Global and local food value chains in Africa: A review

The rapid expansion of agrifood exports from low- and middle-income countries and the contribution of global value chains to rural development are well-documented in the literature. Also, studies on modernization of domestic food value chains in these countries are emerging. Yet, the linkages between global and local value chains are rarely studied. On the one hand, the development and expansion of global value chains may create competition with local value chains for land, labor, water, soil nutrients, and other resources. On the other hand, positive spillover effects, such as investment, technical or institutional spillovers, may occur and spur the development of local value chains. In this article, we put forward a conceptual discussion on the type of linkages between global and local value chains, and how these depend on crop and value chain characteristics. We review the empirical evidence on these linkages. Our focus is on Africa, where agrifood exports and global value chains evolved rapidly and where challenges remain to upgrade and increase efficiency in local food value chains.     

政策综合在森林转型中的作用——以福建长汀为例

森林转型的概念于1992年被首次提出,现已成为国际生态经济和自然资源管理领域讨论的前沿与热点问题。中国在20世纪80年代实现了森林转型,为全球固碳和气候变化减缓作出了重要贡献。政策因素被认为在中国森林转型进程中发挥了重要的作用。以中国森林转型的典型地区福建长汀为例,构建植被恢复政策综合分析框架,从植被恢复政策的纵向综合与横向综合两方面对促进长汀森林转型的政策综合进行分析,对长汀植被恢复政策取得成功的原因进行探索,以丰富森林转型的政策路径理论的讨论。研究认为,植被恢复横向政策综合是长汀森林转型相关政策取得成功的关键,长汀的植被恢复政策体系对其他地区具有重要的借鉴意义。     

Carbon Sequestration and Conservation of Tropical Forests Under Uncertainty

Concern for global warming has focused attention on the role of tropical forests in the reduction of ambient CO₂ levels and mitigation of climate change. Deforestation is a major land use change in the tropics, with forest resources undergoing degradation through the influence of logging and conversion to other uses. Land use change is a product of varied local and regional resource use policies. Management of forest resources is one such major temporal factor, influencing resource stability and the carbon pool. Under a given management policy, both the long period of forest growth, and the slow turnover and decay of the carbon pool, enhance the relevance of stand level management policies as cost-effective mechanisms mitigating climate change. Apart from regional level uncertainties like the nature of land use and the estimation of carbon storage in vegetation and soil, the carbon flux of tropical forests is greatly influenced by uncertainty in regenerative capacity of forests and in harvest and management policies. A case study from India is used to develop a transition matrix model of natural forest management, and to explore the economic implications of maintaining and expanding existing carbon sinks. The study further explores the significance of investments in additional carbon sinks in plantation forests, given continued uncertainty in natural forest management.     

Is Portugal’s forest transition going up in smoke?

The turnarounds from decrease to expansion in forest areas that took place during the last century have been examined through the lens of forest transition theory (FTT). Among temperate and Mediterranean European countries that have seen an expansion of forest cover, Portugal stands out as the only case in which this trend has recently been reverted. In this study, we explicitly map and document the forest transition (FT) in the country over the period 1907–2006, and investigate when and where forest transition happened de facto, and which were the land use transition pathways that resulted from the shrublands, agriculture, and forest interplay dynamics. After thematic and geometric harmonization of land cover maps from 1907, 1955, 1970, 1990, and 2006, a cluster analysis established four typologies, and a transition matrix was constructed to assess land cover dynamics. We found that up to 1955, FT occurred simultaneously with agricultural expansion, as shrubland areas diminished. Afterwards, with the retraction of agricultural area and the consequential decoupling of forest management from local actors, FT gained momentum and expanded up to the 1990s. While during the first half of the 20th century, forest expansion followed the “Scarcity” and “State Policy” pathways fostered by local socio-ecological feedback loops, throughout the second half of the century forest transition was driven by exogenous socio-economic forces, following “Economic Development” and “Globalization” pathways. We show how, despite these forces, FT can be derailed by endogenous factors such as wildfires, which limited and in some areas even reverted the afforestation process, initiating a deforestation phase. Since the necessary conditions for FT (technology shift, urbanization, agriculture retraction and public afforestation programs) were available in mainland Portugal, we advance the hypothesis that critical wildfire risk governance deficits may have been responsible for arresting FT. Considering the critical role of forests and other wooded areas in supporting climate change mitigation and sustainable development, our work provides useful evidence and insights for public decision makers on previously unaddressed dimensions of FTT.     

Envisioning a global forest transition: Status,role, and implications

Satellite data-driven discoveries are fuelling the literature on forest transitions, particularly in quantifying slow, large-scale trends. Mather’s forest transition concept depicts the inflection point marking a change from decreasing to increasing forest area. This theory is being elucidated using satellite images of global forest cover from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and now from the FAO’s recently introduced geospatial monitoring platform SEPAL 2.1. Recently, a series of high profile papers have illuminated the concept of the forest transition using analysis of remote sensing-based forest cover images. Defined as an increase in global forest cover, analysis of satellite images over the past thirty years suggests that a global forest transition has occurred. However, satellite data provide less information about biodiversity and carbon sequestration outcomes in new forests. Incorporating other data sources on the quality of forest transitions offers the potential to develop better reforestation programs, address climate change goals and enhance other ecological and human benefits. This article presents a view on remote sensing, biodiversity, and carbon science that has changed the study of forest transitions, and an outline of anticipated and suggested science and policy directions.     

美国WTO技术性贸易措施及对我国林业的启示

深入开展林业技术性贸易措施工作,是我国林业全面参与国际竞争、加快林业产业转型升级、协调促进我国生态建设的重要途径。介绍了美国WTO技术性贸易措施体系建设,并提出了今后我国林业开展技术性贸易措施工作重点:强化林业风险分析工作;切实提高林业标准化研究和制定工作水平;大力推进信息化建设;加强对国际先进模式的学习等。     

The colour of maize: Visions of green growth and farmers perceptions in northern Laos

The rapid expansion of hybrid maize in the uplands of northern Laos is viewed by the government as meeting policy aims related to green economic development. Yet, growing evidence of negative consequences of maize expansion are emerging. Based on farmers’ perceptions, we study: (1) farmers’ reasons for adopting and abandoning maize, and; (2) implications of commercial maize expansion on local livelihood security and inclusiveness (food supply, income, risk coping, and ability to join maize growing), and environmental sustainability (productivity, and soil and forest quality) over time (2013 and 2016). Results show that maize has advantages in terms of labour allocation, and it provides much-needed cash income. Yet, swidden is the main food provider and an essential safety net for unforeseen risks (including maize crop failures or price fluctuations). The way that maize was produced did not meet the criteria of green economic development due to its negative effects on the environment (soil and forest degradation) and socioeconomic sustainability (household differentiation, increased economic risks, debts, and food insecurity). By providing a local perspective, this study encourages a critical reflection of the underlying assumptions and conceptualization of the green economy approach in Laos, and argues for policies and measures that consider a more holistic perspective of human wellbeing and the environment.     

Land Cover in a Managed Forest Ecosystem: Mexican Shade Coffee

Managed forest ecosystems like shade coffee supply valuable ecological services. Yet little is known about the drivers and characteristics of clearing in such systems. We present a spatial econometric analysis of land cover in a shade coffee region in southern Mexico. We find that plots close to large cities are less likely to be cleared all other things being equal—the opposite of the pattern usually observed in natural forests. In addition, we find that membership in coffee-marketing cooperatives, farm size, and certain soil types are associated with tree cover, while proximity to small town centers is associated with clearing.     

Global trade impacts of increasing Europe's bioenergy demand

European governments are rapidly turning to biomass to comply with the EU's legislated renewable energy targets for 2020 and 2030. To do so, EU member states will likely have to increase imports of biomass from timber rich regions, which will undoubtedly disrupt international wood product markets. In this study, a static global forest trade model of coniferous wood products is used to examine the effects of expanded demand for wood pellets in Europe to generate reliable electricity. Positive mathematical programming (PMP) is used to calibrate the model to 2012 bilateral trade flows. To assess the impact of increased wood-pellet demand on global forest products, we consider a scenario where EU demand for wood pellets doubles. Model results suggest increases in the world prices of industrial roundwood (1%), particleboard ($34/m³), fibreboard ($30/m³), pulp ($65/t) and pellets (71% to 128%), while the prices of sawnwood and plywood & veneer are projected to fall by $12/m³ and $4/m³, respectively. The gains and losses are unevenly distributed between timber rich and timber poor regions; Russia, Canada and the U.S. experience large net welfare gains of $706 million, $544 million and $416 million, respectively, while Asia loses $1.8 billion. In the forest products sector, the gains outweigh losses with economic benefits increasing by some $4.9 billion, but this is a cost to the consumers of electricity and/or taxpayers in the regions implementing these renewable energy policies. The price of wood pellets is projected to rise between $107 and $154 per tonne. The findings highlight the need to account for the interconnections among softwood forest products globally.     

From the Holocene to the Anthropocene: A historical framework for land cover change in southwestern South America in the past 15,000 years

The main forest transitions that took place in south-central Chile from the end of the last glaciation to the present are reviewed here with the aim of identifying the main climatic and socio-economic drivers of land cover change. The first great transition, driven primarily by global warming, is the postglacial expansion of forests, with human populations from about 15,000 cal. yr. BP, restricted to coastlines and river basins and localized impact of forest fire. Charcoal evidence of fire increased in south-central Chile and in global records from about 12,000 to 6000 cal. yr. BP, which could be attributed at least partly to people. The subsequent expansion of agriculture led to much clearing of forests and the spread of weeds and other indicators of open habitats. The Spanish colonial period in America may have been followed by a transient expansion of forest cover into abandoned land, as indigenous population declined rapidly due to disease and slaughter. The 18th and 19th centuries brought about extensive loss of forests due to the massive impact of lumber extraction for mining operations both in central Chile and in western North America. Two centuries of intensive deforestation, coupled to grazing by cattle and extremely variable rainfall had long-lasting effects on forest cover in south-central Chile, which persist until today. The transition from a preindustrial to an industrial society brought about the “golden age” of timber harvest, assisted by mobile sawmills and railway transportation since the late 1800s. These advances led to the exhaustion of native commercial timber by the late 20th century in south-central Chile. In North America, harvestable stands were exhausted in New England and the Midwest around 1920. Settlement of the independent territories in the late 1800s and early 1900s implied vast burning and clearing of land and mounting soil erosion. Industrial forestry, based on government-subsidized massive plantations of short-rotation exotic trees, developed in the late 20th century, in connection with postindustrial displacement of exploitative activities from developed to third-world nations. In the last two decades, economic globalization and free trade promoted the expansion of new crops and further decline of woodlands, despite modest increases in forest cover. These patterns are repeated in many Latin American countries. To prevent further depletion of native forest resources and to provide an insurance against climate change, in the 21st century developing nations should aim at: (1) relocating subsidies from fiber farms to restoring diverse forest cover, (2) promoting ecosystem management of diverse forest and crops within landscapes, and (3) fostering diverse cultural relationships between people and their land.     

Carbon mitigation potential of the French forest sector under threat of combined physical and market impacts due to climate change

Objectives(1) To quantify the contribution of the French forest-wood product chain in terms of carbon sequestration and substitution when accounting for both the physical impacts (shifts in tree growth and mortality rates) and the market impacts (increased demand of harvested wood products (HWP)) of climate change (cc) and the subsequent forest managers adaptations; (2) To assess the uncertainty of the impacts on the above carbon balance and on forest allocation; and (3) To assess the role of managers’ expectations toward these future, uncertain but highly anticipated, impacts.MethodologyWe used a bio-economic model of the French Forest Sector (FFSM++) that is able to consider and integrate: (a) the effects of climate change over forest dynamics; (b) forest investment decisions (among groups of species) according to expected profitability; and (c) market effects in terms of regionalised supply, consumption and trade of HWP, depending on the forest resource stocks and international prices. By including both forest dynamics and forest products, we can evaluate the carbon balance taking the following elements into consideration: (a) carbon sequestered in live and dead biomass in the forest; (b) carbon sequestered in HWP; (c) carbon substituted when wood is used in place of fossil fuels or more energy-intensive materials; and (d) carbon released by forest operations.ResultsWhen the model is run at constant conditions for the next century, the average carbon potential of French forests is 66.2–125.3 Mt CO₂ y⁻¹, depending on whether we consider only inventoried wood resources, HWP pools and direct energy substitution, or if we also account for the carbon stored in tree branches and roots and if we consider the more indirect, but also largely more subjective, material substitution. These values correspond to 18.3% and 34.7%, respectively, of the French 2010 emissions (361 Mt CO₂). However, when we consider both the probable increment of coniferous mortality and changes in forest growth, plus the rise in HWP demand worldwide, the average sequestration rate of the French forest decreases by 6.6–5.8% to 61.8–118.0 Mt CO₂ y⁻¹. Running partial scenarios, we can assess the relative interplay of these two factors, where the price factor increases the HWP stock while decreasing the forest stocks (where the latter effect prevails), while the physical impact of climate change reduces both, but to a lesser extent. Considering short-sighted forest managers, whose behaviour is based uniquely on the observed conditions at the time decisions are made, we obtain a limited effect of the overall carbon balance but a relatively large impact on the area allocation of broadleaved vs. coniferous species.     

Climate change and the Australian agricultural and resource industries

There is a limited case for assisting trade-exposed emissions-intensive industries during a transitional period during which Australian resource industries but not all of their major competitors are subject to emissions constraints. There is no case for protecting Australian industry from all adjustment and loss of asset values during the transition. The valid case is analogous to anti-dumping assistance, being confined to the case where weaker emissions constraints elsewhere would force adjustments that would be reversed later. The case for assistance is limited by the effect of others' weaker emissions constraints on global resource prices.     

中国林业企业开展森林经营认证的动力与经济效益分析

林业企业开展森林认证的动力和效益对于森林认证持续健康发展非常关键。在对中国森林认证现状进行分析的基础上,结合问卷调查和实地调研,分析了中国林业企业开展森林认证的动力与经济效益。结果表明:满足国际市场需求,获取市场利益,是林业企业开展森林认证的主要动力,而提升企业形象,保护环境等非市场利益以及非政府组织、金融组织以及政府等各方的支持也起到了重要的推动作用。森林认证已得到林业企业的初步认可,但目前的经济效益仍不稳定和显著。     

湖北太子山国家森林公园管理制度改革研究

为缓解国有林场的"两危"困境,各地森林旅游业逐渐兴起。以国有林场为基础建立的森林公园为林区职工增收、增加就业岗位、带动当地经济等方面带来了良好的影响,但从事经营管理的工作人员主要是林场原有的生产管理人员,其管理水平极其有限,在一定程度上阻碍了森林公园的发展。以湖北太子山国家森林公园为例分析其现有的组织机构和经营模式中存在的问题,建议:以市场为导向,强化监管力度;落实政企分开,完善企业人事制度;积极开展管理人员引进与培训。     

Do farmers really like farming? Indian farmers in transition

Few studies of agrarian transition examine what farmers themselves feel about farming. Are they cultivating out of choice or a lack of options? What distinguishes farmers who like farming from those who do not: their personal/household characteristics and endowments? The local ecology and regional economy? Or a mix of these and other factors? Understanding farmer satisfaction is important not only for assessing citizen wellbeing but also for agricultural productivity, since occupational satisfaction can affect a farmer’s incentive to invest and reveal production constraints. Using a unique all-India data-set which asked farmers, ‘Do you like farming?’ this paper provides answers and policy pointers, contributing a little-studied dimension to debates on the smallholder’s future and subjective wellbeing.     

黑龙江省地方国有林场林权制度改革的对策

基于黑龙江省地方国有林场基本状况,分析了制约黑龙江省地方国有林场林权制度改革的因素,在对制约因素进行深入分析的基础上,结合近年来地方国有林场林权制度改革的经验,提出了林权制度改革的方案,该方案从总体思路和具体做法两方面进行了全面分析。     

From conflict to cooperation: The trajectories of large scale land investments on land conflict reversal in Ghana

There have been studies on land-conflict and its implications through large scale land investments in Ghana and beyond. However, contrary to the negative conflict-implications of land investments, the effectiveness of conflict-reversal interventions has received little attention in academic and policy debates. This has led to a literature gap about land conflict reversal pathways and outcomes. This study thus, uses a case study design based on qualitative methods to introduce two communities of large scale land acquisitions (namely Agogo and Kpachaa) in Ghana where corporate investors took multiple steps to mediate conflicts with the ruralists vis-a-vis the secondary effects aftermath. The study identifies that the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) interventions and benefit sharing mechanisms have had deescalating effects on land conflicts in the communities involved. In the case of Agogo, it was noticed that the conflict reversal pathways were the investor’s decision to change investment from biofuel to food crops, the establishment of formal rent payment system and the running of flexible and rotational job schemes for community members. On the other hand, Kpachaa saw conflict reversal through corporate interventions towards infrastructure development, inputs and technical support, jobs and training programmes and derestricted communal access to unused land spaces and economic trees for local livelihood sustainability. Based on the findings, the study argues that the establishment of land conflict reversal guidelines (in which corporate investors play a key role in tackling conflicts) could help in mitigating land conflicts in Ghana and other countries subjected to large-scale land investments¹ .     

森林市场成熟理论的研究与探索

介绍了森林市场成熟理论产生的背景,认为传统的森林经营难以满足当前商品林经营的要求。基于林业理论创新、生产实践与科学试验,提出森林市场成熟的定义和内涵,认为森林市场成熟理论有利于突破传统森林经营理念的束缚,提高林地生产力经营效益,促进多元经营,实现商品林的可持续经营。     

基于系统动力学的东北国有林区低碳政策模拟研究

结合东北国有林区的实际情况及特色资源,在分析低碳经济复杂系统结构及动态反馈关系的基础上,建立东北国有林区低碳经济系统动力学模型。通过调整三次产业比例、提高森林碳汇、增加非化石能源比例、提高能源利用率、提高人口素质五次政策模拟,根据仿真模拟结果得出结论:东北国有林区发展低碳经济应加快产业结构调整,大力发展第三产业;提高森林蓄积量和森林质量,增强森林碳汇功能;优化能源结构,增加非石化能源比例;大力发展科技,提高能源利用率;加大教育投入,提高人口素质。     

The J-curve effect and the US–Canada forest products trade

This paper examines the dynamic effect of the US–Canada exchange rate on bilateral trade of forest products between the two countries. Special attention is given to investigate the J-curve hypothesis: whether or not the trade balance for US forest products trade with Canada benefits from a decline in the value of the US dollar. We adopt the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration to estimate quarterly bilateral trade data between the US and Canada from 1989 to 2005. We find little evidence of the J-curve phenomenon for US forest products trade with Canada.