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Forests
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Methods and Models to Assess Forest Ecosystem Services
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Methods and Models to Assess Forest Ecosystem Services

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Economics, Policy, and Social Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2021) | Viewed by 17268

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Anne Stenger-Letheux

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
BETA, INRAE, CNRS and University of Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France
Interests: environmental economics; forest economics; behavioral economics; agricultural economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests provide a range of goods and services. Some are valued by existing markets and others, like "public goods" or "common-pool resources", are not, and so land owners are not rewarded for their provisions by the markets (Thorsen et al. 2014). The regulatory framework of forest policies (e.g., EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, EU 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Framework) influences the provision of forest goods and services. In recent years, there have been several initiatives to increase society’s awareness of ecosystem services and to discuss mechanisms to pay for sustaining them. Payments for ecosystem services (PES) have been identified as an important mechanism to close the gap between the demands of society and service providers (Prokofieva et al. 2012, DG Environment 2012). Whichever mechanism or business model is adopted, an important element for a functioning PES approach is that those who pay are aware that they are paying for an ecosystem service that is valuable to them and those who receive the payments engage in management activities that secure the supply of ecosystem services. The objectives of this issue are to better analyze public and private financing mechanisms for the enhanced provision of these forest externalities, develop options for market-based mechanisms, present best practice examples, and prepare strategies and guidelines for policy-makers in order to implement new mechanisms and to foster the provisioning of ES. In particular, one interesting focus can be to develop novel public policies, business models, and mechanisms to “internalize” the proven socioeconomic value of forest ecosystem services (“externalities”) and contribute to their sustainable supply, considering the multitude of ecosystem services of forests. Another one is to develop mechanisms for the payment of ecosystem services at the appropriate level of forest management and administration and combine public policy tools with business models. This issue will focus on the interface between management planning and environmental economics and policy analysis using existing and novel tools and models to address the supply of a wide range of ecosystem services. Identifying the most suitable business models for a given socioeconomic, ecological, and political situation and fostering a sustainable management remains an ambitious goal.

Dr. Anne Stenger
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Forest ecosystem services
  • FES and management planning
  • FES and public policy/business models
  • Indicators for FES and spatial data
  • Innovative business models
  • Methods and models to assess forest ecosystem services
  • Land owners attitudes regarding the provision of FES
  • Society’s perception of FES

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 4952 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services in Protecting Forests in Dak Lak Province, Vietnam
by Thu Thuy Pham, Thi Thanh Thuy Le, Hoa Nie Kdam Tuyet, Van Trương Pham, Phuong Hanh Nie Kdam Tran, Trung Dung Tran, Ngoc My Hoa Tran, Thi Thuy Anh Nguyen and Thi Van Anh Nguyen
Forests 2021, 12(10), 1383; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12101383 - 11 Oct 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4084
Abstract
Vietnam’s Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services (PFES) scheme has the goal of protecting remaining natural forests by providing financial support to people involved in forest protection. However, studying the case of Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam shows that [...] Read more.
Vietnam’s Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services (PFES) scheme has the goal of protecting remaining natural forests by providing financial support to people involved in forest protection. However, studying the case of Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam shows that even after eight years of PFES implementation, achieving this goal remains a challenge. Although PFES does provide a stable income source and higher payments than state forest protection programs, enables the mobilization of more personnel resources for patrolling forest and relieves a great burden on the state budget in terms of investment in forest protection and development, forest cover in Dak Lak province is still decreasing, mainly due to conversion for other land uses, especially commercial agricultural and industrial crops. These drivers are rooted in national socio-economic planning aimed at boosting economic growth and in local people’s need to sustain their livelihoods. In addition, our paper shows that illegal logging is still widespread in Dak Lak. Weak law enforcement in areas of forest managed by state forest authorities and state companies also contributes to deforestation. However, these drivers are neither fully recognized nor addressed, and instead, the blame for deforestation is laid on local communities. PFES alone cannot protect forests in Dak Lak province. It needs to be backed up by political commitment to address underlying drivers of deforestation, improved social programs to help local people diversify their income sources and clarity over land use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Models to Assess Forest Ecosystem Services)
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19 pages, 1276 KiB  
Article
Biodiversity Protection in Private Forests: PES Schemes, Institutions and Prosocial Behavior
by Jens Abildtrup, Anne Stenger, Francis de Morogues, Philippe Polomé, Marieke Blondet and Claude Michel
Forests 2021, 12(9), 1241; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091241 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2545
Abstract
The overall research question addresses the effectiveness of incentive mechanisms in poli -cies that enhance private forest owners’ biodiversity protection. In particular, the paper focuses on the link between forest owners’ motivations, incentives, and institutions, and questions the incentives of the current biodiversity [...] Read more.
The overall research question addresses the effectiveness of incentive mechanisms in poli -cies that enhance private forest owners’ biodiversity protection. In particular, the paper focuses on the link between forest owners’ motivations, incentives, and institutions, and questions the incentives of the current biodiversity protection policies. Our hypothesis is that the purely monetary nature of the incentives can cause a “crowding out effect”, i.e., forest owners may reduce their voluntary contribution to biodiversity protection that is driven by prosocial motivations (altruism, self-image, etc.). With this in mind, as well as the knowledge acquired via this project about forest owners’ motivations, we looked for the most effective combinations of “incentive mechanisms” (monetary and non-monetary) and “institutions” (national and local authorities, NGOs, etc.) to encourage forest owners to adopt biodiversity protection measures in their forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Models to Assess Forest Ecosystem Services)
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23 pages, 2507 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Payment for Forest Environmental Services in Cat Tien National Park
by Thuy T. Pham, Thao D. Nguyen, Chi T. L. Dao, Long T. Hoang, Luong H. Pham, Long T. Nguyen and Bien K. Tran
Forests 2021, 12(7), 921; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12070921 - 15 Jul 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3375
Abstract
This paper assesses the impacts of Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam. We analyze the impacts and additionality of PFES on local livelihoods by comparing the socio-economic situations in four pairs of villages before and after its [...] Read more.
This paper assesses the impacts of Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam. We analyze the impacts and additionality of PFES on local livelihoods by comparing the socio-economic situations in four pairs of villages before and after its implementation, and between places where PFES is and is not applied. In total, 149 people participated in focus group discussions, while 244 households (123 in areas with PFES and 121 in areas without) took part in household surveys. Our research shows that 92% of the people interviewed are from ethnic minorities participating and benefiting directly from PFES. In villages with PFES, the numbers of participating households ranged from 45% to 88% of all poor households in those villages. Of the poor households participating in PFES in the studied villages, 22% have no source of cash income other than their forest protection contracts, while 81.4% have escaped poverty, based on self-defined poverty criteria, through additional income from forest protection. Since the implementation of PFES, the area of forests allocated for community and household management is estimated to be three to 3.64 times higher than it had been previously. Although the number of communities under PFES contracts has not changed, the number of households participating in forest protection contracts is now much lower than before PFES started. On average, PFES contributes 16% to 74% of total household income in villages with PFES. Incomes in places with PFES are significantly higher than in places without. Although our research demonstrates immediate positive socio-economic impacts on livelihoods, it also highlights weaknesses in the current monitoring and evaluation system and a lack of reliable data for measuring PFES impacts in Cat Tien National Park. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Models to Assess Forest Ecosystem Services)
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12 pages, 714 KiB  
Article
Models Explaining the Levels of Forest Environmental Taxes and Other PES Schemes in Japan
by Takuya Takahashi and Katsuya Tanaka
Forests 2021, 12(6), 685; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12060685 - 27 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2740
Abstract
Between 2003 and April 2016, 37 of 47 prefectures (i.e., sub-national local governmental units) introduced forest environmental taxes—local payment for environmental services (PES) schemes. These introductions are unique historical natural experiments, in which local governments made their own political decisions considering multiple factors. [...] Read more.
Between 2003 and April 2016, 37 of 47 prefectures (i.e., sub-national local governmental units) introduced forest environmental taxes—local payment for environmental services (PES) schemes. These introductions are unique historical natural experiments, in which local governments made their own political decisions considering multiple factors. This study empirically evaluates models that explain normalized expenditures from forest environmental taxes as well as other PES schemes (subsidies for enhancing forests’ and mountain villages’ multifunction, and green donation) and traditional forestry budgets for Japan’s 47 prefectures based on the median voter model. Results demonstrate that the median voter model can particularly explain forest environmental taxes and forestry budgets. Specifically, the past incidence of droughts and landslides is positively correlated with the levels of forest environmental taxes. The higher the number of municipalities in a prefecture, the lower the amount of forest environmental tax spent on forests. Moreover, the number of forest volunteering groups, possibly an indicator of social capital in the forest sectors, had strong positive correlations with the levels of forest environmental taxes and forestry budgets. Other PES schemes and forestry budgets had unique patterns of correlations with the examined factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Models to Assess Forest Ecosystem Services)

Review

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37 pages, 2265 KiB  
Review
Ecosystem Services Auctions: The Last Decade of Research
by Logan Robert Bingham, Riccardo Da Re and José G. Borges
Forests 2021, 12(5), 578; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12050578 - 6 May 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3340
Abstract
Auctions offer potential cost-effectiveness improvements over other mechanisms for payments for ecosystem services (PES) contract allocation. However, evidence-based guidance for matching design to application is scarce and research priorities are unclear. To take stock of the current state of the art, we conducted [...] Read more.
Auctions offer potential cost-effectiveness improvements over other mechanisms for payments for ecosystem services (PES) contract allocation. However, evidence-based guidance for matching design to application is scarce and research priorities are unclear. To take stock of the current state of the art, we conducted a systematic review and thematic content analysis of 56 peer-reviewed journal articles discussing ES auctions published in the last decade. Auctions were approached from three overlapping perspectives: mechanism design, PES, and policy analysis. Five major themes emerged: (1) performance, including measures like cost-effectiveness and PES criteria like additionality; (2) information dynamics like price discovery and communication effects; (3) design innovations like risk-integrating and spatially coordinated mechanisms; (4) contextual variables like policy context and cultural values; and (5) participation factors. Additional attention from policymakers and continued efforts to coordinate research in this diverse and interdisciplinary subfield may be beneficial. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Models to Assess Forest Ecosystem Services)
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