Public Attitudes Toward Regulatory and Incentive Approaches to Private Forests: An Assessment and Comparison of Resident Segments in Georgia, USA

Poudyal, Neelam C.; Moore, Rebecca; Young, Timothy M.

doi:10.5849/forsci.14-122

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Despite its high potential, timber harvest deferment may be a challenging NCS to implement given current socio-economic realities within the state [136][137][138][139][140]. Analyses have suggested that timber deferment equivalent to these levels may be possible under increased carbon pricing (e.g., $50 to $60 per tCO2e; [132,141,142]) but the price of carbon on the voluntary and compliance markets is well below economic returns available from harvest [132].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Potential greenhouse gas reductions from Natural Climate Solutions in Oregon, USA

et al. 2020

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Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) are causing global climate change and decreasing the stability of the climate system. Long-term solutions to climate change will require reduction in GHG emissions as well as the removal of large quantities of GHGs from the atmosphere. Natural climate solutions (NCS), i.e., changes in land management, ecosystem restoration, and avoided conversion of habitats, have substantial potential to meet global and national greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets and contribute to the global drawdown of GHGs. However, the relative role of NCS to contribute to GHG reduction at subnational scales is not well known. We examined the potential for 12 NCS activities on natural and working lands in Oregon, USA to reduce GHG emissions in the context of the state's climate mitigation goals. We evaluated three alternative scenarios wherein NCS implementation increased across the applicable private or public land base, depending on the activity, and estimated the annual GHG reduction in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO 2 e) attributable to NCS from 2020 to 2050. We found that NCS within Oregon could contribute annual GHG emission reductions of 2.7 to 8.3 MMT CO 2 e by 2035 and 2.9 to 9.8 MMT CO 2 e by 2050. Changes in forest-based activities including deferred timber harvest, riparian reforestation, and replanting after wildfires contributed most to potential GHG reductions (76 to 94% of the overall annual reductions), followed by changes to agricultural management through no-till, cover crops, and nitrogen management (3 to 15% of overall annual reductions). GHG reduction benefits are relatively high per unit area for avoided conversion of forests (125-400 MT CO 2 e ha-1). However, the existing land use policy in Oregon limits the current geographic extent of active conversion of natural lands and thus, avoided conversions results in modest overall potential GHG reduction benefits (i.e., less than 5% of the overall annual reductions). Tidal wetland restoration, which has high per unit area carbon sequestration benefits (8.8 MT CO 2 e ha-1 yr-1), also has limited possible geographic extent resulting in low potential (< 1%) of state-level GHG reduction contributions. However, cobenefits such as improved habitat and water quality delivered by restoration NCS pathways are substantial. Ultimately, reducing GHG emissions and increasing carbon sequestration to combat climate change will require actions across multiple sectors. We demonstrate that

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Potential greenhouse gas reductions from Natural Climate Solutions in Oregon, USA

et al. 2020

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“…Instead, they supported strategies that encouraged collaboration between government and private forest owners (e.g., associations, best management practices). This type of concern was also found in a related study conducted in Georgia where landowners expressed that controlling their management practices was important for determining their landscape values and sense of place [77]. Attitudes towards authority tools and incentives were generally less positive; however, there was greater tolerance among respondents in the southeast when compared to nationwide respondents in Schaaf et al [40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Public Attitudes about Private Forest Management and Government Involvement in the Southeastern United States

Kreye

Rimsaite

Adams

2019

Forests

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In the southern United States the country’s top wood-producing region, factors such as intergenerational land transfer and population spillover from urban areas have resulted in forestland conversion and reduced production of critical ecosystem services associated with forest systems (e.g., timber, clean water supply, wildlife habitat). Public attitudes, which drive forestland policy prescriptions, may also be evolving due to the way people experience and perceive forests (e.g., recreation), and think about the role of government in private forest decisions. These changes have significant implications for forestland management and the forest-based economy, both locally and globally. We present the results of a regional survey (n = 1669) of residents in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, which assessed attitudes toward timber harvesting and government involvement on private lands. We found significant public support for timber harvesting with a somewhat stronger focus on ecosystem maintenance compared to timber production, and strong support for policies that empower landowners (e.g., assistance programs) over regulatory strategies. We conclude that existing government policies and programs are failing to help landowners meet public demand for ecosystem service provision on private forest lands in the southeastern US. Public attitudes appear conducive to innovative policy strategies such as market-based solutions and nudges. Perceptions of forest health will likely be the metric the public and landowners will use in assessing the value of policy alternatives, in addition to economic impact. Public ignorance and indifference towards forest management also appear to be growing.

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“…A recent Dutch study (Kotrba 2017) found that only 5% of small forest owners in the United States are currently certified by one of the four primary U.S. forest certification programs, namely the Forest Stewardship Council, the American Tree Farm System, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. Although certification programs can help SE US pellet mills satisfy the legal requirements of EU receiving countries, becoming formally certified under one or more of these programs often is too costly or time consuming for many of the small family forest owners who manage > 80% of SE US timberland (Malmsheimer and Fernholz 2015, Poudyal et al 2015, Olesen et al 2016. A recent survey of residents in the state of Georgia found that they are more supportive of environmental management incentives than requirements (Poudyal et al 2015).…”

Section: Agents: Primary Facilitating and Constrainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although certification programs can help SE US pellet mills satisfy the legal requirements of EU receiving countries, becoming formally certified under one or more of these programs often is too costly or time consuming for many of the small family forest owners who manage > 80% of SE US timberland (Malmsheimer and Fernholz 2015, Poudyal et al 2015, Olesen et al 2016. A recent survey of residents in the state of Georgia found that they are more supportive of environmental management incentives than requirements (Poudyal et al 2015).…”

Section: Agents: Primary Facilitating and Constrainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transatlantic wood pellet trade demonstrates telecoupled benefits

Parish¹,

Herzberger²,

Phifer³

et al. 2018

E&S

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ABSTRACT. European demand for renewable energy resources has led to rapidly increasing transatlantic exports of wood pellets from the southeastern United States (SE US) since 2009. Disagreements have arisen over the global greenhouse gas reductions associated with replacing coal with wood, and groups on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean have raised concerns that increasing biomass exports might negatively affect SE US forests and the ecosystem services they provide. We use the telecoupling framework to test assertions that the intended benefits of the wood pellet trade for Europe might be offset by negative consequences in the SE US. Through a review of current literature and available data sets, we characterize the observed and potential changes in the environmental, social, and economic components of the sending and receiving regions to assess the overall sustainability of this renewable energy system. We conclude that the observed transatlantic wood pellet trade is an example of a mutually beneficial telecoupled system with the potential to provide environmental and socioeconomic benefits in both the SE US and Europe despite some negative effects on the coal industry. We recommend continued monitoring of this telecoupled system to quantify the environmental, social, and economic interactions and effects in the sending, receiving, and spillover systems over time so that evidence-based policy decisions can be made with regard to the sustainability of this renewable energy pathway.

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Public Attitudes Toward Regulatory and Incentive Approaches to Private Forests: An Assessment and Comparison of Resident Segments in Georgia, USA

Cited by 12 publications

References 31 publications

Potential greenhouse gas reductions from Natural Climate Solutions in Oregon, USA

Potential greenhouse gas reductions from Natural Climate Solutions in Oregon, USA

Public Attitudes about Private Forest Management and Government Involvement in the Southeastern United States

Transatlantic wood pellet trade demonstrates telecoupled benefits

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