Coping with complexity: Designing low-impact forest bioenergy systems using an adaptive forest management framework and other sustainable forest management tools

Abstract

Forest fuel production is a growing industry in Canada and elsewhere, as governments strive to increase energy security and find alternatives to the use of fossil fuels. While forest bioenergy can provide environmental benefits such as renewability and carbon emissions reductions, the industry can also pose environmental risks through increasing pressure on forest resources. Because large-scale forest bioenergy production is relatively new to Canada, much is still unknown about how such an industry might evolve and impact forest ecosystems. These unknowns, along with the cross-sectoral, multistakeholder nature of the industry, make planning for sustainable forest bioenergy systems quite challenging. In this paper, we introduce some of the challenges to creating sustainable systems, and we discuss how sustainable forest management frameworks like Adaptive Forest Management and Sustainable Forest Management Certification can help to meet these challenges. We also discuss the importance of technology transfer to ensuring that the best available knowledge forms the basis for effective standards and management plans. Sustainable forest management frameworks can help to organize, distil and communicate the growing body of research on forest bioenergy production, link policy to practice through the creation of standards, and incorporate provisions for continual learning and system adaptation, all of which are key to the long-term sustainability of the rapidly evolving forest bioenergy sector.Key words: bioenergy, sustainable forest management frameworks, adaptive forest management, certification, standards, technology transfer RÉSUMÉ La production de carburant à partir des forêts constitue une industrie en croissance au Canada et ailleurs dans le monde, étant donné que les gouvernements cherchent à accroître le niveau de sécurité énergétique et à trouver des alternatives à l'utilisation des combustibles fossiles. Même si la bioénergie forestière peut comporter des bénéfices environnementaux du fait qu' elle est renouvelable et qu' elle peut réduire les émissions de carbone, l'industrie peut également engendrer des risques environnementaux suite à l'accroissement de la pression sur les ressources forestières. Compte tenu que la production à grande échelle de bioénergie forestière demeure une chose relativement nouvelle au Canada, il y a beaucoup d'inconnues entourant l' évolution de cette industrie et sur ce que seront ses impacts sur les écosystèmes forestiers. Ces inconnues, en plus de la nature intersectorielle et multi-intervenants de l'industrie, font en sorte que la planification des systèmes durables de bioénergie forestière représente tout un défi. Dans cet article, nous introduisons certains des défis reliés à la création de systèmes durables et nous discutons de la façon selon laquelle les cadres de référence d'aménage-ment forestier durable comme l'aménagement forestier adaptatif et la certification de l'aménagement forestier durable peuvent aider à relever ces défis. Nous discutons également de l'imp...

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