N. (eds), Proceedings of the Public Meetings on Integrated Forest Policy Development in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa: Environment and Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation, pp. 1–11.Google Scholar
UNFCCC (2011), ‘Fact sheet: reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: approaches to stimulate action’, [Available at] https://unfccc.int/files/press/backgrounders/application/pdf/fact_sheet_reducing_emissions_from_deforestation.pdf.Google Scholar
UNFCCC (2012), ‘Default values of fraction of non-renewable biomass for least developed countries and small island developing states’, Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism 67th Meeting Report, CDM-EB-67, UNFCCC, New York.Google Scholar
UNFPA (2013), ‘Towards sustainable vital events registration and vital statistics systems of Ethiopia: strategy and action plan, July 2013–June 2018’, [Available at] http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/ethiopia/drive/CRVS_Ethiopia_ActionPlanandStrategy.pdf.Google Scholar
UN-REDD, (2010), The UN-REDD Programme Strategy 2010–2015, UN-REDD Programme 5th Policy Board Meeting, 4–5 November, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
van der Werf, G.R., Morton, D.C., DeFries, R.S., Olivier, J.G.J., Kasibhatla, P.S., Jackson, R.B., Collatz, G.J., and Randerson, J.T. (2009), ‘CO2 emissions from forest loss’, Nature Geoscience 2: 737–738.Google Scholar
Vreugdenhil, D., Payton, I.J., Vreugdenhil, A., Tamirat, T., Nune, S., and Weeks, E. (2011), ‘Establishing a “carbon baseline” and mechanisms for payments for carbon environmental services discharged by protected areas in Ethiopia’, World Institute for Conservation and Environment, Alexandria, VA.Google Scholar
Bank, World (2009), Forests Sourcebook: Practical Guide for Sustaining Forests in International Cooperation, Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Yesuf, M. and Bluffstone, R.A. (2009), ‘Poverty, risk aversion, and path dependence in low-income countries: experimental evidence from Ethiopia’, American Journal of Agricultural Economics 91(4): 1022–1037.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Beyene supplementary material

Online Appendix

Download Beyene supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 95.8 KB