CO2 emissions from reduced impact logging in Indonesia

Forestry and land use change are responsible for approximately 20% of global CO2 emissions which can potentially increase in the future (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007). Increasing CO2 in the atmosphere changes global climate and creates climate change impacts on humans and the earth. Reducing deforestation and forest degradation may reduce CO2 emission from forestry and land use change. Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) is a technique that can reduce forest degradation, reduce the carbon loss and increase economic benefits for forest managers. However, the implementation of RIL is poor because of a lack of understanding on the benefit of RIL among forest managers. The major concern is high investment and the cost of RIL implementation. This research investigated the reduction in CO2 emissions from RIL practices and the potential of REDDPIus to fund lower carbon forestry operations in Indonesia. This study shows that under the REDDPIus (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation Plus) mechanism, forest concessions are potentially eligible to gain financial benefits by performing RIL which reduces carbon emissions. RIL was found to reduce CO2 emissions for a forest concession by 350,405 tonnes per year. Therefore, if this forest concession implements RIL, with the assumption of a carbon price of $10 per tonne CO2, it is eligible for a REDDPIus benefit of approximately $3,504,050 per year, or US$57 per year per hectare. Based on these results, REDDPIus could be a substantial incentive for developing countries to perform RIL as part of sustainable forest management. The current reluctance of forest managers to implement RIL is likely to be reduced by the implementation of this scheme. However, for this to be realised, payment distribution mechanisms must be established and supported by the Government