Can payments for carbon sequestration save logging concessions from agro-business pressures in...

THINKING beyond the canopy

Can payments for carbon sequestration save logging

concessions from agro-business pressures in Cameroon?

Guillaume Lescuyer, Arthur Collin, Jonas Ngouhouo,

Christine Langevin, Samuel Assembe, Richard Eba’a


Historical background

Paradigm of Sustainable Forest Management has been

fostered in Congo basin for 20 years

Based on the model of logging concession:

• Vast area (average 80.000ha in Cameroon) in the Permanent Forest

domain

• Granted to private companies

• Used according to a Forest Management Plan (FMP)

• Aim at maintaining forest cover and resources (timber)

• Environmental and social measures

Location of logging concessions proposed in 1995 by an

indicative Zoning Plan

15% of country surface, 111 logging concessions in

Cameroon, 72% with validated FMP (Mertens et al., 2013)


New trends in forest areas

Rise of mining and agro-industries that overlap SFM permits

• About 80% of logging concessions are covered with exploration or

exploitation mining licenses

• Development of agricultural activities, notably of large-scale

plantations of oilpalm and rubber

• Two pilars of the macro-economic long-term orientations of Central

African governments towards the « emergence »

A broader recognition of PES, especially for carbon

sequestration

• US$550 million of REDD+ financing flows into the Congo Basin

since 2006 (Maniatis et al., 2013)

• National REDD+ strategies not yet applied

• Voluntary carbon markets for smaller scale projects, for instance to

reduce carbon footprint of logging concessions


Research question

What is the performance of PES-carbon that would be implemented to

Cameroonian logging concessions in order to increase their financial

profitability and to better resist to competing agro–business

investments?

Current state of agro-industrial (oilpalm and rubber) plantations in

Cameroon and their likely extension over forest areas of the permanent

forest domain

Financial profitability of logging concession, oilpalm and rubber

plantations

Additional benefits to logging revenues from 4 REDD+ scenarios:

• an increase in the Minimum Harvesting Diameters to ensure a 100%

regeneration in the second rotation;

• slowing down the extension of slash-and-burn areas in the concession;

• reducing the spatial footprint of logging roads;

• conservation concession.


Methods For the state of agro-industrial plantations and the estimated

rate of profit: (1) a general review of forest and agricultural policies

and a targeted literature search for the selected companies regarding

their turnover, financial margins, operating costs, taxes, and cultivated

areas; (2) anonymous individual interviews were conducted with

stakeholders to complete or refine figures:

• Rubber: surveys with 10 farmers located in and around one of the main sites

of production;

• Oil palm: information from the leader company for the years 2008 to 2012,

and literature

• Cocoa: literature survey

• Logging: financial data were derived from statements from a sample of 11-14

logging companies to the Ministry of Finance for the years 2007 to 2011

For the REDD+ schemes

• Langevin et al. (2013) for Cameroon

• Hirsh et al. (2013) for DRC

• Collaboration with the logging companies


Current surface and possible extension of oilpalm and rubber

plantations

Oilpalm, six large companies, 59

000ha, 144 000 t/yr

Rubber, three big companies, 105

000ha, 32 000 t/yr, but around 60 000

t/yr in 2 years

An attempt to secure a total area

of about 1 million hectares in the forest

zone of Southern Cameroon (Levang

& Hoyle, 2012)

Many « informal » explorative surveys

to assess agricultural potential of other

forest areas


Possible extension of oilpalm and rubber plantations


Financial analysis of REDD+ schemes in a logging concession

(sources: Langevin et al., 2013; Hirsh et al., 2013)

DRC Cameroon

Decrease of the extent of the shifting cultivation

areas

Decrease of the road footprint

Conversion of logging areas

into conservation

Increase of minimum harvesting diameters

Avoided carbonemissions

7,5 tCO2e/ha 3,7 tCO2e/ha 6,8 tCO2e/ha 6,1 tCO2e/ha

Sale on voluntarymarkets

33 €/ha 16.3 €/ha 30 €/ha 26,8€/ha

Costs of REDD scheme 28 €/ha 8 €/ha 29 €/ha 49 €/ha

Financial benefit 5 €/ha 8,3 €/ha 1 €/ha -22 €/ha


Annual net benefits of land-use options in Cameroon (over 15 years)

-1,300,000

-800,000

-300,000

200,000

700,000

1,200,000

1,700,000

2,200,000

F.CFA/ha/yr

Years

Hévéa - Plantationindustrielle

Hévéa - Plantationartisanale

Palmier - Plantationindustrielle

Palmier - Plantationartisanale

Cacao - Exploitationartisanale

Exploitation forestière


Financial profitability of alternative land-uses in forest areas (/exploited ha)

Type d'exploitationValeur Actualisée Nette

(FCFA/ha)

Hévéa - Plantation industrielle 4 245 085

Hévéa - Plantation artisanale 1 983 583

Palmier - Plantation industrielle 1 579 924

Palmier - Plantation artisanale 3 007 000

Cacao - Exploitation artisanale 225 000

Exploitation forestière 742 489


Which FMU may be eligible for REDD schemes ? A theoretical answer

Coût d’opportunité

de la conservation

Proportion de non-déforestation

ou de déforestation évitée

“trop coûteux”

“non additionnel?” 100%

“Bon marché”

“pas abordable”La limite dépendra

des moyens financiers

mobilisables

FRONT AGRICOLE

INDUSTRIEL

Forêts éloignées

Forêts dégradées

0

> 0

< 0

Source: Karsenty, 2008


Which FMU may be eligible for REDD schemes ? A practical answer

Source: Marien et al., 2012


Conclusion

Where ecological and trade conditions are prone to oilpam

and rubber plantations, SFM is not the optimal financial

land-use, even when REDD+ benefits are included

Methodological stake to develop or implement Verified

Carbon Standards based on (1) Avoided Planned

Deforestation or on (2) Avoided Unplanned Deforestation

New forest management models that recognize and take

advantage of concession degradation and deforestation

Innovative approaches to compensate the likely decrease in

timber production in the logging concessions:

• Silvicultural practices in/around logging concessions ?

• Better management of timber stock in the rural domain ?

• Large-scale plantations of fast-growing species?


Merci de votre attention

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Can payments for carbon sequestration save logging concessions from agro-business pressures in...

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