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Expanding bioenergy requires sustainable practices, experts say
BY ERIC BONTRAGER, LAND LETTER, 02/01/07
If the energy industry is going to run to the forests for its next source of fuel, sustainable forest management practices must be in place to prevent a "biofuels frenzy" that will bleed the woods fast and dry, speakers at a bioenergy conference in Washington, D.C., said last week.
As the pressures of climate change and rising fuels prices drive the search for alternative energy sources, the woody biomass of the forests is becoming increasingly appetizing as a source of bioenergy fuel. Some see this potential as a win-win situation for the forests, the energy and forest products industries. The harvesting of biomass could aid forest management by reducing the threat of wildfires while providing a viable source of energy.
But experts warn that the search for alternative fuels, driven in part by the urgency to combat climate change, may lead to the same rampant consumption of resources that has already drained the world's fossil-fuel supplies.
"It's terrific and great and we should go for it, but let's not get too excited for it," Barbara Bramble, senior program adviser for international affairs with the National Wildlife Foundation, said at the Pinchot Institute's "Forum on Climate Change, Forests and Bioenergy" on Capitol Hill last week.
While biomass regrows and oil does not, Bramble stressed that if bioenergy is to become a major component of the country's energy supplies, the forests cannot be treated like an unlimited resource. In order to be viable, there must be established harvesting practices like those created by the Forest Stewardship Council that create safeguards against what she calls a "biofuels frenzy."
"It is so clear to us that there is not a long-term future for what we are talking about unless the forest is not only protected but sustained," said Tim Maker of the Biomass Energy Research Center.
The FSC guidelines dictate that "the rate of harvest of forest products shall not exceed levels that can be permanently sustained."
Steps to regulate sustainable harvesting practices are already taking place all over the world. The European Union is evaluating how much biomass can be sustainably harvested from its forests, while the Netherlands has proposed setting criteria for sustainable biomass production. The Italian-led Global Bioenergy Partnership, an international effort to promote biofuel and biomass use, is working to promote sustainable bioenergy development, particularly in developing countries.
Bramble said that in the coming weeks, a new private sector initiative to create international sustainability standards will become public. Born from a U.N. bioenergy conference last October, the group will bring together stakeholders from industry, government officials, academics and advocates from environmental and social groups to develop a practical and credible process for evaluating sustainable practices for use by purchasers, banks and governments.
Having sustainable land management and harvesting practices as the "hallmarks of the industry" would ensure that a bioenergy plant would not run out of fuel in 50 to 100 years when all the regional biomass is depleted. "It would be really great to have a bioenergy industry that did not repeat the mistakes of the past," she said.
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