The “carbon neutrality” assumption plays an important role in the evaluation of the global warming potential (GWP) of bioenergy relative to fossil fuels. In the case of woody bioenergy, this assumption implies that the carbon dioxide emitted during the combustion of the biomass is equal to the carbon dioxide sequestered from the atmosphere within that biomass. However, the collection and conversion of woody biomass requires energy inputs in various forms that produce emissions to the air or water. To be able to estimate the overall environmental burdens associated with converting woody biomass to bioenergy, and the net reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere by avoiding the use of fossil fuel, a life cycle assessment (LCA) is the internationally recognized method of choice. However, the carbon neutrality of woody biomass and the environmental impacts associated with wood-based bioenergy are hotly debated in national and international arenas. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental impacts of woody biomass-based bioenergy and proposes a GWP impact assessment methodology using radiative forcing for incorporating the dynamics of carbon sequestration, decomposition of residues and biomass processing in the life cycle assessment of bioenergy.

Kenya is home to many sacred natural sites, including forests, mountains and rivers. Indigenous communities have upheld their role and responsibilities, passed down over centuries by their ancestors as custodians of these places through time. The 5391 hectares in the Nyambene forest in central Kenya is a sacred site to the Ameru people, a community/tribe living on the northeastern slopes of Mt. Kenya. The forest is a resource from which customs, spiritual practices, and governance systems are derived to protect the territory as a whole and maintain its order, integrity and well-being. The Njuri Ncheke (council of elders) play a vital role in upholding the traditional ecological knowledge and customs, practised over generations, including acting as custodians of sacred groves around which rain-making rituals are performed. This paper examines the link between traditional custodianship and community livelihoods against a background of diverse national legislations on forest/land use management and religious influences. The author demonstrates how this forest weaves around the lives of the Ameru people and makes a case for the need to encourage community participation and traditional custodianship in protecting ecosystems and their associated cultural heritage.

This study investigates the potential to predict monthly wildfires and area burned in British Columbia's interior using El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) and the generalized Pareto (GP) distributions are used, respectively, to account for uncertainty in wildfire frequency and area burned. Results indicate that a four-month lag of the ENSO index has a strong positive influence on monthly wildfire occurrence. Upon fitting the GP distribution with a logit model regressed on the ENSO index, we predict the probabilities that monthly area burned exceeds 1700 ha and find that risks of large fires are significantly higher in northwestern BC. However, the ENSO is likely unable to provide consistent predictions of the total area burned in any month. Sensitivity analysis indicates that increases in the mean value of the monthly ENSO index result in a small increase in the predicted number of fires and an increase in the probability of large burns. This study has several implications for decision-making regarding firefighting budget planning and insurance for firefighting expenditures.

Commercialization and expansion of the market for non-wood forest products (NWFPs) may increase the gathering and selling of these products, as well as their contribution to local livelihoods. The influence of market access on the type of dependency is significant. This study examines the relationship between market access and the harvesting of NWFPs as well as the limitations and problems in gathering and selling these products. Cornelian cherry, walnut and plum were the most commonly harvested species. Of the 13 NWFP species collected in Arasbaran forests, just three species, cornelian cherry, plum and pomegranate were sold in the local markets. The average contribution of NWFPs towards total household income was just 2.7%. The villages of cluster 1 had better access to markets and middlemen than did the villages in the other clusters and 63% of the local people in cluster 1 mentioned that they have increased their harvesting of NWFPs. Poor infrastructure, low or no access to markets, lack of market information, lack of cooperation, and low product prices were found to limit the potential economic benefits from harvesting NWFPs. In this situation, rural extension services can assist local people resolve many of these challenges and problems.

British Columbia (BC)'s forests and wood products industry face tremendous adversity in the face of the mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae) epidemic. The death and decay of one of BC's leading merchantable tree species (lodgepole pine; Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) threatens both the sustainability and climate mitigation opportunities in BC forests. Our study investigates the potential for carbon (C) storage in wood products in the post-epidemic phase of the MPB outbreak. In particular, we contrast the C-balance implications of converting MPB timber into long-lived wood products (i.e., lumber) (scenario 1) versus softwood pellets for bioenergy (scenario 2). Our findings highlight the importance of the C-cycle neutral assumption in determining the net C-balance of lumber versus pellets. Timber harvests for lumber resulted in a net C storage with this assumption (case 1), and net C emissions without this assumption (case 2). With uncertainty surrounding the future C-balance of BC forests, the current assumption of biomass-derived emissions being completely C-neutral may need to be re-evaluated.

The forests of British Columbia have been managed for thousands of years to provide a range of products and services. For the Nuxalk people of Bella Coola, BC, their forests were used to build homes and canoes, act as a transportation system (grease trails), and provide material for clothing, fuel and cultural/artistic needs. These forests also provide a host of plants used for nourishment and medicine. The lives of First Nations people have been dramatically altered with the arrival of Western cultures; from a First Nations perspective, these traditional goods and services have been eroded. Today they seek to restore and protect the forests that provide these goods and services while at the same time recognizing the needs of a modern life, which include improved housing, energy that is environmentally friendly and the development of new products and services to sustain their economy. Eight research projects aimed at helping the Nuxalk people accomplish these goals are briefly described.

With concerns about climate change and the search for sustainable construction materials, significant attention is now being paid to Africa's natural resources. Ethiopia, known as Africa's political capital, has a rapidly expanding economy with increasing demand for new construction materials. Through public private partnerships projects the country is developing a sustainable business model to promote bamboo as a raw material. The subtropical zone of Ethiopia is home to approximately 65% of Africa's bamboo resources, an area of over 1 million hectares. Bamboo is potentially an ideal source of local, sustainable purpose-engineered building materials for growing cities not only in Ethiopia but across Africa. Production of conventional construction materials such as steel and concrete is expensive, highly energy intensive and unsustainable, requiring large quantities of water and is strongly dependent on imported raw materials. Bamboo is a renewable building material widely cultivated in Ethiopia but not yet utilized in modern construction. Structural Bamboo Products (SBP), similar to engineered wood products, have excellent potential to partially replace the use of more energy-intensive materials. Projects such as African Bamboo are taking steps in managing, cultivating and using Ethiopian bamboo species to help mitigate rapid deforestation in East Africa by creating alternative “wood” sources and sustainable business opportunities.

Despite international efforts, illegal logging continues on a scale that is of global concern, with significant volumes of illegally harvested wood entering into international trade flows. Recently, major importers of forest products have implemented timber legality legislation prohibiting the possession and/or importation of wood and wood products that are of illegal origin. Drawing on bilateral trade data and using a quantitative, regression-based comparative case study methodology, the effects of the 2008 Lacey Act amendment on the international trade of forest products were evaluated. A data-driven method was used to create aggregate control groups for comparisons with countries affected by the policy. If the policy has been effective in reducing the volume of illegally harvested forest products being imported into the U.S., we would expect to see some unique differences in post-policy U.S. imports of wood and wood products from areas with high levels of suspicious wood in their supplies. Results from these analyses show few substantial differences in post-policy imports of wood products of suspicious origins into the U.S. However, the results suggest that the policy may be affecting wood imports by major exporters of finished wood products to the U.S.

Reports that nearly half of Vietnam's roundwood imports come from illegal sources has drawn criticism from major consumer countries who have recently implemented timber legality regulations. These regulations, which include the U.S. Lacey Act and EU Timber Regulation, restrict the import of illegally harvested wood and are expected to have a direct impact on major wood-processing countries such as Vietnam and China. Surveys were conducted at trade shows in Ho Chi Minh City to assess how these regulations influence firms’ use of chain-of-custody certification, and impact their material sourcing and export market decisions. Vietnamese firms which sell to the United States and the European Union had higher awareness of timber legality regulations and were more likely to take steps to eliminate illegal products from their supply chain by sourcing raw materials from the U.S. and Canada or by increasing their use of certified wood. However, smaller firms were generally unaware of timber legality regulations and were much less likely to use certified products. Our findings suggest that the Vietnamese market has become segmented, with smaller firms using materials which are at a higher risk of containing illegal wood, and exporting to less regulated markets, such as China.

The recent adoption of timber legality legislation in the U.S. (the Lacey Act 2008 amendment) requiring timber imports be sourced from legally harvested wood could have profound impacts on China's re-exports of manufactured wood products to the U.S. This study examines empirically how Chinese wood manufacturers’ sales to the U.S. have changed in response to the Lacey Act. A sample of 225 Chinese wood manufacturers was drawn from two trade shows in Shanghai, China in 2013. The results reveal that Chinese companies’ awareness of the Lacey Act has played an important role in their decision to export to the U.S. over the last five years. The companies who are less familiar with the Lacey Act tend to withdraw from the U.S. market and focus on domestic market. Also the smaller Chinese companies were more likely to withdraw from the U.S. market in the aftermath of the Lacey Act as compared to their larger counterparts. Finally, the Chinese companies that have increased their imports of raw materials from the U.S. were found to have increased their sales to the U.S. market over the last five years.

The forest industry is a major player in the provincial economy, provides a significant contribution to government revenue, and accounts for 3% of British Columbia's GDP. However, with the reduction of housing starts in the US in 2006, the economic crisis of 2008, a steady decline in newsprint demand, and the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic, the provincial and federal governments have searched for ways to help transform the forest industry through innovation, improved environmental performance, and new markets. One such investment has been in marker-assisted selection (MAS), which is a genomic-based biotechnological tool that allows desired traits to be flagged on the genome. Since MAS is a new genomic tool to the forest industry, it is necessary to survey silviculture stakeholders in BC on their perception of this resource to tree breeders, its perceived use, and the context for which it should be implemented. If it is a tool whose implementation is perceived positively, it would significantly reduce the cycle of the tree breeding process, as it allows for the early selection of genotypic traits. Moreover, it would allow tree breeders to more efficiently and accurately select for improved wood qualities, growth rates, and resistance to pests, diseases, and climate change.

Spatial data for the Climate Moisture Index and the Palmer Drought Severity Index were generated from gridded temperature and precipitation data for the Canadian boreal zone over the period 1951–2010. Annual values for the indices for 2011–2100 were generated from projections of future climate derived from four general circulation models forced by three greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. Linear regression models between the indices and time were fitted to examine long-term trends. Results indicated that several large regions of the Canadian boreal forest experienced substantial drying during 1951–2010. Future projections indicated a general trend toward drier conditions during the 21^st century. Overall, the analysis indicated more frequent and/or more severe droughts across managed western and central portions of the boreal forest in coming decades. These projections of indices are relevant to forest management because soil moisture availability is an important determinant of forest distribution, tree health, and regeneration success. Knowledge of the range of potential future changes in drought occurrence and intensity will aid forest managers and decisionmakers in incorporating climate change considerations into forest management planning and practices.