Estimating the opportunity costs of activities that cause degradation in tropical dry forest: Implications for REDD+

Borrego, Armonía; Skutsch, Margaret

doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.02.005

Cited by 52 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Then the farmer makes planting holes using a wooden stick with an iron blade (coa), into which the maize seeds are placed, often in combination with beans and squash. Shifting cultivation plots are usually used to produce maize for two years and then left fallow for periods ranging from 5 to 10 years, (Chávez 1983;Gerritsen 2002;Borrego and Skutsch 2014). Cattle are frequently allowed to graze on the area during the fallow, and occasionally the cleared areas are turned into permanent pastures and never return to cultivation.…”

Section: Shifting Cultivation In Mexicomentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon emissions from dryland shifting cultivation: a case study of Mexican tropical dry forest

Salinas-Melgoza¹,

Skutsch²,

Lovett³

et al. 2017

Silva Fenn.

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Highlights• Under REDD+, shifting cultivation should be considered degradation rather than deforestation.• Carbon stocks in old fallows (>20 years) are higher than those in old growth forests which have never been used for shifting cultivation.• Extending length of fallows increases rates of carbon emissions.• Shortened fallow cycles result in higher carbon stocks and lower emissions at the landscape level.• Cycle lengths could be optimized for carbon sequestration in a land sharing approach. AbstractThe article considers the relation of shifting cultivation to deforestation and degradation, and hence its impacts in terms of carbon emissions and sequestration potential. There is a need to understand these relationships better in the context of international policy on Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The article reviews the way in which shifting cultivation has been incorporated in global and national estimations of carbon emissions, and assembles the available information on shifting cultivation in Tropical Dry Forests (TDF) in Mexico, where it is widely practiced. It then takes the case of two villages, Tonaya and El Temazcal, which lie within the basin of the River Ayuquila in Jalisco, Mexico. Field data for the typical carbon stocks and fluxes associated with shifting cultivation are compared with stocks and fluxes associated with more intensive agricultural production in the same dry tropical forest area to highlight the carbon sequestration dynamics associated with the shortening and potential lengthening of the fallow cycles. The biomass density in the shifting cultivation system observed can reach levels similar to that of old growth forests, with old fallows (>20 years) having higher carbon stocks than old growth forests. Per Mg of maize produced, the biomass-related emissions from shifting cultivation in the traditional 12 year cycle are about three times those from permanent cultivation. We did not, however, take into account the additional emissions from inputs that result from the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the case of permanent agriculture. Shortening of the fallow cycle, which is occurring in the study area as a result of government subsidies, results in higher remaining stocks of carbon and lower emissions at the landscape level.

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Section: Shifting Cultivation In Mexicomentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon emissions from dryland shifting cultivation: a case study of Mexican tropical dry forest

Salinas-Melgoza¹,

Skutsch²,

Lovett³

et al. 2017

Silva Fenn.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…It has also been noted that opportunity costs vary greatly over space and are usually highest for large landowners in areas of greatest deforestation threat [24,28,29], which raises the question of social equity in targeting. Borrego and Skutsch [30] have shown that the opportunity costs of shifting cultivation vary by a factor of 5 within one community, as richer individuals with larger parcels invest more and get much higher returns. A policy of paying the poorer members of the community at a lower rate than the richer members is not likely to be popular.…”

Section: The Difference Between Output-based and Input-based Systems mentioning

confidence: 99%

Options for a National Framework for Benefit Distribution and Their Relation to Community-Based and National REDD+ Monitoring

Skutsch

Turnhout

Vijge

et al. 2014

Forests

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Abstract:Monitoring is a central element in the implementation of national REDD+ and may be essential in providing the data needed to support benefit distribution. We discuss the options for benefit sharing systems in terms of technical feasibility and political acceptability in respect of equity considerations, and the kind of data that would be needed for the different options. We contrast output-based distribution systems, in which rewards are distributed according to performance measured in terms of carbon impacts, with input-based systems in which performance is measured in term of compliance with prescribed REDD+ activities. Output-based systems, which would require regular community OPEN ACCESSForests 2014, 5 1597 carbon inventories to produce Tier 3 data locally, face various challenges particularly for the case of assessing avoided deforestation, and they may not be perceived as equitable. Input-based systems would require data on activities undertaken rather than change in stocks; this information could come from community-acquired data. We also consider how community monitored data could support national forest monitoring systems and the further development of national REDD+.

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“…Nevertheless, cattle ranching provides very low economic benefits in this area and can even cause economic losses to the peasants (Salmerón 2015). Continued cattle ranching may be sustained by the rationale that livestock is perceived as a "savings account," a useful source of ready cash in the case of financial emergencies (IFAD 2004, Gerritsen et al 2007, Casas et al 2008, or by some kind of historical "inertia" following decades of governmental programs promoting livestock production (Maass et al 2005, Borrego andSkutsch 2014) and for cultural reasons related to social prestige or respect for being "rancheros" (Shadow 2002, Gerritsen et al 2007). The result is that, as deforestation has advanced, the public benefit of C storage has been lost, sometimes without obtaining the private benefit of economic returns from livestock production.…”

Section: Efficiency Frontiers At Two Spatial Scalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, secondary forests are commonly cleared again for pasture establishment. Financial mechanisms like REDD+, which explicitly account for C savings and biodiversity benefits from deforestation avoidance (Phelps et al 2012), could encourage secondary forest regrowth by providing an alternative household income (Borrego and Skutsch 2014).…”

Section: Limits To Current Service Supplymentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-offs between ecosystem services and alternative pathways toward sustainability in a tropical dry forest region

Mora¹,

Balvanera²,

Garcı́a-Frapolli³

et al. 2016

E&S

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. 2016. Trade-offs between ecosystem services and alternative pathways toward sustainability in a tropical dry forest region. Ecology and Society 21 (4) ABSTRACT. The design of strategies aimed at sustainable resource management requires an understanding of the trade-offs between the ecosystem services at stake, to determine appropriate ways in which to navigate them. We assess trade-offs between forage production for cattle ranching and the maintenance of carbon stocks or tree diversity in a Mexican tropical dry forest. Trade-offs between pairs of services were assessed by identifying their efficiency frontiers at both site and landscape scales. We also estimated service outcomes under current and hypothetical land-management conditions. We found stark trade-offs between fodder and carbon stocks and between fodder and tree species richness at the site scale. At the landscape scale, the efficiency frontier was concave, with a much less pronounced trade-off in the fodder-species richness case. Our estimates of current service supply levels showed a reduction of 18-21% for C stock and 41-43% for fodder biomass, relative to the maximum feasible values along the efficiency frontier. Choice of the optimum management strategy to reduce such inefficiency depended on deforestation level: secondary forest regeneration was most suitable when deforestation is low, whereas increased fodder productivity in the pastures is best when deforestation is high. Pasture enrichment with forage trees and secondary forest growth are potential management alternatives for achieving sustainability given the range of enabling ecological factors and to balance ecological and social sustainability given the requirements and preferences of local stakeholders. Given that analogous trade-offs are found across the tropics, this work contributes to reconciling tropical forest maintenance and its use for sustainable rural livelihoods.

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Estimating the opportunity costs of activities that cause degradation in tropical dry forest: Implications for REDD+

Cited by 52 publications

References 25 publications

Carbon emissions from dryland shifting cultivation: a case study of Mexican tropical dry forest

Carbon emissions from dryland shifting cultivation: a case study of Mexican tropical dry forest

Options for a National Framework for Benefit Distribution and Their Relation to Community-Based and National REDD+ Monitoring

Trade-offs between ecosystem services and alternative pathways toward sustainability in a tropical dry forest region

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