forestry agency moldsilva 124, bd. stefan cel mare chisinau, md
TRANSCRIPT
Forestry Agency Moldsilva
124, Bd. Stefan cel Mare
Chisinau, MD-2001
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.moldsilva.gov.md
Tel: (+373 22) 27-73-45/27-23-06
Forest Research and Management Institute
69, str. Calea Iesilor
Chisinau, MD-2069
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.icas.com.md
Tel: (+373 22) 59-33-51/92-89-56
The Republic of Moldova’s Forestry Agency Moldsilva has focused its attention on two critical issues since the adoption of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Forestry Sector by the Moldova Parliament in 2001: Preservation of standing forests, including biodiversity conservation and regeneration; and afforestation of about 130,000 hectares of degraded lands that were unfit for agricultural use. Between 2002 and 2008, the Agency Moldsilva planted about 60,000 hectares of forest and other types of forest vegetation.
Moldova has been facing arid land problems and desertification in significant parts of the country, and it is recognized that expanding forest cover can not only deal with those issues but substantially diminish the adverse impacts of climate and industry on the environment.
The main component of Moldsilva’s initiative was the development and implementation of two projects with the World Bank—the Moldova Soil Conservation Project and the Moldova Community Forestry Development Project. As a result of the project activities almost 29,000 hectares of forests have been planted on degraded lands excluded from agricultural production.
These projects are great examples of effective cooperation between the Forestry Agency Moldsilva and the World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund and BioCarbon Fund where specific results were achieved in a relatively short period of time. In addition, these projects provide a great learning-by-doing example of the benefits of close cooperation between various stakeholders: international institutions such as the World Bank, local and regional forest enterprises, Moldova’s Forest Research and Management Institute, townships and local communities.
Now, in this brochure we are happy to share our success and experience with others working in the afforestation/reforestation field.
Anatolie PoPuşoi Director General
Forestry Agency Moldsilva
PREFACE
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A Changing Climate
Climate change is becoming one of the most serious concerns for countries around the world. We have witnessed increasing natural disasters in recent years: floods and intense heat-waves devastating parts of Europe, Central Asia, India and China; intensified hurricane seasons in the United States; long-term droughts affecting food supply in Africa and elsewhere; retreating glaciers including in the Alps and the Andes, threatening water supplies for millions; forest fires and changing precipitation levels making it much more difficult to reliably grow crops. What we are seeing is only the beginning of an apparently unstable period with largely unpredictable human and economic consequences. Scientists agree that these changes are largely due to human activities through the emission of greenhouse gases from our oil- and coal-burning civilization and the destruction of forests which are leading to an increase in global temperature. Over the past 100 years the average temperature in Europe has increased by approximately 0.8° C and the warming of the planet is expected to continue.
One of the reactions of the world to impending climate change was the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and then the Kyoto Protocol negotiated in 1997 and coming into force in 2005. The Protocol calls on industrialized countries and countries with economies in transition to reduce their overall emissions of six greenhouse gases by an average of 5.2% below 1990 levels. The first legally binding commitment period for signatory countries is 2008 to 2012. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of greenhouse gases emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”
Under the Protocol, countries with reduction commitments must meet their targets primarily through national measures. However, the Kyoto Protocol offers them an additional means of meeting their targets by way of three market-based mechanisms:
• Clean Development Mechanism (CDM);• Joint Implementation (JI);• Emissions Trading—known as “the carbon market.”
These mechanisms help stimulate green investment and help Parties meet their emission targets in a cost-effective way.
The Republic of Moldova ratified both agreements: the UNFCCC in March 1995 and the Kyoto Protocol in February 2003. Since then Moldova has looked to afforestation and reforestation to help curtail greenhouse gas emissions and to utilize the Clean Development Mechanism. The country has about 363,000 hectares of forests (about 11% of the country) with an additional 50,000 hectares of other forms of forest vegetation.
Starting in1990 Moldova undertook a period of socio-economic reforms. From 1990 to 2005 the country managed to cut greenhouse gas emissions four-fold—from about 43 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent to about 12 million tons.
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production either through loss of fertile soil that leads to significant reduction of agricultural production or total exclusion of the eroded and degraded lands from the production cycle. Annual loss of the fertile agricultural land is about 26 million tons or 600 million tons of humus. There are about 6,200 ravines in the country (80,000 hectares) with an additional annual loss of land due to landslides of about 1,000 hectares. The impact of soil loss in terms of the lost annual agricultural production is estimated at US$ 1.5 billion.
These problems, if allowed to continue unchecked, will only be exacerbated by global climate change and could result in long-term adverse impacts on land productivity in many parts of the country. Carbon finance has helped to overcome the financial and capacity constraints of local communities and the state forestry agency to replant the degraded lands.
In the same timeframe, in the early 1990s, Moldova sequestered in reservoirs only about 4% of the total generated greenhouse gas emissions. As a result of the increased forest cover in the country (some of it on degraded lands that had been excluded from agricultural production) this number grew significantly by 2000, with the country sequestering almost 20% of its carbon emissions.
Currently, forestry is the main source of carbon sequestration accounting for almost 70% of the total sequestration.
The Afforestation Challenge–Dealing With Land Degradation in Moldova
Public and community lands in Moldova over the past decades have shown significant decline in productivity and have increasingly become susceptible to soil erosion and landslides, particularly due to lack of investments in the restoration of degraded lands over a long period.
Soil erosion and landslides are major environmental problems that adversely affect land productivity in several regions of Moldova. Current land degradation affects almost 35% (901,000 hectares) of the total land fit for agricultural
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It is evident that the volume of forests and other forest vegetation is insufficient to satisfy the current and future environmental and socio-economic needs of Moldova. In order to ensure the sustainable ecological and economic balance of the country, about 130,000 hectares of forest vegetation need to be planted by 2020, and productivity of the agricultural lands needs to be increased.
The Forestry Agency Moldsilva entered into negotiations with the World Bank at the beginning of 2002. The resulting Moldova Soil Conservation Project, implemented as an afforestation/reforestation Clean Development Mechanism project, aims to afforest and reforest 20,290 hectares of degraded and eroded state-owned and communal agricultural lands spread throughout the country. The project’s multiple objectives aim to restore degraded lands through improvement in vegetative cover, sustainably enhance supplies of forest products for local communities and promote greenhouse gas removal through soil and biomass carbon pools. The project contributes to sustainable development in several ways such as restoring degraded lands, preventing soil erosion, increasing forest cover, improving soil productivity and increasing supplies of fuel wood, timber and non-timber products to meet the needs of rural communities as well as replenishing the carbon stocks of degraded lands and contributing to the mitigation of climate change.
The World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund will purchase emission reductions of 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent; the Prototype Carbon Fund had also previously purchased 1,300,000 tons of emission reductions under a separate agreement.
Table 1: Project Distribution
Regions
Land for
afforestation (hectares)
Land owners (hectares)
Forest managed by
Moldsilva
In the process of transfer to Moldsilva
Local communities
Northern 4408.3 193.2 1303.3 2911.8
Central 8821.5 1263.2 1667.7 5890.7
Southern 7060.1 2437.7 1288.3 3334.1
Total (hectares)
20,289.9 3,894.1 4,259.3 12,136.6
Total (%) 100 19 21 60
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Short and long rotation species: The project uses short rotation and long rotation species. Locust (Robinia) is a major short rotation species used in plantings undertaken during the last four to five decades. It is considered an indigenous species. Therefore locust trees along with other species with similar silvicultural characteristics are used as short rotation species in the project. Depending on the improvements in site productivity, native long rotation species are proposed to replace the fast growing short rotation species after one or two rotations.
Considering that the project includes English oak (Quercus robur) and associated species, which will be managed under the long rotation of 100 years or more, the operational life time of the project is expected to be 100 years. Therefore, the operational life time of the project will extend beyond the total crediting period of 60 years under the CDM regulations, and will include an additional 40-year period that will cover the management of forests generated under the project and the steps implemented to keep the degraded lands under permanent vegetative cover.
The crediting period chosen for the project is a 20-year renewable crediting period, with further renewals of up to two further 20 year crediting periods for a total crediting period of 60 years of the project period.
Under the renewable crediting period option, the first crediting period of 20 years will cover the period from the project’s start date on October 1, 2002 and will extend to September 30, 2022.
implementation
The project uses scientific methods in site preparation, integrated soil and water conservation, nursery technologies involving improved seed, nursery management, planting, silvicultural operations and environmentally safe management practices. The technologies and practices implemented under the project are as follows:
Use of GPS in the demarcation of project boundaries: The project uses Global Positioning Systems and Geographic Information Systems to delineate the project’s boundaries and to verify the location of project sites.
Site preparation: The project adopts anti-erosion, surface leveling, slope control, landslide prevention and runoff reduction measures.
Choice of species: Native species (English oak (Quercus robur), European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), White willow (Salix alba), White poplar (Populus alba), Black poplar (Populus nigra), etc.) and non-native species (Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), Honey locust (Gleditschia triachantos), Japanese pagoda tree (Sophora japonica), Russian-olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), Austrian pine (Pinus nigra), etc.) are mixed in different proportions as per their suitability to the sites. Based on the growth characteristics and similarities in their management needs, the species are aggregated into groups for the purpose of ex ante estimation of greenhouse gas removal by sinks.
Improved seed and planting stock: As part of the measures to promote improved planting stock, seeds are carefully selected from trees used in the production of nursery stock.
Nursery technology and improved practices: To improve the germination of seed and establishment of seedlings, seeds are subjected to special treatment. The nursery practices that contributed to improved seed germination are harrowing, mulching, weed control, tillage and irrigation. To promote favorable conditions for seedling growth, manual or mechanical weeding is carried out at periodic intervals. However, no fertilization is used either during nursery or during the forest establishment stage.
Forest establishment: Tending operations are done to maximize the survival of seedlings in the second and third years. These operations focus on protection, weeding, pest management and fire control and implemented as per recommended technical and silvicultural guidelines. To ensure high density rates, gaps are planted in the second and third years.
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Methodology
The methodology applied in the project is “Restoration of degraded lands through afforestation/reforestation” (AR-AM0002) which was approved by the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism in May 2006. This methodology is based on the project design of the Moldova Soil Conservation Project and was developed by the specialists from the Forestry Agency Moldsilva, Forest Research and Management Institute, GFA Terra Systems (Germany), Winrock International Ecosystem Services Unit (USA) and with support of experts from the World Bank. The methodology is intended for reforestation of lands that are severely degraded and are still degrading due to soil erosion, landslides or other physical constraints and anthropogenic actions. The full text of the methodology including its applicability is available on the UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism website (http://cdm.unfccc.int).
Costs and Revenues
The activities undertaken under the project include: site preparation, nursery management, planting stock development, planting, protection and management of plantations. The species for planting are selected based on suitability to soil and climate and adaptability to the sites.
The planting activities under the project involved manual and mechanical methods of soil preparation and planting. The post-planting activities include protection, gap planting, tending, pest management, thinning, fire control and harvesting. No nitrogenous fertilizers have been used in the project and no biomass burning activities are practiced. However, the project proposes to monitor biomass burning that may occur from natural fires.
The cost of project implementation during the first 10 years (2002-2012) is estimated at US $18.7 million. Moldsilva is expected to finance the costs during this period.
The newly forested area will produce fuelwood, timber and non-timber products to meet the needs of rural communities (see Table 3).
Table 3: Revenue from Forest-related Products over a 20-year Crediting Period (US$/hectares)
ProductLocusts and
assoc.sp. Oaks and assoc. sp.
Poplars and assoc.sp.
Revenue from wood products
Sawn timber >14 cm 3 25
Timber for construction 12-24 cm 8 38
Timber for auxiliary construction <11 cm 46 7.5 38
Fuel wood 69 5.6 40
Branches 21 15.9 19
Revenue from non-wood products
Hunting 17 17 17
Beekeeping (payment for apiary placement) 26 26 26
Total 190 72 203
Project Participants
The Republic of Moldova’s Forestry Agency Moldsilva and the World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund and BioCarbon Fund are the project participants in implementing this project. Additionally, Moldsilva has established legally binding relationships with 384 local councils that represent the rural communities in the country (see Table 2).
Table 2: Project Participants and Their Respective Responsibilities
The World Bank (Prototype Carbon Fund and the BioCarbon Fund)
Agency Moldsilva Other participants
1. Develop project documentation and submission of the project for registration to the UNFCCC Secretariat;
2. Prepare monitoring reports for verification by third party;
3. Arranging for verification of carbon sinks; and
4. Payment for delivery of emission reductions.
Through Forest Protection Fund:
1. Approve, coordinate and monitor all project activities;
2. Conduct annual control and inventory of forest crops; and
3. Approve plans for tending of new forests, the final harvest and the regeneration.
Through forestry association (forestry and hunting enterprises and natural reserves):
1. Identify plots available for planting;
2. Prepare soil, planting and reparation of forest crops; and
3. Transfer of forest crops in canopy closure stage.
Through Forest Research and Management Institute (Project Implementation Unit):
1. Ensure sustainability of afforestation activities in the Republic of Moldova through raising public awareness activities and strengthening the forest management activities; and
2. Monitor ecological, social and carbon sequestration aspects of the project.
Local communities:
1. Allocate lands for afforestation and stipulate the requirement for their use; and
2. Participate in the inventory of forest plantations.
Regional land management agencies:
1. Participate in the commission for selection and allocation of lands;
2. Approve annual inventory of forest plantations; and
3. Monitor implementation of national and local programs on the forest use, regeneration and protection.
Regional environmental representatives:
1. Participate in inventory of forest plantations;
2. Monitor implementation of national and local programs on the forest use, regeneration, guard and protection;
3. Supervise adherence to standards for the use of forest products;
4. Prevent the use of rare and protected flora and fauna;
5. Establish norms for hunting animal and bird species; and
6. Analyze the condition of forests.
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• Community based management of degraded lands: The project activity is made possible with active cooperation of local councils, who own about 40% of lands under the project, and are expected to manage these lands after their transfer from Moldsilva.
• Local employment: The project is expected to create local employment through planting, weeding, tending, thinning, protection and harvest of wood. The project will provide employment in site preparation, planting, harvesting, nursery management, weeding and collection of non-timber forest products.
• Increase in greenhouse gas sequestration in soil and biomass pools: The project activity is expected to enhance greenhouse gas sequestration by preventing soil erosion in areas of severe wind and water erosion. The retention will be enhanced through restoration of soil productivity and creation of above-and below-ground carbon pools.
• Biodiversity conservation: Biodiversity impacts of the project are expected to be seen in the protection of threatened species, improvements in ecological succession and restoration of the habitat of endangered flora and fauna. The local councils are expected to manage the planted sites as per approved management plans. The monitoring plan will ensure that the project activities are implemented as per project design document and progress will be assessed by monitoring and verification of carbon pools at regular intervals.
Socio-economic Benefits
The project contributes to sustainable development in several ways such as restoring degraded lands, preventing soil erosion, increasing forest cover, improving soil productivity and increasing supplies of fuel wood, timber and non-timber products to meet the needs of rural communities as well as replenishing the carbon stocks of degraded lands and contributing to the mitigation of climate change.
The anticipated benefits of the project are outlined below:
• Prevention of future land degradation: The project will prevent land slides, improve the hydrological regime and minimize water and wind erosion. The afforested areas will act as shelter-belts and limit adverse impacts of soil erosion from degraded lands on adjoining lands.
• Supply of forest products and services: Local populations will benefit from increases in supplies of forest products. In the medium- to long-term, the project will provide multiple products, services and income from sale of timber and non-timber products such as medicinal plants, honey from beekeeping etc., and fuelwood supplies to meet the household cooking energy needs of the rural and urban households.
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However, most of these issues have been solved gradually and in turn became instrumental to the following: a) Integration of environmental requirements in the forestry practices and use of agricultural lands;b) Innovation in carbon financing in land management;c) Re-inclusion of agricultural lands affected by soil erosion and degradation in economic cycle;d) Cooperation of all national forestry actors in large-scale projects (Agency Moldsilva, Forestry Research and
Management Institute, forestry enterprises, local communities, environmental protection authorities etc.).e) Capacity building and knowledge transfer to forestry staff through introduction to new methodologies
and technologies:• Use of simulations for initial stages of forest plantations;• Use of new tools for estimating greenhouse gases removals by forestry vegetation;• Use of GPS and GIS technologies; and • Creation and operating a national database for forest resources.
f) Opening up a public dialogue during the implementation of national forestry strategies and programs;g) Harmonization of ecological, social and economic interests within the project framework;h) Preparation and organization of procedures for verification, validation, certification under afforestation/
reforestation Clean Development Mechanism projects;i) Involvement and cooperation of national and international experts in the process of projects
development and implementation; and j) Possibility of receiving revenue from the previously non-revenue activities (through the sale of the
certified emission reductions.
Lessons Learned
The Moldova Soil Conservation Project has served as a prototype for a reforestation project that demonstrates that the carbon market can work for rural communities and that forests can play a major role in dealing with climate change.
The project was only the second land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) project to be registered by the U.N. Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism.
The following issues and challenges during project development and implementation phases have been identified and should be emphasized:a) Lack of expertise in development, approval and implementation of afforestation/
reforestation Clean Development Mechanism projects both nationally and internationally; b) Afforestation/reforestation Clean Development Mechanism methodologies had not been
approved by the UNFCCC at the time of the project inception; c) Low recovery rate and long payback period of investment;d) Difficulties in establishing project boundaries and appropriate monitoring mechanisms; e) Need to reconcile socio-economic problems arising due to project leakage; and f) Need for collaboration by a large number of institutional players, specialists and experts.
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The success of the Moldova Soil Conservation Project has inspired a number of follow-up initiatives.
Grant for Community Forest Development
Witnessing the successful project development and implementation of the Moldova Soil Conservation Project and in order to strengthen its activities, the Japanese government provided a supplemental grant under the official Japanese development assistance in the amount of US $919,900. The grant intended for community forest development activities was administered by the Agency Moldsilva (through the Forestry Research and Management Institute).
Main objectives of the Grant:a) Ensuring sustainability of the afforestation activities through public awareness and
improvement of forest management;b) Increasing well-being of the rural communities through the improvements of forest and
community pasture management; andc) Achieving global environmental benefits through carbon sequestration and reduction
of the concentration of greenhouse gases.
Fifty communities have applied and received the funding as part of this grant. The money has gone to support rural communities’ infrastructure of forest management resources and to address local needs that result in illegal logging for fuelwood and illegal grazing. The grant contributed to the better management of forest vegetation in the area of 6,470 hectares; 340 hectares have seen improvements in natural regeneration previously destroyed by illegal logging. Also about 2,000 hectares of community pastures have been improved by purchasing more than 45 tons of grass seeds and 383 tons of fertilizers.
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Next Phase: Moldova Community Forestry Development Project
Given the success of the Moldova Soil Conservation Project, the World Bank and the Forestry Agency Moldsilva agreed to develop a follow-up project – the Moldova Community Forestry Development Project, which aims to reforest 8,157 hectares of eroded and unproductive land with the same implementation technology.
The project was launched in November 2006. The total investments required for the project implementation during the period 2006-2035 is estimated as US$ 21,7 million. This sum will be provided by the Agency Moldsilva (80%) and by 265 communities (20%, in kind). The scheduled project crediting period will be for 30 years (2006-2035).
The Agency Moldsilva and the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund have recently signed the Letter of Intent for the sale of 550,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
The Community Forestry Development project is expected to sequester about one million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2017 and about 3.2 million tons during the first crediting period (2006-2035).
Just as with the Moldova Soil Conservation Project, the Government of Japan has awarded an additional supplement grant in the amount of US $975,000 in March 2009 to support the activities of the project. The grant will establish the Community Support Program for sustainable and integrated forest management and carbon sequestration through reforestation.
Voluntary greenhouse gases emission reductions
The Agency Moldsilva has signed an additional agreement with the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund on the sale of voluntary emissions reductions for 175,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from 8,170 hectares of forests planted under National Afforestation/Reforestation Program in 2003-2007. The transaction cost was about US $440,000.
Lessons learned during the development and implementation of afforestation/reforestation Clean Development Mechanism projects (Moldova Soil Conservation Project and Moldova Community Forestry Development Project) and non-CDM (voluntary) are extremely important for the future development of similar projects. New approaches for the implementation of traditional activities of the expanding of afforested lands require extensive involvement and active communication with local authorities and communities and international institutions and organizations.
The successful development and implementation of the Moldova Soil Conservation and Moldova Community Forestry Development projects was made possible by the close cooperation of a number of national and international institutions. Experts from the Forestry Agency Moldsilva, the World Bank, Forest Research and Management Institute, GFA Terra Systems, Winrock International Ecosystem Services Unit, TerraCarbon, Institute of Soil Science and Agro-chemistry “N. A. Dimo,” ISIS Opinia and Institute of Zoology have contributed at various stages of the project development and implementation. Following experts have been instrumental to the success of the project: Arcadie Capcelea, Benoit Bosquet, Samir Suleymanov, Rama Reddy Chandra, Philip Brylschi, Andre Aasrud and Anatol Gobjilă, all from the World Bank. From the Agency Moldsilva—Anatolie Popuşoi, Anatolie Ciobanu, Petru Stratulat, Petru Rotaru and Elena Gritenco as well as key team members including management, engineers and technical staff at the Forest Research and Management Institute that oversaw project implementation on the ground. Prof. Dr. Valerian Cherbari from the Institute of Soil Science and Agro-chemistry “N. A. Dimo.” And international experts including Dr. Viorel Blujdea, ICAS/Romania; Dr. hab. Gerald Kapp, Alexander Horst, Lutz Horn, Dr. Marten von Velsen-Zerweck, GFA Terra Systems, Germany; Dr. hab. Tudor Danii, Mariana Mascautan, ISIS Opinia, Moldova; David Shoch Winrock International Ecosystem Services Unit/TerraCarbon, USA; Sandra Brown—Winrock International Ecosystem Services Unit, USA; Paul Grigoriev.
settlements
highways/roadways
Legend
existent vegetation
hydrographical objects
plots afforested in 2002-2008
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Printed by Combinatul Poligrafic, Petru Movila street, 35;MD-2004, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. Comanda nr.
Descrierea CIP a Camerei Naţionale a CărţiiCarbon sequestration through afforestation. Experience of the Republic of Moldova /Agenţia pentru Silvicultură „Moldsilva”. – Ch.: Î.E.P. Ştiinţa, 2009 (Combinatul Poligr.). – 20 p.
ISBN 987–9975–67–637–3630
© Agenţia pentru silvicultură „Moldsilva”. 2009© I.E.P. Stiinta. 2009ISSN 987–9975–67–637–3
Editor: Masha Alexandria Ageeva-Turovskaya
Translation: Liliana Spitoc
Authors of photos: © Boris Capnin – p. 1; p. 9; p. 13 (c.; b); p. 17. © I. E. P. Stiinta (photo by Romeo Svet) – p. 2; p. 5 (t.); p. 6; p. 12; p. 13 (t.); p. 16.© ICAS – p. 4 (t.; b.); p. 5 (b.); p. 14; p. 15.
Cartographic materials: © ICAS (Chisinau)
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