Climate mitigation projects under the bilateral and multilateral arrangements in the forestry sector could in some cases involve only transfer of funds from donor to host countries and agencies, without any external transfer of technology. Thus, diffusion of technology within countries becomes important, particularly in countries with large mitigation potential such as China, India, Indonesia (Sathaye and Ravindranath, 1998), Brazil (Fearnside, 1999) and Russia. The existing and emerging arrangements within countries need to be strengthened and reoriented. The current level of technology transfer in the forestry sector, particularly in developing countries, is marginal due to limitations of infrastructure and barriers in dissemination of R&D outputs. This has not led to enhanced productivity in either the state-managed or farmer-managed plantation forestry systems (Ravindranath and Hall, 1995). Forestry needs to be more productive and profitable to be attractive to private investors under some of the climate change mitigation programmes. Technology transfer within countries is very crucial in the forestry sector. The sources of technology or management practices for in-country technology transfer could be:
The main drivers or incentives for diffusing technologies, the key stakeholders,
the potential barriers, and measures to overcome the barriers vary with technologies
and some examples are listed in Table 12.3.
Table 12.3 Potential Drivers, Stakeholders, Pathways for Technology Transfer, Barriers to Transfer and Policies and Measures for Promoting Technology Transfer | |
CARBON CONSERVATION MEASURES | |
Drivers or incentives | Biodiversity conservation, watershed protection (national) Access to forest products, eco-tourism, rural job (individual) Carbon conservation, credits and financial rewards (global) |
Stakeholders | Indigenous communities National governments Conservation groups |
Barriers | Inadequate understanding of deforestation causes to propose effective
counter measures Potential loss of revenue for the government and timber logging companies Lack of institutions for enabling community participation Inadequate skills for managing Protected Area and SFM practices Inadequate financial incentives for forest conservation |
Policies and measures | Financial support for compensating loss to the government, particularly
to local communities Institutions for implementing policies for decreasing deforestation Institutions to facilitate community participation and management Training and capacity building for forest management, sustainable logging techniques. Protected Area management Education and awareness |
CARBON SEQUESTRATION | |
Incentives and driver | Income generation from agroforestry and reforestation (non timber products)
Watershed protection - if degraded lands used Potential financial rewards for carbon credits |
Stakeholders | Governments, Farmers and Companies, local communities, |
Barriers | Lack of funding and high cost of credit Regulations on land use Lack of technology for high growth rate Lack of policies to ensure sustainability of C sequestered Opportunity cost of land and current product flows |
Policies and measures | Financial support and mechanisms to compensate for opportunity lost Financial rewards for carbon sink creation Land tenure policies for sustaining carbon sink in selected categories of land |
SUBSTITUTION OF FOSSIL FUELS AND NON-SUSTAINABLY EXTRACTED TIMBER | |
Incentives and drivers | Profit motive from sale of wood to bioenergy utility and timber companies Potential financial rewards for pollution abatement and carbon credits Reclamation of degraded lands and meeting biomass needs |
Stakeholders | Farmers, bioenergy utility, plantation owners, paper mills and NGOs |
Barriers | Absence of policies to promote sustainable bioenergy or timber plantations
Subsidies to companies to extract timber from natural forests and to use fossil fuel energy Lack of finance and financing institutions Lack of access to technology; bioenergy and high yielding silvicultural practices and quality seedling |
Policies and measures | Financial incentives to sustainable timber producers and bioenergy utilities
Sale of technology Level playing field for bioenergy and sustainable timber |
The categories of technologies likely to be involved in technology transfer
within countries are: a) silvicultural practices for high yields, b) improved
genetic stock for planting, c) practices for sustainable forest management and
Protected Area Management, d) monitoring and verification of C flows in forestry
projects, e) efficiency improvements, f) utilisation and management of secondary
forests, and g) traditional forest management practices adopted by indigenous
communities. The policies and measures required for promoting technology transfer
within Annex I and non-Annex I countries are given in Tables
12.3. and 12.4.
Table 12.4 Technology Transfer Within Countries: Pathways, Policies, Programmes, and Measures |
POLICIES AND MEASURES |
GOVERNMENT INITIATED |
Financial incentives for companies importing sustainable timber Financial incentives and tax rebates to promote recycling Regulations restricting deforestation and policy changes reducing motivation for deforestation Regulations on timber extraction companies for adopting sustainable logging practices Awareness programmes regarding forest conservation Financial incentives for adopting sustainable forest management and reduced impact logging practices Capacity-building programmes for monitoring of carbon flows Funding capacity building in R&D institutions Promoting research to understand causes of deforestation Training in sustainable logging and management practices for forest department and timber logging companies Strengthening forest extension service Formation of Protected Areas Framework for policies on land and product tenures to promote community participation Linkage between research institutions and forest departments |
PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATED |
Timber certification Investment in forestry R&D Joint ventures between industry and forest departments for technology transfer Farmer and industry partnership Financial incentives; tax incentives, low cost credit to farmers for raising commercial wood in low carbon density lands Industry providing technology as a package for farmers will ensure flow of modern technology |
COMMUNITY INITIATED |
Consumer interest groups/NGOs to ensure enforcement of regulations; paper
recycling, marketing of sustainable timber Public awareness to promote use of sustainably logged timber NGOs to promote community participation for adopting forest conservation measures Community awareness on forest conservation |
In many developing countries, logging of natural forests constitutes an important economic activity within the forestry sector (Masera, 1995). There is significant transfer of "hardware" at the timber processing stages, usually from industrialised countries. Barriers for sustainable logging include:
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