Presentation

In the past decades, the production biomass for energy in agriculture and forestry has increased in many parts of the world. For years to come, further increase in land use for bioenergy will be needed to meet the renewable energy ambitions of many countries, and to reduce fossil fuel use and associated GHG emissions. As many industrialized countries have a limited biomass production potential compared to their prospective demand, it is expected that substantial international bioenergy trade will develop in the coming decades where regions such as Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa will produce feedstocks for both domestic consumption and for export.

Increasing the production and energetic use of biomass has many direct and indirect effects, including land-use related GHG emissions, impacts on biodiversity, and other environmental and social effects. However, while much of the recent years’ debate has concerned negative effects, it is important to note that bioenergy expansion can also lead to positive environmental and socio-economic outcomes.

This workshop aims to bring together current state-of-the-art research concerned with assessing land use effects of bioenergy, mitigating negative impacts, and promoting attractive ways forward.

The workshop will address the following themes:
1. Quantifying Land Use and Land Use Change effects of bioenergy
a. Methods for estimating land use and land use change - modeling and other approaches
b. Effects of bioenergy systems on GHG emissions, carbon flows
c. Other effects of bioenergy (soil, water, biodiversity, social)
d. Integrating land use change effects in broader assessment frameworks

2 Responding to Land Use and Land Use Change effects of bioenergy
a. Policy measures, standards and certification
b. Integrated land use strategies