Emerging Issues ‘Bad’ for Sustainable Forests

• Population growth increasing demands on resource uses especially in environments with subsistence economies

• Increasing consumptive demands on resources without having programs in place to use wastes or recycle products after they have lost their utility

• Urbanization leading to significant losses of forestlands because they have little value in forested condition

• Illegal timber harvesting which means sustainable livelihoods cannot be reached, environmental services are lost from poorly managed forests, stimulated exploitative collection of timber

First Emerging Issues in Forests BAD: Land Conversion from Forested Condition

1. Conversion of forestland to urban developments driven by the globalization of markets for timber since:

• shift in global wood markets from the industrialized regions of the world (e.g., PNW US) to less industrialized world reduced value of land as forests

• since timber prices are low, a landowner can command a higher income when forests are put to other uses

• Forested land has even less value when close to urban areas. Since it is more difficult to manage ‘working’ forests near urban areas, forested land is increasingly being sold for urban development and expansion.

September 24, 2005Living in the Trees, and Raising a Few to Boot By KRISTINA SHEVORYEATONVILLE, Wash. - All Richard and Donna Gleason wanted was five acres in the country with a good view. They got a lot more than they bargained for.In January, the couple bought a 20-acre mini-tree-farm for $200,000 from the Weyerhaeuser Company, the timber company based in Federal Way, Wash. They plan to build a three-bedroom, 2,800-square-foot house with views of nearby Mount Rainier. Their land is part of a "tree reserve community" Weyerhaeuser carved out of former timberlands south of Seattle. Prices range from $139,000 to $400,000 for a 20-acre plot, where buyers can build a home, harvest timber or do both. A 20-acre farm is about 15 football fields.

Weyerhaeuser posted a 43 percent profit decline in 2005, and its stock has been torpid. "The problem is, the paper business is not doing well at all for anyone," said Steven Chercover, an analyst at D.A. Davidson in Portland. "The whole world has changed, and the business has moved offshore. South Americans can grow trees faster, and paper use in North America is going down."

Sunday, February 26, 2006 - 12:00 AM, The Seattle Times.Weyerhaeuser buzz: trees or paper? By Melissa Allison, Seattle Times business reporter

TIMBER COMPANIES MAKING MORE IN REAL ESTATE THAN TRADITIONAL PRODUCTS!!

Timber companies becoming real-estate investment trusts (REITs) selling timberlands

Timber (and Its Revenues) Decline, and Libraries Suffer

A plywood plant at Klamath Falls, Ore. Payments from the

timber industry faded in the ’90s under pressure to save the

northern spotted owl. By WILLIAM YARDLEY

Published: May 5, 2007, NYT A9, May 5, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/05/us/05timber.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Jim Wilson/The

New York Times

2005 – islands between Whidbey and San Juans

A few statistics from US on urbanization and forest loss:• Population growth in the northeast and south US will result in the most dramatic losses of forestlands • During last 10 years, North Carolina lost 5% of its forest area due to the development/expansion of its urban areas

•Washington lost 2% of its forest areas between 1990 and 2000. In the Puget Sound region of WA, urban growth doubled between 1972-1996 and resulted in a loss of a third of the forest cover.

Conversion of forestland to urban areas is a global phenomenon and

HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. Stein et al. (2004) estimated 9.1 million hectares (22.5 million acres) of urban lands projected to shift to exurban (lands in the wildland-urban interface) by 2030 in the US. From 10 to 20 percent of this area will be forests … converted to other uses needed by urbanites.

Emerging Issues in Forests because of Urbanization

• Wildland-urban interfaces have to include habitat for conservation purposes. [federally managed US forests inadequate to provide sufficient forest for many endangered species (e.g., spotted owls)]

• Management issues only relevant for forests in rural areas are now being recognized as problems for urban areas (e.g., fire risk, insect and pest outbreaks) as wildland-urban interface or urban growth expands and replaces forests with houses in the western US

• Population growth has resulted in more homes being built in areas with a higher fire risk (natural & human factors).

• Not only are there costs associated with loss of homes near forests due to fires, many environmental services that forests provide also lost (e.g., conservation of endangered species, habitat, water and air quality, carbon sequestration, recreation). In California, more than 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of forest and rangeland have burned in wildfires each year since 1950 at a cost of $900 million US dollars to local, state and federal agencies.

Illegal forest activities can include:

“harvesting without authority in designated national parks or forest reserves and harvesting without or in excess of concession permit limits; failing to report harvesting activity to avoid royalty payments or taxes; and, violating international trade agreements such as the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).”

Second Emerging Issues in Forests BAD:

2. ILLEGAL TIMBER HARVESTING

COUNTRY Softwood Supply Suspicious (%)

Hardwood Supply Suspicious (%)

Russia 17.0 17.0

Indonesia 0.0 58.0

Brazil 0.0 15.0

Malaysia 0.0 11.8

Japan 6.5 5.5

China 31.5 30.6

EU-15 1.2 6.6

Central/West Africa Not meaningful 30.0

United States Not meaningful 0.0

Canada Not meaningful 0.0

Amount of illegal timber harvesting for countries that are suppliers of wood (Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, West/Central Africa and Russia) and consumers of wood (China, Japan, Europe – EU-15) (AFPA, 2004a).

•2 – 4% of the softwood lumber and plywood

•23 - 30% of hardwood lumber and plywood

A railway in northeastern China receives timber from the Russian Far East, where the World Bank says half of all logging is illegal. Ikea products are made here and shipped to the U.S. (By Peter S. Goodman -- The Washington Post)

Corruption Stains Timber TradeForests Destroyed in China's Race to Feed Global Wood-Processing IndustryBy Peter S. Goodman and Peter Finn; Washington Post Foreign Service; Sunday, April 1, 2007; A01

“MYITKYINA, Burma -- The Chinese logging boss … thickly forested mountain just inside Burma, .. last natural stands of teak …He handed a rice sack stuffed with $8,000 worth of Chinese currency to two agents with connections in the Burmese borderlands … They used that stash to bribe everyone standing between the teak and China. In came Chinese logging crews. Out went huge logs, over Chinese-built roads.• … Chinese and Russian crews … virgin forests of the Russian Far East and Siberia, hauling away 250-year-old Korean pines in often-illegal deals ..• In ..highlands of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia,….Africa, …..Amazon, loggers working beyond the bounds of the law have sent a ceaseless flow of timber to China.”

World Must Seek Change in China Timber Trade - Report UK: May 10, 2007

“LONDON - Major wood buyers in Europe and the United States must persuade China to bring its booming timber trade under control before it causes irreplaceable deforestation across the world, a report said on Wednesday.

In just 10 years China had moved from being a net importer of wood products to become the world's leading exporter of furniture, plywood and wood flooring, sucking in vast amounts of timber from key sensitive areas, the Tropical Forest Trust said. While some of these logs were undoubtedly from legal -- and therefore sustainable -- sources, supply chains were so long, varied and opaque that the origin of much of the wood was unverifiable, the Geneva-based charity said.He praised major retailers like Home Depot in the United States and B&Q in Europe for trying to ensure they stock only legally-sourced products and urged others to do likewise.” Story by Jeremy Lovell REUTERS NEWS SERVICE http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/41814/story.htm

Indonesia Deforestation Fastest in World - Greenpeace INDONESIA: May 4, 2007; Reuters News Service

JAKARTA - Indonesia had the fastest pace of deforestation in the world between 2000-2005, with an area of forest equivalent to 300 soccer pitches destroyed every hour, Greenpeace said on Thursday.

"The next generation of Indonesians will not see any forest if no action is taken by the government to deal with the problem," Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaigner Bustar Maitar told a news conference. The Guinness World Records had approved a proposal by Greenpeace that Indonesia's forest destruction be included in its 2008 record book to be published in September this year, said Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner Hapsoro.

http://www.borneoproject.org/img/original/tangit_badau.jpg

Firefighters Move Water Hose near Burnt Peat Land in Rokan Hilir, Riau Province. INDONESIA: August 15, 2005

Malaysia lifted a state of emergency in two areas near the capital on Saturday after air pollution levels fell well below the danger mark, easing the country's worst pollution crisis in 8 years

Story by Beawiharta BEA/PN

Photo by BEAWIHARTA

REUTERS NEWS PICTURE SERVICE

Two factors causing deforestation in Malaysia and Indonesia: palm oil for biodiesel production and highly valued tree species

A laborer works on a palm plantation outside Medan, North Sumatra, part of Indonesia. More than 85 percent of the world's supply of palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia.

February 18, 2005

“… uncovered the world's biggest smuggling racket involving a single type of wood, the merbau, with huge shipments of logs being shipped from Indonesia to China.” Photo by HANDOUT-ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION

AGENCY-TELAPAK/HANDOUT EN/DH; REUTERS NEWS PICTURE SERVICE

Japan having to fork over chopstick tax. CHINA IMPOSES LEVY. Restaurants scramble to find alternative. New York Times. Sunday May 14, 2006. A2 News.

• China imposing a 5% tax on chopsticks over concerns of deforestation

• Tax tough on Japan since use 25 billion wooden chopsticks a year (~ 200 pairs per person) and 97% are from China

•China stopping export of “waribashi” or chopsticks to Japan by 2008

•Chopsticks “linked to deforestation and a wasteful lifestyle”

•Illegal logging in the tropics and the boreal forests (the two areas of the world with half of the world’s forested areas) is very pervasive where the ecological constraints make it difficult to maintain intensive harvesting of timber

Problems of where illegal timber harvesting is occurring:

Lalo de Almeida for The New York TimesA truck carried logs of native trees along Highway BR-319. The new plan will bring large-scale logging into the heart of the rain forest for the first time.

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

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Fuelwood Consumption, 1994(% of total wood use)

Asia 93%

Africa 81%

South America 50%

former USSR 44%

The high demand for fuelwood means there is not enough wood available to produce other products (insufficient fuelwood available by 2020)

1-7% decrease forest area 1990-95

Hunting ban threatens Congo forest dwellersIRINOctober 31, 2005

“BRAZZAVILLE, 28 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - A

blanket ban on hunting in the Republic of Congo ….. Baka community, an indigenous hunter-gatherer group living in the rain forests near the timber-concession areas in the north of the country.”

Members of the community have warned that the ban, which Game rangers are enforcing the ban in the Congolese Wood Industries (CIB) timber concession areas. This has resulted in increased malnutrition among

children and vulnerable adults. CIB is the largest timber company in the country with five timber concessions covering 1.3 million hectares.

•Tropical and boreal forests are also found in regions of the world where there is less private ownership of forests or where the land tenure is not well established

•Reductions in illegal logging practices appear

to be the norm where there is more private ownership of forests. In the European Union and in the United States, where private ownership and clear land tenure exist, illegal logging is less common.

Problems of where illegal timber harvesting is occurring:

http://216.187.75.220/newsletter44.pdf

Not enough oil

Becoming politicized

US not self sufficient and needs to import oil

FOSSIL FUEL STORY

Annually Transportation fuels = ~ 64% of US petroleum use; Industrial chemicals & materials (manufacture plastics, paints, paper, textiles, pharmaceuticals, building materials, etc.) = 36% (~ 1 BILLION BARRELS OIL) Industrial Bioproducts: Today and Tomorrow. US DOE. Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy. July 2003. Prepared by Energetics Incorporated. Columbia, Maryland. Authors: M Paster, JL Pellegrino, TM Carole.

US petroleum use (EIA AER 2001)

20%

4%

16%

4%

47%

9%

Distillates

Residual fuel

Products (asphalt,lubricants)

Fuel gas

Gasoline

Jet fuel

WHAT ARE FOSSIL FUELS USED FOR?

Biomass Availability:Ethanol and Biodiesel

Production

WashingtonState

Midwest

Canada

Malaysia

Evaluating both the forest stand and Washington state level feasibility of methanol production from woody biomass, Carrie Lee, M.S. Thesis Defense, College of Forest Resources, January 19, 2007

10% biodiesel is methanol

Indonesia – Palm Oil Biodiesel

Critics See Too Little Significant ChangeBy Steven MufsonWashington Post Staff WriterWednesday, January 24, 2007; A14

· New renewable-fuel target: Bush said he will ask Congress to require oil companies to use 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels by 2017. The administration said this would replace 20 percent of the projected annual gasoline consumption.

A worker begins to dump corn for processing into ethanol.

Photo Credit: By Aaron Eisenhauer -- Associated Press

Governor Pataki Announces Major Grant for Ethanol Plant SUNY-ESF to work with Catalyst Renewables Corp., O’Brien & Gere, and New Energy Capital

12/20http://www.esf.edu/newspubs/news/2006/12.20.ethanolgrant.htm

New York Gov. George Pataki announced a $10.2 million grant to ESF and three commercial partners to develop the first biorefinery in the U.S. Pataki made the announcement Dec. 20 at a press conference on the ESF campus.ESF will work with Catalyst Renewables Corporation headquartered in Dallas, Tx., the engineering firm of O’Brien and Gere based in Syracuse, and New Energy Capital, one of the country’s leading energy venture capital companies, to develop

and construct a pilot commercial cellulosic ethanol facility in Lyonsdale, NY.

http://depts.washington.edu/nwfire/photoseries/; http://www.energy.state.or.us/biomass/Environment.htm

Abundance of WOOD with environmental problems and no economic return

Leaving wood standing in a

forest to sequester carbon is not an

option

In western US, 30% forests are overstocked, have insect (bark beetle) and fire risk problems; Washington, 20% forests have high fire risk

WESTERN BARK BEETLE REPORT April 22, 2002

USFS 2003 A strategic assessment of forest biomass and fuel reduction treatments in western states

US CO2 emissions –Forests sequestering less C from 1990 to 2002

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1990 1997 1999 2001

Total CO2 emissions

CO2 emit - Fossil fuelcombustion

CO2 sink - Land-usechange & forestry

19% of total12% of total

Source: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2002. EPA 430-R-04-003 (April 15, 2004)

Bio-oils

Chemicals

Methanol

Transportation Biofuels

Pharmaceutical Precursors

Electricity using Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Chemical Industry Precursors

DIVERSITY OF NON-TRADITIONAL PRODUCTS POSSIBLE FROM WOOD TODAY

Technological breakthroughs facilitating development of new

biomass energy systems

• New C neutral chemical transformation processes for biomass conversion to methanol

• Developments in hydrogen fuel cells

http://www2.whidbey.net/lighthook/woodgas.htm wood-gas powered VW Beetle

http://www.green-trust.org/woodgas.htm

G.B. Kobelt and fitted gas producer approx 1942-43; http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/bp/16/woodfire3.htm

circa 1943-44; http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/bp/16/woodfire3.htm

Wood fired gasifier in Australia; http://www.green-trust.org/woodgas.htm

The old wood gas car idea is live today using old technology in remote or rural areas

Hydrogen Fuel Cells (IdaTech.com)

• Clean energy - emitting < 1 ppm of CO & < 5 ppm of CO2 when run on MeOH

• Quiet & low heat signatures, 1 – 5 kW can be run indoors• Systems small - ranging in size of 100 W to 100kW • Estimate <3 dry tons wood needed to power an average Seattle

household for a month

100 w to 100kW IdaTech

Toshiba

Boeing News Now, March 27, 2007 6:30 am CT Casio

Hydrogen fuel cell generate electricity - methanol

Chemically sustainable, environmentally neutral transformation of wood

Thinned forest – small diameter

material removed

Methanol

Biofuels

Biofuels used for vehicles

Other products using methanol in

chemical industry

Old forest condition, environmental services

Not that kind of Alcohol

Methanol production - municipal

biomass (gallons X 1,000,000/yr)

[% gasoline consumed

substituted by methanol]

Methanol production - ag biomass (gal X 1,000,000/yr)

[% gasoline consumed

substituted by methanol]

Methanol production - forest biomass (gal X

1,000,000/yr)[% gasoline consumed

substituted by methanol]

Annual % gasoline

consumed substituted by

methanol from municipal, agriculture,

forest biomass

274 - 549[10 – 20]

200 – 400[7 – 14]

674 – 1,349[24 – 48]

41 – 82

Electricity production - municipal biomass(MWh x 1,000/yr)

[Electricity consumed by bio-methanol and

fuel cells, %]

Annual electricity production - ag

biomass (MWh x 1,000)

[Electricity consumed by bio-methanol and fuel

cells, %]

Annual electricity production- forest biomass

(MWh x 1,000)[Electricity consumed by

bio-methanol and fuel cells, %]

Range of annual

electricity consumed by bio-methanol and fuel cells

(%)

1,098– 2,196[1 – 3]

800 – 1,600[1 – 2]

2,698 – 5,397[4 – 7]

6 – 12

WA

Substituting municipal bio-

methanol for natural gas-methanol and

fuel cells to produce electricity

- Annual % state C emissions avoided

Substituting ag bio-methanol for natural

gas-methanol and fuel cells to produce

electricity- Annual % state C emissions avoided

Substituting forest bio-methanol for

natural gas-methanol and fuel cells to produce

electricity- Annual % state C emissions avoided

All Biomass- Annual % state

C emissions avoided

4.8 – 9.5 3.3 – 6.6 11.2 – 22.2 19 – 38

Substituting municipal biomass-

methanol for gasoline

- Annual % state C emissions

avoided

Substituting agricultural wastes

methanol for gasoline

- Annual % state C emissions avoided

Substituting forests biomass-

methanol for gasoline

- Annual % state C emissions

avoided

Substituting methanol from

municipal, agriculture and forests biomass

for gasoline- Annual % state

C emissions avoided

4.3 – 8.7 3.0 – 6.0 10.1 – 20.2 17 – 35

WA -

C emissions avoided

Compares fuel costs and the greenhouse gas emissions of the fuelsSchindler J, R Wurster, M Zerta, V Blandow and W Zittel. 2006. Where will the energy for hydrogen production come from? – Status and alternatives. European Hydrogen Association, Ludwig-Bolkow-Systemtechnik GmbH (LBST), Ottobrunn, Germany

RME=Raps-methyl-ester (biodiesel)

LH2=liquid H

CGH2=compressed H

SOT=solarthermal power production

biodiesel

Ethanol

methanol

Fuel cost per litre

CO2 released

Casio Fuel Cell Powered Notebook computer fueled by methanol

-runs computer 20 hrs on one refueling

Toshiba fuel cell power MP3 player on methanol – 20 hrs power digital music player

THE FUTURE: SUPPLY

METHANOL TO SMALL

APPLIANCES POWERED BY FUEL CELLS

Small appliances – “nearly every major electronics manufacturer plans to release portable electronics powered by methanol fuel cells within the next two years” (Allen M. How far can you drive on bushel of corn? Popular Mechanics, May 2006)

Methanol and Vehicles

• Methanol’s power, performance and safety made it fuel of choice for Indianapolis 500 race cars since 1965

• Since 1978, California Energy Commission with Chrysler, Ford Motor Co, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo have sponsored M85 powered vehicles . Two American auto companies offered fuel-flexible vehicles for sale to public in 1995 model year but only one in 1996

April 1996 California Energy Commission. The ABCs of AFVs – A Guide to Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Ford Rolls out Ethanol-Fueled Hybrid Demo Fleet US: January 24, 2007

WASHINGTON - Ford Motor Co. said on Tuesday it would deliver a demonstration fleet of 20 ethanol-fueled hybrid vehicles to six US states this spring.

The Ford Escape Hybrid E85 is capable of operating on blends of fuel containing as much as 85 percent ethanol, the company said in a statement released at the Washington Auto Show. Ethanol is distilled from corn or other plant material and blended with gasoline for motor fuel.

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

BIOFUELS: RENEWABLE ENERGY OR ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER IN THE MAKING?

http://www.greenfuels.org/biodiesel/i/banner.jpg‘In the absence of governmental constraints, the rising price of oil could quickly become the leading threat to biodiversity, ensuring that the wave of extinctions now under way does indeed become the sixth great extinction.’Lester Brown (Director of the Worldwatch Institute) about the growth of biofuels

Peat and forest fires on Borneo-mostly set by oil plantation ownershttp://earthhopenetwork.net/brazil_deforestation.jpg

http://www.esa.int/images/Fire72_M.jpg

Amazon destruction to grow soya

US Corn and cattle prices have gone up as compete for corn

Wastes News 5/20/07.

Study warns U.S. shouldn't rely too much on corn ethanol

May 18 -- Meat and poultry producers are warning the United States is near the tipping point of over-relying on corn-based ethanol, which will raise the nation´s retail food prices and erode meat and grain exports.

Biomass has Future in Ethanol, but Hurdles Loom “The study, released by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, said farmers could use biomass -- made by using waste from corn, wheat and other crops -- to produce

ethanol. But removing it from their land would require farmers to adopt new land management practices and a costly upfront investment of about US$100,000 in new planting equipment.

Corn prices surged to a 10-year high this month amid concerns the 10.7-billion-bushel US crop in 2006 would not be enough to offset demand from ethanol, which uses 20 percent of the crop.”

Story by Christopher Doering Story Date: 22/11/2006, Reuters News Service

Mexico makes a move to flatten tortilla crisis. By Peter Orsi. The Associated Press. Seattle Times. Saturday, January 13, 2007. A6 News.

“A tortilla maker at work in Mexico City. The cost of tortillas has jumped nearly 14 percent over the past year.”

GREGORY BULL / AP

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=tortillas13&date=20070113&query=Mexico+makes+a+move+to+flatten+tortilla+crisis

President “signed accord with businesses to curb soaring tortilla prices and protect Mexico’s poor from speculative

sellers and a surge in the cost of corn driven by the U.S. ethanol industry.”Mexico moves to control tortilla

prices. By Joan Grillo, the

Associated Press, The Seattle Times January 19, 2007 A12 News

Key to Sustainable Use and Keeping Forests from Disappearing

Using Wood Non-traditionally for alternative renewable energy, fuels

Factors Driving the use of Biomass in Non-traditional Ways

A. Climate change, increased emissions global greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels

B. Dependence on external fuel sources – oil

C. Increased use of renewable resources

D. Too dependent on less available wood for energy in the developing world

Placing Biomass in the Context of Global Resource Uses, Energy Production and Climate Change