Avoided Deforestation through Carbon trading in Buffer Zones of Protected

Areas in Northern Lao PDR

Pilot Activities and Research in the Lao-German Program Rural

Development in Mountainous Areas (RDMA)

MSc Research Projects

• Fabian Noeske University of Applied Sciences, (Forestry) Rottenburg , Germany

Evaluation of secondary forest succession biomass following shifting cultivation

• Barbara Dannemann, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany (Supervisor: Prof. J.Müller)

Assessment of secondary succession bamboo biomass after shifting cultivation

Major Threads for Protected Areas

• Shifting cultivation and forest fires in the bufferzones

• Unplanned and illegal extension of rubber cultivation ( up to 300000 ha expected during the next decade)

• Illegal logging

• Hunting and non sustainable extraction of NTFP‘s

Shifting cultivation landscape

Clearing by fire for rubber cultivation

Bamboo dominated regeneration

Major constraints for development

• Remoteness, limited road infrastructure

• Limited market access

• Average cash income levels between 150-250 $ US per family per year

• Limited access to health and education facilities

• Weak extension services

Largest per capita CO2 emitters

Highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Largest per capita CO2 emitters, and highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Areas with highest ecological vulnerability

Highest vulnerability towards climate change vs. largest CO2 emissions (from fossil fuel combustion and cement production, and including land use change, kg C per person and year from 1950 - 2003)

Highest vulnerability vs. largest per capita CO2 emissions

Highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Largest per capita CO2 emitters, and highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Areas with highest ecological vulnerability

Highest vulnerability towards climate change vs. largest CO2 emissions (from fossil fuel combustion and cement production, and including land use change, kg C per person and year from 1950 - 2003)

Largest per capita CO2 emitters

Highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Largest per capita CO2 emitters, and highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Areas with highest ecological vulnerability

Highest vulnerability towards climate change vs. largest CO2 emissions (from fossil fuel combustion and cement production, and including land use change, kg C per person and year from 1950 - 2003)

Largest per capita CO2 emitters

Largest per capita CO2 emitters, and highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Areas with highest ecological vulnerability

Highest vulnerability towards climate change vs. largest CO2 emissions (from fossil fuel combustion and cement production, and including land use change, kg C per person and year from 1950 - 2003)

Largest per capita CO2 emitters

Highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Largest per capita CO2 emitters, and highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Areas with highest ecological vulnerability

Highest vulnerability towards climate change vs. largest CO2 emissions (from fossil fuel combustion and cement production, and including land use change, kg C per person and year from 1950 - 2003)

Largest per capita CO2 emitters

Highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Areas with highest ecological vulnerability

Highest vulnerability towards climate change vs. largest CO2 emissions (from fossil fuel combustion and cement production, and including land use change, kg C per person and year from 1950 - 2003)

Largest per capita CO2 emitters

Highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Largest per capita CO2 emitters, and highest social and / or agro-economic vulnerability

Quelle: Schellnhuber, 2007

Potential of Carbon trading in the context of rural development• High ratio (5-15 ha) of forest area per

capita

• Carbon fixation potential 20 to 60 tons per person or 100-300 tons per family /year

• Potential income levels through carbon trading regimes 500-1500 $ US per year and per family

Issues of Carbon Trading Mechanism

• Government‘s willingness to accept rural population as an actor in the forest protection and carbon trading mechanism

• Percentage share of carbon credits on national and provincial level

• Transaction costs (monitoring)• Absorption capacity for carbon payments on

village level (productive investments, micro finance, baseline payments per person, social security fund)

Elements of a Biodiversity Protection/Carbon Trading RDMA

Component• Support dialogue on C-trading on national forest

policy level• Definition of bufferzones in District Development

Plans• Village land use plans and land /forest allocation• Forest protection and sustainable utilization• Fire protection strategies on village level• Development of a Carbon monitoring system• Strengthening micro-finance components• Productive investments in alternative land

development (irrigation, livestock, timber, NTFPs)• Industrial level utilization of bamboo resources

Tinpha Village Agriculture 530 Regeneration Forest 309 Conservation Area 162 Village Use Forest 268 Protected Forest 138 Village Area 6 Total 1412 Population 2005 339 Total Forest/ Head 2.6 Agricultural Area/ Head 1.6

Forest Carbon Sample Plot (15 years)

Forest Carbon Sample Plot

Results of first plot measurements Secondary forest at age 15 years

• Number of Stems : 5497 /ha• Total volume of live trees: 84.5 m³/ha• Total volume dead trees: 78.5 m³/ha• Total volume (solid) live bamboo: 80.5m³/ha• Present annual carbon stored in live tree biomass: 1.7 t /ha/year• Potential carbon storage (?) 5.0 t/ha/year

Biomass per DBH-Class

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350

<=1.99 2-3.9 4-5.9 6-7.9 8-9.9 10-11.9 12-13.9 14-15.9 16-17.9 18-19.9

DBH-Class in cm

N-T

ree

s

0

100

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Bio

mas

s/k

g

Number ofTrees perDBH-Class

Biomass inKg per DBH-Class

*Bamboo and Deadwood not included

Diameters and Biomass of 15 Year Forest Plot (0.15 ha)

Bamboo Sample Plot

Results of plot measurements in 15 year secondary bamboo succession

• Number of bamboo clumps: 1332 /ha

• Total biomass of live bamboo: 76 t/ha

• Dead biomass: 140 t/ha

Clumps and Live-Biomass of 15 year old Bambusa tulda succession

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0 - 2.5 2.5 - 5 5 - 7.5 7.5 - 10 10 - 12.5 12.5 - 15 >15

Girth classes

No.

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5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

kg

Clumps/ha

Dry Biomass/ha

Barbara Dannemann, University Hohenheim, Germany, 2007

Micro finance

• RDMA operates some 150 village levels banks in target provinces

• Capital on average 3000-5000 $US per bank• Development of District and Province level

second tier organizations• Linkages to private sector micro finance

institutions• Successfull implementation of project activities

on loan basis ( livestock, agricultural processing)

Bamboo management

• Bamboo biomass dominates succesional processes where multiple shifting cultivation cycles have taken place or cycles have become shorter then 5 years

• Bamboo prevents establishment of tree succession

• Bambbo creates an unmanageable fire danger ( fuel loads up to 200 t/ha) due to flowering/dyback in 10-15 years cycles

BambooTransport in Relation to Skidding System & Distances

Rafting of Bamboo

• Construction time for a 3 ton bamboo raft is estimated at 3 man-days.

• Transport distances of about 50 km will result in costs of about 6.5 $ US per ton.