Societal Values and Economic Return Added for Forest Owners by Linking Forests to Bioenergy Production

Abstract

Unless additional economic returns can be generated from ownership of forestlands, it will be difficult to simultaneously manage forests to include socially desired services while creating sustainable development opportunities for rural communities. One unique economic return is to collect nontimber forest materials for use in renewable energy production systems because this is compatible with obtaining socially based environmental services from forests while providing new economic return to forest owners. Bioenergy systems that transform wood using sustainable chemical practices are environmentally CO2-neutral and are able to supply other nonforestry-based industrial platforms (e.g., electricity, biofuels, pharmaceutical precursors, etc.).

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