This document discusses a project aiming to promote sustainable bioenergy development. It notes that demand for biofuel feedstocks is being met through expansion in the global South, which can lead to deforestation, loss of land rights, and negative impacts on livelihoods. The project's overall objective is to develop bioenergy in a way that benefits local people, minimizes environmental and social impacts, and contributes to climate change mitigation. It plans to do this through assessments of social/environmental impacts of bioenergy, potential of forest-based bioenergy for climate mitigation, analyses of policies and markets, and opportunities for forest-based bioenergy that benefits local communities. A side event will present case studies on carbon emissions from land

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THINKING beyond the canopy
Bioenergy, sustainability and trade-
offs: can we avoid deforestation while
promoting bioenergy?
THINKING beyond the canopy
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
Joanneum Research (JR), Austria
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM),
Mexico
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),
South Africa
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
Partners

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Drivers of the biofuel boom
Energy (in)security & high cost of fossil fuels [95% of
the global energy consumption from fossil fuels; global
energy consumption to increase 57% by 2030].
Mitigating global warming by reducing GHG emissions
[biofuels can be significantly “cleaner” than fossil fuels
– depending on land cover, feedstock, technology]
National and regional commitments to promote biofuels
[some national governments in industrialized countries
adopted adopting blending targets and subsidies]
THINKING beyond the canopy
Several expected impacts
Demand cannot be met in consumer countries, thus new
plantations of biofuel feedstocks required in the South
Documented impacts on forests & livelihoods are:
•Deforestation with resulting carbon emissions
attributed to biofuel feedstocks expansion
•Loss of customary land rights to developers, with
relatively little benefits for involved local people
•Several indirect effects (e.g. competition with food
crops, push to marginal lands, indirect deforestation)
Economic, institutional and ecological factors influence
on the impacts and potential of biofuel development

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Overall objective: sustainable bioenergy development
that…
• Benefits local people in developing countries;
• Minimizes negative impacts on local environment and
rural livelihoods; and
• Contributes to global climate change mitigation.
Specific objective:
To produce and communicate policy relevant analyses
that can inform governments, corporate and civil society
decision-making related to bioenergy development and
its effects on forests and livelihoods
Project objectives
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Work packages
1. Assessment of social and environmental
impacts of bioenergy development
2. Assessment of potential of forest-based
bioenergy for climate change mitigation
3. Analysis of legal and institutional
frameworks and market-based
mechanisms for sustainable bioenergy
4. Analysis of opportunities for forest-based
bioenergy production that benefits local
people in developing countries
5. Analysis of potential impacts of changes
in bioenergy technology and finance on
forests and local livelihoods
6. Policy-science dialogue to promote
sustainable and equitable bioenergy

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Focus of this side event
Present and discuss results for carbon stock changes from
specific case studies and new carbon accounting approaches
Two presentations (25’ each followed by 5’ of Q&A):
Implications of biodiesel-induced land-use changes for CO2
emissions: Case studies in tropical America, Africa and
Southeast Asia
Wouter Achten, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Carbon accounting options for bioenergy: descriptions,
evaluations and implications
Neil Bird, Joanneum Research (JR), Austria
A space for discussion of 25 minutes
THINKING beyond the canopy
www.cifor.cgiar.orgwww.cifor.cgiar.org