Asep Suntana

Addressing Unknown Variability in Seemingly Fixed National Forest Estimates: Aboveground Forest Biomass for Renewable Energy

When determining the capacity of National Forests to develop sustainable bio-energy systems, accurate estimates of forest biomass are needed. What appears to be a straight forward assessment of biomass availability is complicated by the existence of highly variable data sets. Country level data is mostly produced by scaling data from a few sites to the country level. Using Indonesia as a case study, reported data varied by more than 20%. Using the reliable data, three levels of biomass potential, namely the lower and upper “bounds” (5,083 million Mg and 10,726 million Mg, respectively) and moderate estimates (5,410 million Mg) at the country level are constructed.

Nontraditional Use of Biomass at Certified Forest Management Units: Forest Biomass for Energy Production and Carbon Emissions Reduction in Indonesia

Biomass conversion technologies that produce energy and reduce carbon emissions have become more feasible to develop. This paper analyzes the potential of converting biomass into biomethanol at forest management units experiencing three forest management practices (community-based forest management (CBFM), plantation forest (PF), and natural production forest (NPF)). Dry aboveground biomass collected varied considerably: 0.26–2.16 Mg/ha/year (CBFM), 8.08–8.35 Mg/ha/year (NPF), and 36.48–63.55 Mg/ha/year (PF). If 5% of the biomass was shifted to produce biomethanol for electricity production, the NPF and PF could provide continuous power to 138 and 2,762 households, respectively. Dedicating 5% of the biomass was not a viable option from one CBFM unit. However, if all biomasses were converted, the CBFM could provide electricity to 19–27 households. If 100% biomass from two selected PF was dedicated to biomethanol production: (1) 52,200–72,600 households could be provided electricity for one year; (2) 142–285% of the electricity demand in Jambi province could be satisfied; (3) all gasoline consumed in Jambi, in 2009, would be replaced. The net carbon emissions avoided could vary from 323 to 8,503 Mg when biomethanol was substituted for the natural gas methanol in fuel cells and from 294 to 7,730 Mg when it was used as a gasoline substitute.

List of Boxes

1.1 Leakage effects can be very substantial 12 1.2 The unpredictability of the effects of support removal 16 2.1 Subsidy addiction in Germany 31 2.2 Four ways to better target water subsidies 40 7.1 Selected rates of German mineral oil tax, 1998 125 11.1 Comparing the costs of reducing diesel consumption 199 13.1 Extracts from Council Regulation (EEC) 2078/92 on Agricultural Production Methods Compatible with the Requirements of the Protection of the Environment and the Maintenance of the Countryside 229 14.1 The use of taxes to support environmental objectives 252 14.2 The environmental impact of ‘novel crops’ – oilseed rape 255 14.3 Article 2 of the Agri-environment Regulation 258 14.4 Environmental benefits of maintaining anthropogenic ecosystems 262 14.5 The work of the Food and Veterinary Office, European Commission 265 14.6 Agri-environmental policy in the Netherlands – trading in manure 270