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5.6.4. Transfer and Local Adaptation of Technology
For LULUCF projects, technology adaptation, diffusion, and transfer requires
a broad definition. Such transfer may include sustainable forest management
practices; forest conservation and protected area management systems; silvicultural
practices for afforestation and reforestation programs; genetically superior
planting material; efficient harvesting, processing, and end-use technologies;
indigenous knowledge of forest conservation; and low-tillage agriculture and
ruminant management practices (Ravindranath et al., 2000).
Most LULUCF projects require the transfer of such technology. The absence of
these technologies may frustrate delivery of the mitigation and developmental
benefits associated with them (Sathaye et al., 1999). Poorly designed
LULUCF projects may lead to the importation of inadequate or inappropriate technologies
into recipient countries. In agroforestry projects, for example, inappropriate
selection of species and crop timbering processes or machinery may fail to bring
out the full potential of associated co-benefits, which depend on local biophysical,
social, cultural, and organizational factors (Lemaster, 1995).
Current and emerging pathways and mechanisms for technology transfer through
LULUCF GHG mitigation projects have several limitations-namely, limited financial
resources, inadequate information on costs and potential benefits of projects,
limited host country technical capacity, absence of policies and institutions
to process and evaluate mitigation projects, and long gestation periods. In
addition, the forest sector faces land-use regulation and other policies that
favor conversion to other land uses, such as agriculture and cattle ranching.
Insecure land tenure and subsidies that favor agriculture or livestock are among
the most important barriers to ensuring sustainable forest management and sustainability
of GHG mitigation (Ravindranath et al., 2000).
LULUCF projects have surmounted some of these barriers through means that include
extensive capacity building and establishing institutions at the local level
(e.g., NKCAP, Bolivia; Scolel-Te, Mexico); development of improved forest management
systems and joint ventures between private companies and local organizations
(RIL, Malaysia); and systems of financial incentives that directly benefit farmers
by increasing the relative cost-effectiveness of forestry options (Costa Rica
Joint Implementation Program) (see Box 5-1). LULUCF
projects in non-Annex I countries have the potential to fund improved technologies
that can yield environmental benefits by raising agricultural productivity through
the transfer of irrigation or management practices; increasing milling efficiency;
improving silvicultural practices; promoting sustainable forest management (Brown,
1998), as in Senegal (Box 5-6); or-where LULUCF projects
involve biofuel production-supporting energy sector development that "leap-frogs"
the fossil fuel stage, moving directly to sustainable energy development (Read,
1999).
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Box 5-6. Technology Transfer and Capacity-Building
in an Agroforestry Project in Senegal
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| Enda Syspro, an international institution, has developed an ecologically
sustainable agroforestry practice in Senegal. This system involves planting
hedges in the boundary of the fields with drip irrigation to produce various
crops and vegetables for local markets and exports. This type of project
improves food security which has been considered the primary concern of
African countries at the 1999 Abidjan, Ivory Coast, meeting for climate
change. The agroforestry project not only reduces GHG emissions (by avoiding
deforestation, sequestering carbon in hedges and soils, and replacing
fossil fuels with sustainably harvested firewood), it also improves soil
fertility and reduces soil erosion. The project maintains biodiversity
by reducing deforestation and fragmentation of the landscape. By reducing
the need for water for irrigation, it helps to reduce vulnerability to
climate change in the Sahelian countries. A training center has been set
up for Senegal and Sahelian countries to replicate such farming systems.
Various high-technology agricultural activities, including biotechnology
transfer, have been developed in Enda Spyro to improve food security and
to measure carbon sequestration. Today, more than 1,000 ha of such agroforestry
systems have been established in Senegal. |
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