IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/forpol/v12y2010i5p340-348.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessment of economic sustainability of the strip clear-cutting system in the Peruvian Amazon

Author

Listed:
  • Rondon, Xanic J.
  • Gorchov, David L.
  • Elliott, Steve R.

Abstract

Strip clear-cutting (or the Palcazú Forest Management System) is a natural forest management system where narrow strips are clear-cut with harvest cycles of every 40Â years. We assessed the economic sustainability of this system by calculating net present values (NPVs) at the time of a second harvest in two strips clear-cut in 1989, in the Peruvian Amazon. NPVs were calculated under three growth models or scenarios: (1) realistic (all light environments), (2) optimistic (higher light as could be achieved under intensive forest management), and (3) growth potential (fastest growing individuals). For each scenario, we calculated the production and value of timber products (sawnwood, roundwood, and charcoal), and their cost of harvesting, processing and transport. For comparison purposes, these calculations were also done for a deferment-cut treatment, applied in 1989 to half of one of the two strips. The three growth models predicted a production of 1.88 to 22.43Â m3/ha of sawnwood, 81 to 92Â pieces/ha of roundwood, and 11 to 19Â ton/ha of charcoal from clear-cut strips. The total value of these products ranged from $3112 to $10,511/ha, assuming that sawnwood was purchased at certified prices. The total cost of harvesting, processing, and transport of timber products ranged from $3020 to $6167/ha. Net earnings ranged from -$75/ha to +$4344/ha. The net present value (NPV) of the clear-cut strips with certified sawnwood ranged between -$54/ha and +$1271/ha at a 5% discount rate, and between -$73/ha and +$78/ha at a 15% discount rate, the most realistic rate for Peru. These values were much lower than +$131 to +$540, the range of NPV at 15% discount rate for the deferment-cut treatment with certified sawnwood. The strip clear-cutting system is not economically sustainable due to slow tree growth, low income from timber products, and high costs for this system. Cutting cycles longer than 40Â years may be required to increase timber yields and make this system profitable.

Suggested Citation

  • Rondon, Xanic J. & Gorchov, David L. & Elliott, Steve R., 2010. "Assessment of economic sustainability of the strip clear-cutting system in the Peruvian Amazon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(5), pages 340-348, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:12:y:2010:i:5:p:340-348
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389-9341(10)00019-5
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William F. Laurance & Alexandre A. Oliveira & Susan G. Laurance & Richard Condit & Henrique E. M. Nascimento & Ana C. Sanchez-Thorin & Thomas E. Lovejoy & Ana Andrade & Sammya D'Angelo & José E. Ribei, 2004. "Pervasive alteration of tree communities in undisturbed Amazonian forests," Nature, Nature, vol. 428(6979), pages 171-175, March.
    2. Browder, John O. & Trondoli Matricardi, E.A. & Abdala, Wilson Soares, 1996. "Is sustainable tropical timber production financially viable? A comparative analysis of mahogany silviculture among small farmers in the Brazilian Amazon," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 147-159, February.
    3. Nebel, Gustav & Quevedo, Lincoln & Bredahl Jacobsen, Jette & Helles, Finn, 2005. "Development and economic significance of forest certification: the case of FSC in Bolivia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 175-186, February.
    4. Søren Gram, 1997. "Indian Forestry In Latin American Rain Forests," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 5(1), pages 21-29.
    5. Pinedo-Vasquez, Miguel & Zarin, Daniel & Jipp, Peter, 1992. "Economic returns from forest conversion in the Peruvian Amazon," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 163-173, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gullison, R. & Westbrook, T. & Nissan, S. & Grieg-Gran, Maryanne & Hocking, D. & Cannon, J., 1998. "The Potential For UK Portfolio Investors To Finance Sustainable Tropical Forestry," Discussion Papers 24132, International Institute for Environment and Development, Environmental Economics Programme.
    2. Porro, Roberto & Lopez-Feldman, Alejandro & Vela-Alvarado, Jorge W., 2015. "Forest use and agriculture in Ucayali, Peru: Livelihood strategies, poverty and wealth in an Amazon frontier," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 47-56.
    3. Blackman, Allen & Goff, Leonard & Rivera Planter, Marisol, 2018. "Does eco-certification stem tropical deforestation? Forest Stewardship Council certification in Mexico," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 306-333.
    4. Zubizarreta, Mikel & Arana-Landín, Germán & Siguenza, Waleska & Cuadrado, Jesús, 2024. "Forest certification and its impact on business management and market performance: The key role of motivations," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    5. Doremus, Jacqueline, 2019. "Unintended impacts from forest certification: Evidence from indigenous Aka households in Congo," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Wunder, Sven & Angelsen, Arild & Belcher, Brian, 2014. "Forests, Livelihoods, and Conservation: Broadening the Empirical Base," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(S1), pages 1-11.
    7. Andre Chagas & Luiza Andrade, 2013. "Opportunity cost of environmental preservation: the case of the Brazilian Legal Amazon," ERSA conference papers ersa13p644, European Regional Science Association.
    8. Shemdoe Riziki Silas, 2014. "Reducing Impact of Land Degradation in Tanzania: Do Incentive Market Based Mechanisms Work for Sustainable Land Management?," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 7(6), pages 1-1, October.
    9. Bennett, Aoife & Ravikumar, Ashwin & Paltán, Homero, 2018. "The Political Ecology of Oil Palm Company-Community partnerships in the Peruvian Amazon: Deforestation consequences of the privatization of rural development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 29-41.
    10. Vera V. Yurak & Margarita N. Ignatyeva & Aleksey V. Dushin, 2020. "Valuation of ecosystem services in a region: A review of the international experience," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 21(4), pages 79-103, December.
    11. Lykke E. Andersen, 2015. "A Cost-benefit Analysis of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon," Discussion Papers 0065, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada - IPEA.
    12. Torras, Mariano, 2000. "The total economic value of Amazonian deforestation, 1978-1993," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 283-297, May.
    13. Camille Bann, 2016. "The Economic Valuation of Tropical Forest Land Use Options: A Manual for Researchers," EEPSEA Research Report rr2016033, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), revised Mar 2016.
    14. Richards, Michael, 2000. "Can Sustainable Tropical Forestry be Made Profitable? The Potential and Limitations of Innovative Incentive Mechanisms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1001-1016, June.
    15. Tim Bartley, 2014. "Transnational governance and the re‐centered state: Sustainability or legality?," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 93-109, March.
    16. Doremus, Jacqueline, 2020. "How does eco-label competition affect environmental benefits? The case of Central Africa's forests," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    17. Rosenberg-Yunger, Zahava R.S. & Bayoumi, Ahmed M., 2014. "Transparency in Canadian public drug advisory committees," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(2), pages 255-263.
    18. May, Peter H. & Soares-Filho, Britaldo Silveira & Strand, Jon, 2013. "How much is the Amazon worth ? the state of knowledge concerning the value of preserving amazon rainforests," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6668, The World Bank.
    19. Lacey, Justine & Carr-Cornish, Simone & Zhang, Airong & Eglinton, Kelvyn & Moffat, Kieren, 2017. "The art and science of community relations: Procedural fairness at Newmont's Waihi Gold operations, New Zealand," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 245-254.
    20. Escobal, Javier & Aldana, Ursula, 2003. "Are Nontimber Forest Products the Antidote to Rainforest Degradation? Brazil Nut Extraction in Madre De Dios, Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(11), pages 1873-1887, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:12:y:2010:i:5:p:340-348. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/forpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.