IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i8p4168-d532484.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Potential Analysis of Mediterranean Forestry for Offsetting GHG Emissions at Regional Level: Evidence from Valencia, Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Edgar Lorenzo-Sáez

    (Information and Communication Technologies vs Climate Change Research Group, Campus de Vera, ITACA Research Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

  • Jose-Vicente Oliver-Villanueva

    (Information and Communication Technologies vs Climate Change Research Group, Campus de Vera, ITACA Research Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

  • Victoria Lerma-Arce

    (Information and Communication Technologies vs Climate Change Research Group, Campus de Vera, ITACA Research Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

  • Celia Yagüe-Hurtado

    (Information and Communication Technologies vs Climate Change Research Group, Campus de Vera, ITACA Research Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

  • Lenin Guillermo Lemus-Zúñiga

    (Information and Communication Technologies vs Climate Change Research Group, Campus de Vera, ITACA Research Institute, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

Abstract

Forest management is an untapped tool, yet to realize its full potential to fight against climate change. The capability of forests to act as carbon sinks makes them a key resource to reduce CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere. However, carbon which has been fixed can be suddenly emitted again as a consequence of disturbances such as pests or wildfires. Mediterranean plant phenology, climatic conditions, and the accumulation of fuel biomass due to abandonment of traditional forest uses generate a scenario prone to large wildfires and consequently large greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. The abandonment could be offset by considering the economic value of forest ecosystem services, principally carbon fixation. Nevertheless, currently existing forest carbon markets consider only anthropogenic fixation based on a business as usual scenario without disturbances that cannot be applied to Mediterranean forest reality. Thus, a methodology to monetize carbon fixed has been developed and applied. A range between 55.5 and 250 million € produced by the monetization of 16.5 million potential carbon credits has been obtained based on anthropogenic avoided emissions produced over a 10 year-period. Thereby, the potential for offsetting emissions of the pilot region was between 1.2% and 5.6% of total diffuse GHG emissions. Consequently, sustainable forest management represents an important opportunity to combat climate change, taking advantage of the margin of improvement that the Mediterranean forests currently have to avoid GHG emissions through forest fire prevention silviculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Edgar Lorenzo-Sáez & Jose-Vicente Oliver-Villanueva & Victoria Lerma-Arce & Celia Yagüe-Hurtado & Lenin Guillermo Lemus-Zúñiga, 2021. "Potential Analysis of Mediterranean Forestry for Offsetting GHG Emissions at Regional Level: Evidence from Valencia, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-17, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4168-:d:532484
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4168/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4168/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tony Prato, 2015. "Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Forest Fuel Reduction Treatments and Their Adaptation to Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Binkley, Clark S. & Brand, David & Harkin, Zoe & Bull, Gary & Ravindranath, N. H. & Obersteiner, Michael & Nilsson, Sten & Yamagata, Yoshiki & Krott, Max, 2002. "Carbon sink by the forest sector--options and needs for implementation," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 65-77, May.
    3. Croitoru, Lelia, 2007. "How much are Mediterranean forests worth?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 536-545, January.
    4. Ingrid Vigna & Angelo Besana & Elena Comino & Alessandro Pezzoli, 2021. "Application of the Socio-Ecological System Framework to Forest Fire Risk Management: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, February.
    5. Köhl, Michael & Neupane, Prem Raj & Mundhenk, Philip, 2020. "REDD+ measurement, reporting and verification – A cost trap? Implications for financing REDD+MRV costs by result-based payments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    6. Susete Marques & Marco Marto & Vladimir Bushenkov & Marc McDill & JoséG. Borges, 2017. "Addressing Wildfire Risk in Forest Management Planning with Multiple Criteria Decision Making Methods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, February.
    7. Edward Vine & Jayant Sathaye, 1999. "The Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Verification of Climate Change Projects," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 43-60, March.
    8. Lanhui Wang & Zichan Cui & Jari Kuuluvainen & Yongyu Sun, 2021. "Does Forest Industries in China Become Cleaner? A Prospective of Embodied Carbon Emission," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-11, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maddison Seeley & Hamish Hede & Mitchell Bylart & John Rodwell, 2023. "Diagnosing the Institutional Forces Impacting Australia’s Aerial Firefighting Capability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Raquel Fernández-González & Félix Puime Guillén & Otilia Manta & Simona Andreea Apostu & Valentina Vasile, 2022. "Forest Management Communities’ Participation in Bioenergy Production Initiatives: A Case Study for Galicia (Spain)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-17, October.

    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. Qian, Dong & Guo, Ju’e, 2014. "Research on the energy-saving and revenue sharing strategy of ESCOs under the uncertainty of the value of Energy Performance Contracting Projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 710-721.
    2. Manuela R. Magalhães & Natália S. Cunha & Selma B. Pena & Ana Müller, 2021. "FIRELAN—An Ecologically Based Planning Model towards a Fire Resilient and Sustainable Landscape. A Case Study in Center Region of Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-27, June.
    3. Siân Mooney & John Antle & Susan Capalbo & Keith Paustian, 2004. "Design and Costs of a Measurement Protocol for Trades in Soil Carbon Credits," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 52(3), pages 257-287, November.
    4. Gao, Yuan & Yu, Lu, 2024. "Understanding the impacts of ecological compensation policies on energy poverty: insights from forest communities in Zhejiang, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    5. Javier Martínez-Vega & David Rodríguez-Rodríguez, 2022. "Protected Area Effectiveness in the Scientific Literature: A Decade-Long Bibliometric Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, June.
    6. Valente, Marieta & Fernandes, Maria Eduarda & Pinto, Lígia Maria Costa, 2024. "Crowdfunding or crowdsourcing time: Exploring the willingness of private citizens to help prevent forest fires," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    7. Damnyag, Lawrence & Tyynelä, Tapani & Appiah, Mark & Saastamoinen, Olli & Pappinen, Ari, 2011. "Economic cost of deforestation in semi-deciduous forests — A case of two forest districts in Ghana," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2503-2510.
    8. World Bank Group, 2015. "Valuing Forest Products and Services in Turkey," World Bank Publications - Reports 22961, The World Bank Group.
    9. Huiru Zhao & Nana Li, 2016. "Performance Evaluation for Sustainability of Strong Smart Grid by Using Stochastic AHP and Fuzzy TOPSIS Methods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-22, January.
    10. Guangyue Xu & Peter Schwarz & Xiaojing Shi & Nathan Duma, 2023. "Scenario Paths of Developing Forest Carbon Sinks for China to Achieve Carbon Neutrality," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, June.
    11. Paolo Vassallo & Claudia Turcato & Ilaria Rigo & Claudia Scopesi & Andrea Costa & Matteo Barcella & Giulia Dapueto & Mauro Mariotti & Chiara Paoli, 2021. "Biophysical Accounting of Forests’ Value under Different Management Regimes: Conservation vs. Exploitation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    12. Binkley, Clark S. & Brand, David & Harkin, Zoe & Bull, Gary & Ravindranath, N. H. & Obersteiner, Michael & Nilsson, Sten & Yamagata, Yoshiki & Krott, Max, 2002. "Carbon sink by the forest sector--options and needs for implementation," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 65-77, May.
    13. Edward Vine & Jayant Sathaye, 2000. "The monitoring, Evaluation, reporting, verification, and certification of energy-efficiency projects," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 189-216, June.
    14. Häyhä, Tiina & Franzese, Pier Paolo & Paletto, Alessandro & Fath, Brian D., 2015. "Assessing, valuing, and mapping ecosystem services in Alpine forests," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 12-23.
    15. 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.
    16. Vladimir Otrachshenkoy, 2014. "The Passive Use Value of the Mediterranean Forest," Working Papers 2014.86, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    17. Enrico Cozzoni & Carmine Passavanti & Cristina Ponsiglione & Simonetta Primario & Pierluigi Rippa, 2021. "Interorganizational Collaboration in Innovation Networks: An Agent Based Model for Responsible Research and Innovation in Additive Manufacturing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-17, July.
    18. Mooney, Sian & Antle, John M. & Capalbo, Susan Marie & Paustian, Keith H., 2002. "Contracting For Soil Carbon Credits: Design And Costs Of Measurement And Monitoring," 2002 Annual meeting, July 28-31, Long Beach, CA 19616, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    19. Ning, Zhuo & Sun, Changyou, 2017. "Forest management with wildfire risk, prescribed burning and diverse carbon policies," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 95-102.
    20. Doukas, Haris & Papadopoulou, Alexandra G. & Psarras, John & Ragwitz, Mario & Schlomann, Barbara, 2008. "Sustainable reference methodology for energy end-use efficiency data in the EU," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(8), pages 2159-2176, October.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4168-:d:532484. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.