Ongoing Projects · Economic Evaluation

Analysis of forest certification uptake

Globally, the uptake of forest certification schemes (such as FSC or PEFC) varies widely. The vast majority of certified forests are located in industrialized countries in the northern hemisphere. However, some developing and emerging countries also show some progress in introducing forest certification, while elsewhere certification systems hardly exist. There has been little systematic research to date into the reasons for the varying geographical distribution of forest certification in countries around the world.

Carbon Leak

In the Carbon Leak project, we are analyzing the effects of German and European climate protection measures on global agricultural and timber markets and of the potential leakage effects on emissions. The increased requirements for the emission balance of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) and agriculture sectors adopted in the German Climate Protection Act and related EU legislation may lead to a significant reduction in timber harvesting as well as agricultural production in Germany and Europe. Such changes suggest significant market effects, such as decreasing production ...

Deforestation-free and legal supply chains

The new EU Regulation to curb trade in products linked to deforestation, forest degradation and illegality (short: EUDR) was adopted in May 2023. The present project supports the political negotiations and implementation process of the EU regulation and assesses the implementation challenges and impacts for market participants, control authorities and producers.

Forest Recreation Values compared over time

The project aims to determine and analyse the current (monetary) value of the recreational value of forests throughout Germany, to test the robustness of different valuation approaches, and to identify changes in the recreational value over time.

GEOS-EUDR

The aim of the research project is to contribute to the improved feasibility of the EUDR in the field of geolocalization and the detection of deforestation and forest degradation using remote sensing and geocomputation.

Incentive effects, acceptance and climate effectiveness of different remuneration options for climate protection in forestry (AnAKHon)

Climate change poses enormous challenges for forest management. According to the Climate Protection Act, the contribution of German forests to emission reductions in the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector is expected to increase significantly. Similarly, forests need to be adapted to climate change to ensure their long-term ability to mitigate climate change and provide other ecosystem services. The German Bundestag has therefore mandated the federal government to establish a permanent system to reward forest ecosystem services. The AnAKHon project aims to provide a basis ...

Multi-stage assessment of biobased negative emission technologies (BioNET)

Climate neutrality is an important long-term goal of climate policy. It requires bringing emissions of greenhouse gases at least into balance with their uptake in sinks. How can forests and forestry contribute to this goal?

REHA - Regional study Harz

In the Harz Mountains, large-scale forest damage has occurred due to the combination of dry periods and storm events over several years. Reforestation will take decades, even if it is successfully planned and implemented. In an area such as the Harz Mountains, whose economy is very much based on the pillars of the timber industry and tourism, there is a great risk that these disruptions to the forests and their ecosystem services will also jeopardise the dependent economic sectors and thus the welfare of the regional population. This damage goes far beyond that of direct ecosystem services. ...

Agroforestry versus segregated land use

The overall picture of available scientific evidence on agroforestry outcomes remains opaque. A systematic literature review helps to clarify the picture.

CC-LandStraD: Economic valuation of public goods provided by forests

CC-LandStraD: Climate Change - Land Use Strategies Germany; Subproject: Economic valuation of various forestry land use options with regard to their carbon storage under different environmental conditions

CC-LandStraD: Simulation of forest management decisions

Climate Change - Land Use Strategies Germany; Sub project: Modelling of different forest land use strategies under changing environmental conditions

Database on Environmental benefit valuation studies of forests

The economic valuation of non-market goods provided by forests is an important though small issue in the field of environmental economics. Still, some cadre of valuation studies has accumulated in the German speaking countries since about 1990. How can this pool become better available for a national as well as an international public?

Forests as carbon sinks: How to remunerate this service?

Forests reduce greenhouse gas loads in the atmosphere by sequestering carbon. This is beneficial for humans in general, and is even profitable in financial terms – however, for the time being financial benefits accrue to the government only, but not to the forest owners. What is the amount of these profits? How can they be used to stimulate forest owners in order to enlarge their forests as carbon sinks?

Landscape Forestry in the Tropics

LaForeT schätzt den Einfluss monetärer Anreizsysteme und von Governance-Instrumenten auf räumliche und zeitliche Muster der Landnutzung sowie die Auswirkungen auf Waldbedeckung, Kohlenstoffspeicherung, Parameter der Baumarten-Diversität sowie die Existenzgrundlagen der lokalen Bevölkerung ab.

Landscape Forestry in the Tropics - PES

Payments for Ecosystem Services

The Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) approach aims at valuating services of natural ecosystems and providing land users with income opportunities. Such an incentive mechanism for the preservation of ecosystems and for the continuous supply of their services could be an essential element for the protection of tropical forests.

Quantification and regionalisation of economic values of forest ecosystem services in Germany

Demands of forest ecosystem services by the society are increasing in many fields, no matter if productive, protective, or recreational functions are concerned. As a result, regionally varying trade-offs are to be expected. This fact is acknowledged by the Forest Strategy 2020 of the Federal German Government, which asks for applying the economic approach of the TEEB study to the ecosystem services of German forests and their biological diversity, for quantifying these values and finally, for integreting them into decision processes.

Recreation Value of Forests

This project's goal is to investigate and analyse the monetary value of the recreation service of German forests, and its regional distribution.

The European Timber Regulation and its effects

Since 2013 the European Timber Regulation prohibits the placement of timber and timber products from illegal sources on the European market. How effective the regulation is implemented in Germany, is analysed by the Thünen Institute.