Jagannadha Rao Matta

Agroforestry development: An environmental economic perspective

Agroforestry systems (AFS) provide a mix of market goods and nonmarket goods and services. We postulate that if nonmarket goods and services can be internalized to the benefit of landowners, the adoption of AFS will increase. Using the theory of externality as a conceptual framework, this paper provides an environmental economic logic for developing incentive policies to internalize environmental services especially in the industrialized countries. Specifically, the paper addresses the following questions with focus on North America in general and southern United States in particular: What is the effect of environmental costs and benefits on the adoption of silvopasture? Do households care for carbon sequestration, water quality improvement, and biodiversity associated with silvo-pasture? Will they be willing to pay for them? If so, how much? Will ranchers adopt more silvopasture if incentives are provided? Which incentive policy, a price premium or a direct payment, is more effective? It has been found that the profitability of silvopasture would increase, relative to conventional ranching, if environmental services are included. Estimates of public willingness to pay for environmental services associated with silvopasture and estimates of ranchers’ willingness to accept for the adoption of silvopasture will provide a scientific basis for policy development.

Incentives for Biodiversity Conservation Beyond the Best Management Practices: Are Forestland Owners Interested?

With the growing recognition of the role of environmental services rendered by private lands, landowner involvement has become a critical component of landscape-level strategies to conserve biodiversity. In this paper, we examine the willingness of private forest owners to participate in a conservation program that requires adopting management regimes beyond the existing regulations for silvicultural best management practices. Results from a multinomial logit model indicate both program attributes and landowner characteristics significantly influencing participation. While the mean incentive payment necessary to induce participation is

Developing Sustainability Indicators for Woody Biomass Harvesting in the United States

95.54 per ha per year, this amount varied among respondents with different forest ownership objectives. (JEL Q23, Q24)

Economics of Cogongrass Control in Slash Pine Forests

Bioenergy production has increased significantly in the last decade, and recent legislative efforts such as the discussion draft for the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 and the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 are expected to encourage even more growth. The growing demand for bioenergy will necessitate production of large quantities of woody biomass and plant residues if it is to be met. However, concerns are being raised as to how increased pressures will affect the sustainability of woody biomass. In order to avoid potential pitfalls and ensure the sustainability of wood-based bioenergy systems, a set of sustainability indicators needs to be developed. Some of these indicators can be based on standards similar to those developed for sustainable forest management, energy balances, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and existing codes and guidelines for biomass harvesting. This article discusses a potential set of sustainability indicators encompassing ecological, economic, and social principles for harvesting woody biomass for bioenergy. The extent to which existing standards and certification systems reflect these indicators is elaborated upon. Methods for making these standards operational are also suggested.

RESEARCH ARTICLE: Application of Rapid Environmental Assessment and Co-occurrence Analysis for Identifying, Managing, and Restoring Wetlands

Cogonagrass (Imperata Cylindrica), an invasive weed, is a threat to slash pine forests. Using a dynamic optimization model, we estimated the impact of cogongrass on the profitability of slash pine forestry under four scenarios: no threat of cogongrass infestation; infestation is uncertain, and no control measures are taken; infestation is uncertain, but control measures are undertaken by one landowner but not the neighbors; and infestation is uncertain, and control measures are undertaken by everyone. Results indicate that annual net returns per acre under each scenario, respectively, are

Perceptions of collective action and its success in community based natural resource management: An empirical analysis

25.30,

Assessing Public Preferences for Forest Biomass Based Energy in the Southern United States

16.97,

Barriers Beyond the Partners: Bureaucratic and Political Constraints to Implementing Joint Forest Management in Tamil Nadu, India

13.89, and

Agency Perspectives on Transition to Participatory Forest Management: A Case Study From Tamil Nadu, India

17.38. Results suggest fostering a cooperative behavior among landowners is desirable.

From Forest Regulation to Participatory Facilitation: Forest Employee Perspectives on Organizational Change and Transformation in India

Rapid assessment of land use change at scales ranging from local to global can provide timely, accurate information about land suitability, supporting infrastructure, and regulatory compliance so that developers, resource managers, planners, and decision makers can make critical decisions in the face of uncertainty. One area of concern regarding land suitability is the presence, extent, and quality of wetlands. Federal and state wetland protection legislation and local ordinances have effectively sought to reduce the amount of wetlands converted to other uses or to mitigate for unavoidable removal of wetlands. Identification and delineation of existing or potential wetlands, as well as locations that could serve as mitigation areas, is an important process in environmental planning and development. A method of identifying and delineating wetlands using the technique of rapid assessment at regional scales is presented. This method combines high-resolution remote-sensed and secondary data, including thematic maps depicting vegetation, soils, and surface hydrology in a computer-aided geographical information system. The system provides a co-occurrence analysis in which the presence of existing and historic wetlands can be mapped. Areas identified as wetlands can then be compared with detailed, on-site wetland delineations conducted by professional wetland scientists to check the accuracy of the prediction. Using various combinations of data, prediction accuracy ranged between 75% to more than 80% when compared with on-site delineation. While it is conceded that automated rapid assessment will never replace an experienced professional making a site visit, the technique demonstrates a high degree of accuracy in locating and bounding wetland systems in a cost-effective manner. Further, regional screening tools with a high degree of accuracy can substantially limit more costly and time-intensive fieldwork.