Tropical Forests and Climate Change Mitigation: The Global Potential and Cases from the Philippines

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC Fourth Assessment report has highlighted the role of tropical forests in mitigating climate change. Deforestation, especially in tropical countries, contributes about 20 percent to total global greenhouse gas emissions. Development projects geared to reduce the rate of deforestation and forest degradation, and to establish forest plantations will help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and significantly contribute to mitigating climate change. Three cases of forestry carbon projects underway in the Philippines are presented to illustrate the constraints facing project developers in undertaking these climate change mitigation efforts. Among the key lessons identified are: the difficulty in establishing land eligibility, the need for partners or buyers from industrialized countries to shoulder the transaction costs, and the crucial role of the local communities, including indigenous peoples, in the development effort.

Which biofuel market does the ethanol tariff protect? Implications for social welfare and GHG emissions

The ethanol tariff is one of the instruments used by the government to encourage domestic ethanol production. Existing literature analyzing the market and welfare effects of the US ethanol tariff has concluded that removing the tariff would increase social surplus and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, due to the replacement of corn ethanol with lower cost and lower GHG intensive sugarcane ethanol. This paper re-examines these findings in the presence of a domestic cellulosic ethanol industry. The current RFS mandate requires 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuel, a portion of which could be met by any non-starch based biofuel that reduces emissions by at least 50% compared to an energy equivalent amount of gasoline. Sugarcane ethanol has been classified as an advanced biofuel, and competes for market share with domestic advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol. In addition, it also competes with corn ethanol for market share in the non-advanced biofuel market. The dual market for sugarcane ethanol raises the question of which domestic biofuel market the tariff protects. Our results show that the effect of removing the tariff on social welfare and GHG emissions is ambiguous and depends on which biofuel market the tariff is protecting. If the tariff protects the corn ethanol market, its removal increases welfare and GHG emissions. However, if the tariff protects the cellulosic ethanol market, removing the tariff could increase emissions. Whether the tariff protects either the corn ethanol or cellulosic ethanol market, or both depends on the relative costs and supply elasticities of the three types of biofuel. In general, the removal of the tariff leads to an increase in social surplus, although in some cases, such as when the excess supply elasticity of sugarcane ethanol is not very elastic, net welfare could decrease when the tariff is removed. Removal of the tariff also reduces the share of domestically produced fuel, and this effect is greater when the tariff is protecting both the cellulosic and corn ethanol markets, i.e. the removal of the tariff causes a reduction in the production of both biofuels.biofuel, ethanol tariff, fuel externalities, Agricultural and Food Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q17, Q18, Q42,

Competitiveness of Brazilian Sugarcane Ethanol Compared to US Corn Ethanol

Corn ethanol produced in the US and sugarcane ethanol produced in Brazil are the world’s leading sources of biofuel. Current US biofuel policies create both incentives and constraints for the import of ethanol from Brazil, and together with the competitiveness and greenhouse gas intensity of sugarcane ethanol compared to corn ethanol will determine the extent of these imports. This study analyzes the supply-side determinants of this competitiveness and compares the greenhouse gas intensity of corn ethanol and sugarcane ethanol delivered to US ports. We find that while the cost of sugarcane ethanol production in Brazil is lower than that of corn ethanol in the US, the inclusion of transportation costs for the former and co-product credits for the latter changes their relative competitiveness. We also find that the relative cost of ethanol in the US and Brazil is highly sensitive to the prevailing exchange rate and prices of feedstocks. At an exchange rate of US$1 = R$2.15 the cost of corn ethanol is 15% lower than the delivered cost of sugarcane ethanol at a US port. Sugarcane ethanol has lower GHG emissions than corn ethanol but a price of over $113 per ton of CO2 is needed to affect competitiveness.economic competitiveness, renewable fuel standard, ethanol trade policy, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy,

Philippine forest ecosystems and climate change: Carbon stocks, rate of sequestration and the Kyoto Protocol

ropical forests have a valuable role in relation to climate change, being a source and sink of carbon. This paper reviews the state of knowledge on carbon stocks and rate of sequestration of various forest ecosystems in the Philippines. Carbon density ranges widely from less than 5 t/ha to more than 200 t/ha in the following order: old growth forests > secondary forest > mossy forest > mangrove forest > pine forest > tree plantation > agroforestry farm > brushlands > grasslands. Carbon sequestration ranges from less than 1 t/ha/yr in natural forests to more than 15 t/ha/yr in some tree plantations. Land-use change and forestry make an important contribution in the national emissions and sinks. It is estimated that Philippine forest lands are a net sink of greenhouse gasses (GHG) absorbing 107 Mt CO2 equivalent in 1998, about equal to the total Philippine GHG emissions. The clean development mechanism (CDM) presents a clear opportunity for Philippine forestry, if the threats are properly addressed

Carbon Storage and Sequestration Potential of Smallholder Tree Farms on Leyte Island, the Philippines

The role of terrestrial ecosystem in mitigating the effects of climate change entails the assessment of carbon stocks in various pools. This study predicts the carbon storage and sequestration potential of common tree farm species in Leyte Island, the Philippines. Data gathered from field measurements has been used to fit the Chapman-Richards growth function to predict the volume and biomass increment of Gmelina arborea and Swietenia macrophylla tree farms until they reached their respective rotation ages. Biomass and carbon density values are found to vary with age, type of species, site conditions and silvicultural treatments applied in the stand. Although differences in year when the trees were planted had no relation with its soil carbon storage, this pool had greater storage capacity than the above-ground biomass and roots. The average maximum growth was attained after 10 years for G. arborea and 13 years for S. macrophylla. Volume growth started to slow down when the tree species reached almost half its rotation age. The same trend was observed for the biomass and carbon density of each farm. The maximum mean annual increment of both species was attained before the expected maximum growth year. Growth increment decreased as the species reached their rotation age. The total C storage capacity of a 15-year-old G. arborea tree farm was estimated at 64 MgC/ha while that of a 25-year-old S. macrophylla was estimated at 159 MgC/ha. The average carbon sequestration rate of both species was 5 MgC/ha/yr which is lower than the average rate of most tree plantation species in the Philippines. With almost 2 M ha of grasslands in the country, establishing tree farms is a strategy to attain the national goal on sustainable development and at the same time reduce the greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions

Processi di globalizzazione e criminalità organizzata transnazionale

Questo saggio si propone di analizzare un problema di importanza crescente nella comunità internazionale, e cioè il rapporto che intercorre tra il processo di globalizzazione che sta investendo la nostra società e la criminalità organizzata transnazionale. La criminalità organizzata transnazionale si avvale di tutte le opportunità offerte dalla globalizzazione dei mercati e dalle nuove tecnologie di comunicazione e di gestione dell’informazione. La natura internazionale dell’attività di riciclaggio dei proventi di provenienza illecita, ad esempio, conferma che proprio questa attività criminale potrebbe risultare maggiormente avvantaggiata e rivoluzionata dallo sviluppo della tecnologia informatica e di comunicazione

Biomass Equations for Tropical Tree Plantation Species Using Secondary Data from the Philippines

Estimation of the magnitude of sinks and sources of carbon requires reliable estimates of the biomass of forests and of individual trees. Equations for predicting tree biomass have been developed using secondary data involving destructive sampling in plantations in several localities in the Philippines. These equations allow estimates of carbon sequestration to be made at much lower cost than would be incurred if detailed stand inventories were undertaken. The species included in the study reported here include Gmelina arborea, Paraserianthes falcataria, Swietenia macrophylla and Dipterocarp species in Mindanao; Leucaena leucocephala from Laguna, Antique, Cebu, Iloilo, Rizal, and Ilocos Sur, and Acacia mangium, Acacia auriculiformis and G. arborea in Leyte. Non-linear regression was used to derive species-specific, site-specific and generic equations between yield and diameter of the form y = aDb. Equations were evaluated based on the correlation coefficient, standard error of the estimate and residual plots. Regressions resulted to high r values (>0.90). In some cases, non-homogeneous variance was encountered. The generic equation improved estimates compared with models used in previous studies

Biomass equations for tropical tree plantation species in young stands using secondary data from the Philippines

Estimation of the magnitude of sinks and sources of carbon requires reliable estimates of the biomass of forests and of individual trees. Equations for predicting tree biomass have been developed using secondary data involving destructive sampling in plantations (mostly less than 10 years of age) in several localities in the Philippines. These equations allow estimates of carbon sequestration to be made at much lower cost than would be incurred if detailed stand inventories were undertaken. The species included in the study reported here include Gmelina arborea Roxb., Paraserianthes falcataria (L.) Nielsen Swietenia macrophylla King and Dipterocarp species in Mindanao, and Leucaena leucocephala de Wit from Laguna, Antique, Cebu, Iloilo, Rizal, and Ilocos Sur. Non-linear regression was used to derive species-specific, site-specific and generic equations between yield and diameter of the form y = D. Equations were evaluated based on the correlation coefficient, standard error of estimate and residual plots. Regressions resulted in high r values (>0.90). In some cases, non-homogeneous variance was encountered. The generic equation improved estimates compared with models used in previous studies

Boundary Issues in Music Therapy Internship Supervision

This study examined the prevalence and frequency of boundary issues within music therapy internship supervision. An online survey was used to obtain data from 243 board- certified music therapists who finished their training within the past five years. Participants were asked for demographic information, and asked to respond to questions about boundary issues and challenges during their internship. The study found a relatively low frequency of boundary issues; however some issues occurred more often than others, most notably social media connections and social outings beyond the internship site. Social media connections that were initiated by the supervisor, the gender mix of the intern and supervisor, and the level of education of the intern were factors correlated with higher incidence of boundary issues. This study may provide insight into the current state of supervisory relationships in internship supervision, and how to reduce the incidence of boundary issues. This may have a positive effect on the professional development of new music therapists