Opportunities and Challenges for Integrating Bioenergy into Sustainable Forest Management Certification Programs

Abstract

We review certification programs targeting sustainable bioenergy production and identify common features and differences with sustainable forest management (SFM) certification programs. SFM programs are compatible with bioenergy certification programs except for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air quality, and food security requirements. Program commonalities call for coupling SFM and bioenergy certification to reduce costs and enhance program development and adoption. As integrated biorefineries using wood-based feedstocks come online, the coupling of certification programs seems inevitable and beneficial. In turn, bioenergy certification may improve forest management and operations as well as energy and land-use efficiencies. Coupled certification will thus help find the balance between biomass removals and long-term soil productivity on the one hand and sequestration of carbon in forest growing stock and wood-based products with bioenergy GHG emission offsets on the other.