NSF Award
9530098
Author: pfilmer@nsf.gov (Paul E. Filmer) at NOTE Date: 5/29/96 2:56 PM Priority: Normal TO: jmayi at nsf12 Subject: Dore Abstract (9530098) ------------------------------- Message Contents ------------------------------- --========================_13293532==_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" --========================_13293532==_ Content-Type: text/plain; name="AB30098.DOC"; charset="us-ascii" Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="AB30098.DOC" 9530098 Dore The central objectives of this workshop are to consider the value of forests to human society, and to investigate methods for managing forest resources under the different valuations that are thereby assigned. This workshop will produce a Phase II Start-Up Grant proposal to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) that will consider the ecology of forests, their role in the formation and change of the global climate, how human activities influence forests, what social value might be assigned to forests, and what policy changes would be necessary to manage the forests as a 'sustainable' resource. The Phase II proposal will suggest the construction of a dynamic optimization model for forest management that incorporates the concept of forests as social capital assets. Many models either have ignored social benefits as intangibles, or have simply considered the forest's stumpage and amenity values. Remaining stock is often considered as providing no benefits or as not being an asset (essentially, these models consider forest resources to be infinite, because within the models, human activity does not affect the remaining forest's value). In addition, most models simply assume that the only decision to be made is how much to cut. This model will attempt to assign an opportunity cost to the cutting. By including these ecological and social costs, the model will hopefully lead to a better informed decision on when to cut, how much to cut, and when to stop cutting. The workshop will use a large set of existing data on boreal forests in Canada and the United States, including those from the BOREAS program, to determine some of the valuations described above. The Phase II proposal will attempt validation exercises, and try to determine the valuations in the context of Costa Rican and Brazilian forests. This proposal assembles a team of scientists from the following countries: Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, and the United States. These countries are Member States of the IAI, an initiative to stimulate cooperative research on global change issues among the scientific institutions of the Americas. The National Science Foundation is the designated U.S. Government agency to carry out the United States' responsibilities within the IAI. %%% This workshop will consider the value of forests to human society, and investigate methods for better management of forest resources. This workshop will produce a Phase II Start-Up Grant proposal to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) that will consider the ecology of forests, their role in the formation and change of the global climate, how human activities influence forests, what social value might be assigned to forests, and what policy changes would be necessary to manage the forests as a 'sustainable' resource. The Phase II proposal will suggest the construction of a model for forest management that incorporates the concept of forests as capital assets which provide certain benefits to society. Many models either have ignored social benefits as intangibles, or have simply considered the forest's amenity value. Remaining stock is often considered as providing no benefits or as not being an asset. In addition, most models simply assume that the only decision to be made is 'how much to cut.' This model will attempt to assign an cost to the cutting, because the reduced amount of forest produces a reduced amount o f benefit - less recreational space, less carbon absorbed, higher evaporative loss of fresh water, greater contamination of reservoirs, etc. By including these ecological and social costs, the model will hopefully lead to a better informed decision on when to cut, how much to cut, and when to stop cutting. The workshop will use a large set of existing data on boreal forests in Canada and the United States to determine some of the valuations described above. The Phase II proposal will attempt validation exercises, and then try to determine the valuations in the context of Costa Rican and Brazilian forests. This proposalassembles a team of scientists from the following countries: Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, and the United States. These countries are Member States of the IAI, an initiative to stimulate cooperative research on global change issues among the scientific institutions of the Americas. The National Science Foundation is the designated U.S. Government agency to carry out the United States' responsibilities within the IAI. *** --========================_13293532==_--
