Selection of projects and initiatives around the world
French National Forestry Office (ONF) – French Coastal Protection Agency – Regional Council of Aquitaine – FRANCE
Carrying out socio-economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by sand dunes and forest of the Aquitaine’s coastline as a support tool for management and governance. The main objectives of the study are:
• a regional study on the economic valuation of the benefits generated by the state-owned coastal sand dunes and forests ecosystems,
• a more detailed assessment of the economic values related to three case studies (coastal sand dunes and forests of Lège-Cap Ferret, Le Porge, and the nature reserve of the dunes and marshes of Hourtin),
• production of communication supports (film, etc.) to facilitate the dissemination of results.
Keywords: coastal sand dunes and forests, ecosystem services, economic valuation.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Aquitaine Carbone Association – Regional Council of Aquitaine – FRANCE
In collaboration with ANDAL Conseil, we are conducting the following assessments:
• Assessing four existing carbon projects (improved forest management (IFM) projects),
• Reviewing existing carbon standards and methodologies with relevance for IFM,
• Recommanding a revised carbon strategy in the context of the Aquitaine jurisdicition.
Keywords: carbon market, improved forest management carbon projects, certification.
————————————————————————————————————————-
AFORCE Network – A French national network devoted to forest adaptation to climate change – FRANCE
Developing technical guidelines and transferring knowledge about ‘what type of forest management to improve the water budget of established forest stands?’ in order to help foresters to take into account climate change issues. This work is done in close collaboration with academics and foresters whose institutions are part of the AFORCE network. The project is coordinated by the French Institute for Forest Development (IDF), the research and development body of the National Centre for French Forest Owners (CNPF).
Keywords: water balance, water and forest, climate change, water stress, knowledge transfer.
————————————————————————————————————————-
The Volvic Mineral Water Society, Danone Waters, and the city of Saint-Etienne – FRANCE
As part of the LIFE+ SEMEAU project and in collaboration with ACTeon, we conducted two studies:
i) Providing the socio-economic study of the SEMEAU project at two study sites in France, the Volvic site in the Auvergne region (the Volvic Mineral Water Society – Danone Waters) and the City of Saint-Etienne site, using biophysical and economic analyses to produce a technical-economic report assessing the benefit of applying preventive forest management practices to protecting drinking water sources – Learn more : our presentation for the international SEMEAU conference that was hold on October 17-19, 2012, is available online: www.life-semeau.eu.
ii) Conducting a European prospective study for the Volvic Mineral Water Society (Danone Waters) looking at the potential uses of the SEMEAU model by practioners in Europe.
With the objective of implementing the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), the SEMEAU project aims at developing land management strategies at the watershed level with a focus on forest ecosystem management. The idea is to promote local economic development as well as surface water and groundwater protection. The SEMEAU project aims at delivering management tools that meets its goals.
Keywords: cost-benefit analysis, water and forest, payments for ecosystem services, biophysical and economic analysis, European prospective.
————————————————————————————————————————-
The Société Forestière, The Caisse des Dépôts Group – FRANCE
Working with Société Forestière to definie tenders to provide guidance on the reconstitution of 8000 ha of Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) windthrown maritime pine plantations in the Aquitaine region after the 2009 windstorm Klaus. These guidelines are intended to be disseminated and shared and take into account windthrow risk and climate change issues.
In this context, the first three tenders were launched in 2011:
1. Elaboration of reforestation technical guidelines,
2. Identification of scenarios for optimising biodiversity,
3. Analysis of risks associated with forest pathogens.
Keywords: wind and forest interaction, risk forecasting, climate change, reforestation, biodiversity, forest pathogens.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Reims Management School – FRANCE
ekolog stands out by its abitlity to provide a customised training for enterprises that combines both ecology and economics. As a recent example, lectures and tutorials on ‘How to think differently after an environmental disaster?’ were provided for ‘sustainable development’ elective courses at Reims Management School (RMS).
————————————————————————————————————————-
Forestry Commission and The University of Edinburgh – UK
Development of an experimental and modeling approach to quantify the impact of abiotic (microclimate) and biotic (pests) factors on the potential for successful natural regeneration in even-aged stands of coniferous plantations undergoing transformation into continuous cover forests in the UK. (database construction, scientific papers, international conferences).
————————————————————————————————————————-
Beijing Forestry University – CHINA
Evaluation of a drip irrigation technique for establishment of transplanted seedlings in arid zones of northern China.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Regional Centre of Forest Property – FRANCE
Design and implementation of a permanent plots networks for forest management training and research purposes to develop new assessment methods of broadleaved stands in north-east of France (to date, over 200 students and foresters trained). Development of a performance criteria software package to assist managers.