6 Management for Adaptation

ADAPTATION OPTIONS 6 Management for Adaptation Coordinating lead author: John Innes Lead authors: Linda A. Joyce, Seppo Kellomäki, Bastiaan Louman, Aynslie Ogden, John Parrotta and Ian Thompson Contributing authors: Matthew Ayres, Chin Ong, Heru Santoso, Brent Sohngen and Anita Wreford Abstract: This chapter develops a framework to explore examples of adaptation options that could be used to ensure that the ecosystem services provided by forests are maintained under future climates. The services are divided into broad areas within which managers can identify specific management goals for individual forests or landscapes. Adaptation options exist for the major forest regions of the world but the scientific basis for these adaptation options and their potential effectiveness varies across regions. Because of the great variation in local conditions, no recommendations can be made that are applicable to an entire domain. The choice of management option will depend on the likely changes occurring in the forest, the management objectives of that forest, its past management history and a range of other factors. Local managers must have sufficient flexibility to choose the most appropriate suite of management options for their conditions. The current failure to implement fully the multi-faceted components of sustainable forest management is likely to limit the ability of forest management to adapt to climate change. Forest managers will need to plan at multiple spatial and temporal scales and will need to adopt adaptive collaborative management as their primary form of management. Careful monitoring and evaluation will be required, with a change in focus from outputs to outcomes. Keywords: climate change, forest management, forest planning, adaptation, boreal forests, temperate forests, subtropical forests, tropical forests, deforestation, forest degradation, carbon emissions, carbon sinks ■ 6.1 Introduction How might climate change affect the ecosystem services provided by forests, both directly and indi- rectly? There are many different possibilities, with orest management has a long history of devel- some changes (such as changes in the frequency and Fopment through scientific research and through severity of forest disturbances) affecting multiple management experience. Management theory and services. In relation to the thematic areas of sustain- practice continue to evolve as new stresses and threats able forest management developed by the United Na- affect forest dynamics. In this chapter, we identify a tions Forum on Forests (UNFF 2004), it is possible number of services associated with sustainable for- to identify a number of broad groups of impacts: est management. The provision of these services, as a whole, comprises sustainable forest management Forest cover: conversion of forests to non-woody (SFM). However, SFM is more a concept than a prac- energy plantations; accelerated deforestation and tice – it represents a target which many managers forest degradation; increased use of wood for aspire to, but which few if any have achieved. This domestic energy. does not preclude SFM as an objective: the idea of Biodiversity: alteration of plant and animal distri- continuous improvement is one that is common in butions; loss of biodiversity; habitat invasions 135 management, and as applicable in forestry as in any by non-native species; alteration of pollination other sector. systems; changes in plant dispersal and regen- eration. ADAPTATION OF FORESTS AND PEOPLE TO CLIMATE CHANGE 6 MANAGEMENT FOR ADAPTATION 6 MANAGEMENT FOR ADAPTATION Productivity: changes in forest growth and ecosys- disturbances are predicted to increase in one or more tem biomass; changes in species/site relations; parts of the world. changes in ecosystem nitrogen dynamics. Numerous possibilities exist to meet the chal- Health: increased mortality due to climate stresses; lenges presented above. In forest management, decreased health and vitality of forest ecosystems these include both reducing the effects of potential due to the cumulative impacts of multiple stres- impacts and developing new management practices sors; deteriorating health of forest-dependent and strategies to take advantage of new opportunities peoples. under a changing climate. These adjustments will Soils and water: changes in the seasonality and in- also involve taking into account the perceptions of tensity of precipitation, altering the flow regimes climate risk by the various stakeholders or ‘actors’ of streams; changes in the salinity of coastal for- of change (individuals, communities, governments, est ecosystems; increased probability of severe private institutions and organizations) (Adger et al. droughts; increased terrain instability and soil 2007). The adjustments will be influenced by the erosion due to increased precipitation and melt- adaptive capacity of the forest ecosystem, and by ing of permafrost; more/earlier snow melt result- the socio-economic communities and the political ing in changes in the timing of peak flow and setting of the forest. An example, drawn from the volume in streams. tropical rainforests of Latin America, is provided Carbon cycles: alteration of forest sinks and in- in Box 6.1. creased CO2 emissions from forested ecosystems due to changes in forest growth and productivity. 6.2 Adaptation and Adaptive Tangible benefits of forests for people: changes in tree cover; changes in socio-economic resil- Management ience; changes in availability of specific forest products (timber, non-timber wood products and Many of the actions that a manager might take to help fuelwood, wild foods, medicines, and other non- forests and forest-dependent communities adapt to wood forest products). climate change involve substantial amounts of uncer- Intangible services provided by forests: changes tainty. Adaptive management provides a mechanism in the incidence of conflicts between humans to move forward when faced with such uncertainty. and wildlife; changes in the livelihoods of for- In general, adaptive management can be viewed est-dependent peoples (also a tangible benefit); as a systematic process for continually improving changes in socio-economic resilience; changes management policies and practices by monitoring in the cultural, religious and spiritual values as- and then learning from the outcomes of operational sociated with particular forests. programmes. Within the context of climate change, forest management aims at moderating or offsetting From the above, it is evident that one particular im- the potential damage or taking advantages of oppor- pact could be affecting a number of the thematic ar- tunities created by a given climate change. In this eas – changes in the magnitude and frequency of for- context, adaptive forest management is one tool that est disturbances will affect all the ecosystem services could enable managers to adjust the structure and provided by forests. Consequently, many adaptation the consequent functioning of the forest ecosystem options focus on reducing the potential impact of to resist harmful impacts of climate change, and to major disturbances. It is important to emphasize here utilize the opportunities created by climate change. that we specify no direction in the potential changes. Adaptive management involves a process of ob- For example, in some areas, the magnitude and/or servation, analysis, planning, action, monitoring, re- frequency of disturbances may actually decrease. flection and new action (Figure 6.1). A key part of the However, under all climate scenario clusters (see process is to ensure that there is adequate monitoring Chapter 3), the magnitude and frequency of forest of the effectiveness of management actions: are they 136 Figure 6.1 Framework for Adaptive Management (Colfer 2005a). ADAPTATION OF FORESTS AND PEOPLE TO CLIMATE CHANGE 6 MANAGEMENT FOR ADAPTATION 6 MANAGEMENT FOR ADAPTATION Box 6.1 Community forest management as an option for adaptation of forest-dependent people in the tropical rainforests of Latin America The natural forests of the tropics store as much ◆ Development of an integrated approach towards carbon in vegetation and soil as the temperate and CFM, combining local knowledge with science- boreal forests combined (Field et al. 1998, Fischlin based knowledge and allowing the communities et al. 2007). However, in the tropical forests, sus- to develop according to their own priorities. This tainable forest management is the exception rather may require supporting agencies to adapt their than rule (e.g. FAO 2007). Millions of hectares own objectives, working methods and time- of tropical rain forest disappear every year (FAO spans to those of the local communities. 2007), and an unknown, possibly even greater area ◆ Many techniques and methods used to promote of forests is degraded in different degrees by un- CFM have been designed for industrial settings planned timber and non-timber harvesting activi- (e.g. forest inventories, mechanized harvesting). ties. A number of options aimed at reducing the Communities that were able to adapt these to risk of forest loss are proposed in Appendix 6.1. their own needs (e.g. multi-product forest inven- Governments have implemented many of them tories) and capacities have been more successful in one way or another in the recent past without in the continued implementation of CFM. much success; deforestation continues. This does ◆ Different approaches to entrepreneurial commu- not make the presented options less valid. Rather, nity level organizations

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