Optimal Forest Management for Carbon Sequestration: A Case Study of Eucalyptus urophylla and Acacia mangium in Yen Bai Province, Vietnam

Abstract

The study’s main objective is to identify optimal management strategies for planted forests when carbon benefits are considered. The Faustmann model is extended to include multi-stands and spatial arrangement of forest stands of Eucalyptus urophylla and Acacia mangium in Yen Bai province in northern Vietnam. Farmers’ current practice is to cut trees at age five, whereas the optimal rotation age of E. urophylla (when only timber has a market value) is 10 and 9 years for households and forest enterprises, respectively, at a 5 % discount rate. For A. mangium, the optimal rotation age is 13 years for both households and forest enterprises. The NPV is VND 16 million per hectare for households of both E. urophylla and A. mangium. For forest enterprises, the NPV is VND 57 million and VND 62 million per hectare for E. urophylla and A. mangium, respectively. Adding carbon values makes the optimal rotation age slightly shorter and the NPV higher. Similarly, taking into account the spatial arrangement of forest stands shortens the rotation age and improves the NPV. To encourage forest owners to lengthen the rotation age, the government can use a lump sum payment of carbon benefits at the beginning of the rotation. A planting cost subsidy will also help to narrow the actual and the optimal rotation age.