Ongoing deforestation is an urgent, global issue with both direct and indirect impacts on a nation’s future development. This as change in forest cover and economic development provides an intuitive link between each other. Deforestation is driven by the expectations of economic return through exploitation of natural resources in search for economic development. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between change in forest cover and economic development in South America between 1991 and 2019. Even if deforestation is considered widely studied, it remains an empirical question how it relates to economic development. This study uses the framework of Environmental Kuznets Curve for Deforestation (EKCD), an economic theory which suggest that economic development has an inverted U-shaped relationship with deforestation. By using a fixed effect model, we find evidence of a U-shaped relationship between forest cover and income (GDP per capita). Our results indicate that a country’s forest cover decline as income raises until a turning point is reached, after which forest cover increases together with advancing economic development. Hence, provide empirical evidence of the existence of a U-shaped EKCD in South America. Furthermore, the study is conducted using average data and the turning point therefore is also an average for the continent

Although deforestation remains widespread in the tropics, many places are now experiencing significant forest recovery, offering an optimistic outlook for natural ecosystem recovery and carbon sequestration. Natural forest regeneration is a key component of global ecosystem restoration scenarios. Regenerated forests, however, may not persist so a more nuanced understanding of the drivers of forest persistence in the tropics is critical to ensure the success reforestation efforts and carbon sequestration targets. Furthermore, the maintenance of native forests, including young second-growth ones, is essential for the continuous provision of a myriad of ecosystem services that we, as a society, rely on. More specifically, native forests play a crucial role in watershed protection and forest cover loss via changes in land use can lead to deterioration of water quality. Ensuring a sufficient and adequate supply of water for humans and ecosystems is a pressing environmental challenge and land use decisions can severely degrade stream water quality and compromise water supply. This dissertation focusses on two pressing current issues, the dynamics of tropical forest regeneration and the effects of land use on water resources. First, I use a long-term series of detailed land cover data to study forest cover trajectories and persistence of regenerated forest in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (AF), a restoration hotspot. Secondly, I use 20 years of stream water quality data combined with land cover information to investigate the effects of land cover composition on water resources in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. In Chapter 1, I investigate forest cover trajectories in 3,014 municipalities and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of forest regeneration in the AF. I found that deforestation reversals were the prevalent trend in the region (38%) but concomittant reforestation reversals (13%) suggest that these short-term increases in native forest cover do not necessarily translate into persistent trends, which limited carbon sequestration from reforestation to less than one third of its potential. In Chapter 2, I quantify forest regeneration in the AF and study its persistence. I mapped over 4.47 Mha of native forest regeneration in the region between 1985 and 2019, of which, two thirds persisted until 2019 (3.1 Mha). The relatively low persistence of second-growth forests suggests a rapid turnover of regrowing forests under certain conditions. In Chapter 3, I combine stream water quality data with detailed and land cover information to investigate the effects of landscape composition on the quality of water resources in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. I found that human dominated watersheds had lower overall water quality when compared to conserved ones, with urban cover showing the most detrimental impacts on water quality, while forest cover was associated with a better overall water quality across the studied watersheds. Finally, in Chapter 4, I examine temporal changes in water quality and their association with land use and sewage treatment also in the state of São Paulo. I show that a large proportion of stream water samples failed to meet legal thresholds for at least one water quality metric and that urbanization and agricultural activity led to deterioration of water quality over time, while sewage treatment infrastructure was an important factor in improving water quality. Overall, my dissertation underscores the importance of developing policies that promote second-growth forest persistence to ensure the success of future restoration efforts. It also highlights the need to need to plan and manage landscapes to improve water quality and reduce the growing costs of water treatment, including restoring native forest cover, which is a cost-effective intervention to sustain adequate water quality.

Forests are crucial for mitigating the effects of climate change and providing ecosystem services. Global deforestation trends coupled with changes in climate and disturbance regimes threaten the ability of forests to sequester carbon, provide timber, and regulate other ecosystem processes. My dissertation draws from principles in ecology, hydrology, and geography to identify the effects of forest disturbance from extreme events (i.e., hurricanes and droughts) on carbon sequestration and streamflow in Puerto Rico. In Chapter 1, I utilized hydroclimatic time series, geospatial analysis, and statistical techniques to evaluate the relationships between forest cover and rainfall variability on streamflow regimes. I determined that (i) watersheds with high forest cover had consistently greater streamflow than deforested ones and (ii) during dry antecedent rainfall conditions, highly forested watersheds had higher streamflow than deforested ones, suggesting that increased hillslope infiltration and storage afforded by well-developed forest soils outweigh higher vegetation water demand in forests compared to other land cover types. In Chapter 2, I combined field data from permanent forest plots with geospatial attributes, satellite imagery, and lidar point clouds to estimate forest damage extent and a loss in carbon sequestration across Puerto Rican forests after Hurricane María (2017). I also developed a random forest model to identify the biophysical and climatic drivers of spatial variation in forest damage from the hurricane. I found (i) a strong relationship between field-based estimates of aboveground biomass (AGB) loss after Hurricane María and the remotely sensed estimate of damage, (ii) 23% (10.44 ±2.33 Tg) of pre-hurricane forest AGB was lost, and (iii) storm-related rainfall was a strong predictor of forest damage, in addition to canopy height, maximum wind speeds, and soil moisture and water storage variables. Finally, in Chapter 3, I quantified changes to streamflow in Puerto Rico in the months following Hurricane María and tested whether estimates of storm-related forest damage account for these differences. I found that (i) “fast” (i.e. quickflow) and “slow” (i.e., baseflow) streamflow components reacted differently to Hurricane María, (ii) magnitude of change in quickflow was positively correlated to the magnitude of forest damage from the storm, while changes to baseflow were unrelated to forest cover or damage, and (iii) under the same level of relative damage, watersheds with low forest cover had greater quickflow increases than deforested ones, suggesting that interactions between forest cover and forest damage modulate the effects of disturbance on quickflow in highly forested watersheds and exacerbate effects of disturbance in less forested watersheds. Overall, the results from my dissertation inform management practices by quantifying vulnerability to changing climate and disturbance regimes, and highlight the importance of forests for regulating water provision and other ecosystem services.

This research is conducted to identify the integration of sustainability principles into the business model of Indonesia’s banks’ lending to the palm oil sector and the implementation by the banks’ employees to support the Indonesian government to achieve the sustainability of its palm oil sector. Three of Indonesia’s state-owned banks which are among the world’s largest creditors to the palm oil sector were evaluated using documentary research and semi-structured interviews. Firstly, these banks’ annual reports and sustainability reports from 2017 were evaluated using the business model canvas concept to identify their lending business model to the palm oil sector. Afterward, the sustainability level of each bank’s lending business model to the palm oil sector was assessed using the 4P (Principles, People, Planet, and Profit) framework of corporate sustainability. Moreover, fourteen employees of the banks’ lending department were interviewed to reveal the implementation of the sustainability principles that are integrated into each bank’s lending business model to the palm oil sector at the branch office level. The stakeholder groups that are involved in the banks’ lending to the palm oil sector were also identified using the stakeholder theory perspective on a business model in value creation for sustainability. From this research, it’s revealed that even though the palm oil sector has a significant contribution to these banks’ revenue, none of them has a designated business model in lending to the palm oil sector. These three banks’ lending business models only cover general lending and are not designated only to one particular sector. Nonetheless, these banks have been integrating sustainability principles into their lending regulations to the palm oil sector. However, these sustainability principles are only integrated into the banks’ lending regulations to palm oil companies who apply for specific loan nominals. In contrast, no sustainability principle has been integrated into the banks’ lending regulations to individual palm oil businesses. Furthermore, it’s revealed that the banks’ employees don’t strictly implement the sustainability principles that are integrated into the banks’ lending regulations to the palm oil companies because they prioritize their lending target achievement. The reason is that lending target achievement is one of the important factors for each bank’s head office to decide the annual financial bonus and career development of its employees. Moreover, these banks’ employees also argued that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) documents are not reliable to represent the sustainability of the debtors’ palm oil businesses because the banks can order their partner-independent consultants to issue the EIA result according to the banks’requests.

The mystery of the trees of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is a complex problem within a dynamic ecosystem. With new physical cores from the volcanic crater lake Rano Kao, this dissertation uncovers a detailed 15,000 year ecological history of Easter Island and its climatic variability. New radiocarbon dating methods establish a more precise chronology which shows that the island before human habitation was very different than what we know today. It had a simple but prolific ecology that transitioned into a barren grassland. What factors caused the transition are unclear but are likely to be human related. As the forests slowly disappeared, it could have triggered changes in regional and local climate, particularly rainfall, which generally leads to a rapid loss of ecosystems. With virtually stable climate conditions over the last 2,000 years, Easter Island has lost 33 species of plants including the giant palms, and still has not recovered today. This research challenges the previously accepted theory that humans deforested the island for the sole purpose of moving the Moai around, and focuses rather on uncovering the role of climate change that may have altered the ecosystem. New cores were obtained in 2005 from Rano Kao that were radiocarbon dated using scirpus seeds. The nine meters of core were sampled for oxygen isotope analysis of the lake water changes, a new science to the island. Detailed palynological studies of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs uncovered changing vegetation patterns that aligned with a 700 year drought cycle. Conclusions support a cool-dry event that occurred 545 years ago, at which time the giant palms disappeared. While it was not the focus of this study, evidence confirms human occupation for more than 500 years before the disappearance of the trees.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第19775号 / 農博第2171号 / 新制||農||1041(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H28||N4991(農学部図書室) / 32811 / 京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻 / (主査)教授 神﨑 護, 教授 柴田 昌三, 教授 大澤 晃, 外国人教師 鄭 克聲 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第20816号 / 農博第2256号 / 新制||農||1055(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H30||N5098(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻 / (主査)教授 神﨑 護, 教授 北島 薫, 教授 德地 直子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

[pt] Esta dissertação investiga o impacto de sanções ambientais sobre mudanças florestais na Amazônia brasileira. Examinamos o papel da dissuasão geral na mudança do comportamento dos agricultores, alterando suas percepções sobre o risco de violar as leis florestais após serem punidos ou testemunharem a punição de fazendas adjacentes. Usando a estratégia de diferença em diferenças e novos dados espaciais, mostramos que as sanções reduzem o desmatamento em 48 por cento nas fazendas punidas e em 21 por cento nas fazendas adjacentes, enquanto aumentam o reflorestamento em 15 por cento e 6,5 por cento, respectivamente. Análises de heterogeneidade revelam que mesmo sanções sem componentes de incapacitação levam a mudanças comportamentais substanciais e que a responsividade dos fazendeiros às sanções coincide com o compromisso geral à aplicação das leis florestais. Não há evidências de deslocamento espacial ou tentativas de fugir do monitoramento. Em um cenário contrafactual sem sanções, o desmatamento dos fazendeiros aumentaria 29 por cento. Esses resultados sugerem que a dissuasão geral pode tornar as sanções ambientais uma ferramenta poderosa para combater o desmatamento e promover o reflorestamento em escala. / [en] This dissertation investigates the impact of environmental sanctions on forest changes in the Brazilian Amazon. We examine the role of general deterrence in changing farmers behavior by altering their perceived risk of violating forest laws after being punished or witnessing the punishment of adjacent farms. Using a difference-in-differences strategy and novel spatial data, we show that sanctions decrease deforestation by 48 percent in punished farms and 21 percent in adjacent farms while increasing reforestation by 15 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that even sanctions lacking incapacitation components lead to substantial behavioral changes and that farmers responsiveness to sanctions coincides with the overall commitment to forest law enforcement. There is no evidence of spatial displacement or attempts to elude monitoring. In a counterfactual scenario without sanctions, farmers deforestation would increase by 29 percent. These findings suggest that general deterrence can make environmental sanctions a powerful tool for combating deforestation and promoting reforestation at scale.

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Legal Amazon, the Brazilian region where much of the global tropical forest is located, has suffered from rapid deforestation for decades, undermining the provision of ecosystem services and the conservation of biodiversity on local and global scales. In order to prevent deforestation, the Brazilian government has established priority and protected areas to ensure the preservation of high biodiversity areas and ecosystem services. This study analyses whether the establishment of priority and protected areas have an impact in preventing deforestation, thus promoting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Furthermore, this study also analyses the extent to which deforestation affects priority areas for biodiversity conservation. Deforestation datasets from 2001 to 2014 of the Legal Amazon was processed and analyzed. The total area and density of deforestation were compared across three categories of land: (1) protected priority areas, (2) unprotected priority areas, and (3) non-priority areas. Spatial methods of geoprocessing and the statistical method one-way ANOVA were used to analyse the deforestation trends. As a result, the deforestation density was found to be lowest inside protected areas than in unprotected areas and non-priority areas. This implied that land-use restrictions in protected areas had more impact compared to unprotected areas and non-priority areas. Furthermore, deforestation has been more intensive in regions of lower biodiversity importance. Despite this positive evaluation, substantial tracts of forest had been converted within regions of high biodiversity importance. Therefore, the regulation of priority and protected areas must be evaluated and improved in the future. / Den brasilianska regionen Legal Amazon, där mycket av den globala andelen av tropisk skog ligger, har drabbats av snabb avskogning i årtionden, vilket underminerar tillhandahållandet av ekosystemtjänster och bevarandet av den biologiska mångfalden både på lokal och global skala. För att förhindra avskogning har den brasilianska regeringen etablerat prioriterade och skyddade områden för att säkerställa bevarandet av områden med hög biologisk mångfald och ekosystemtjänster. Denna studie analyserar huruvida etableringen av prioriterade och skyddade områden påverkar förebyggandet av denna avskogning. Dessutom analyserar denna undersökning också hur omfattningen av avskogningen påverkar prioriterade områden för bevarande av biologisk mångfald. Avskogningsdata från 2001 till 2014 i Legal Amazon bearbetades och analyserades. Total areal och densitet av avskogningen jämfördes mellan tre kategorier av mark: (1) skyddade prioriterade områden, (2) oskyddade prioriterade områden och (3) icke prioriterade områden. Rumsliga metoder för bearbetning och den statistiska metoden envägs-ANOVA användes för att analysera avskogningstrenderna. Resultaten visar att avskogningstätheten var lägst inom skyddade områden jämfört med oskyddade områden och icke-prioriterade områden. Det innebär att markanvändningsbegränsningar i skyddade områden har haft större inverkan jämfört med oskyddade områden och icke prioriterade områden. Vidare har avskogningen varit mer intensiv i områden med lägre värden för biologisk mångfald. Trots denna positiva utvärdering hade ett betydande skogsområde omvandlats inom områden med höga värden för biologisk mångfald. Därför måste regleringen av prioriterade och skyddade områden utvärderas och förbättras i framtiden.