Sustainable Development of Forest, Energy, and Climate Change Resilience Nexus

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Economics, Policy, and Social Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 13 June 2025 | Viewed by 4976

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Forest and Wood Products Economics and Policy, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Interests: deforestation; climate change; forest ecosystems and biodiversity services; clean and renewable energy; macroeconomic policies; urban sustainability and smart cities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Landscape Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic
Interests: landscape management; bioeconomy; recreation and tourism; nonwood forest products; environmental protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest ecosystems and biodiversity play vital roles in both society and the environment as a whole. Forest services are responsible for global climate change mitigation, soil protection, air purification, food sources, habitat, wood and timber goods, non-timber products, and energy (wood fuels), among others. While forests are responsible for humanity’s well-being and environmental health, previous studies and policies have failed to link the nexus between sustainable forest development, energy needs, and climate change in the Global South and the Global North. The immediate impact has been deforestation, increasing energy poverty, forest land degradation, severe droughts and flooding, hunger, and other extremely poor climatic conditions in the majority of the Global South. On the other hand, the Global North is suffering from dangerous forest fires, drying rivers, melting ice in the North Pole, severe droughts, and flooding.

This Special Issue should collate research on the sustainable development of forests, deforestation, energy, poverty, and climate change resilience nexus. Topics that relate to forest and climate change crises are encouraged. Human, economic, environmental, and governance aspects of forest development and climate adaptation ought to be examined globally. Models and approaches used to achieve sustainable forest development, poverty reduction, and climate change adaptation are highly welcome. Cutting-edge global research related to the forest, energy, and climate nexus is welcome. We welcome papers on the subject matter and related topics that impact or are impacted by forests and climate change in one way or another.

Dr. Dastan Bamwesigye
Dr. Jitka Fialova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate change crisis
  • energy
  • forest services
  • poverty

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

23 pages, 1986 KiB  
Article
Forest Products Trade-Environment Nexus through the Lens of Carbon Neutrality Targets: The Role of Rural Bioenergy
by Li Mi, Yongjun Huang and Muhammad Tayyab Sohail
Forests 2024, 15(8), 1421; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15081421 - 13 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1422
Abstract
Environmental sustainability is the primary objective of policymakers all around the globe. The most viable option to deal with this situation is to increase the use of renewable energy sources, particularly bioenergy, a carbon-neutral energy source. Trading activities in clean and green products [...] Read more.
Environmental sustainability is the primary objective of policymakers all around the globe. The most viable option to deal with this situation is to increase the use of renewable energy sources, particularly bioenergy, a carbon-neutral energy source. Trading activities in clean and green products can also enhance environmental performance. The literature on the impact of bioenergy and trade in environmental goods on ecological sustainability is growing. However, the empirical literature has not shed light on the impact of forest products trade (FPT) and rural bioenergy on environmental sustainability, leaving a significant gap in the literature. To address this gap, this analysis examines the impact of FPT and rural bioenergy on environmental sustainability using 23 economies from 2000 to 2022. Empirical estimates of the model are obtained by applying several estimation techniques, such as fixed effects (FE), random effects (RE), two-stage least squares (2SLS), generalized method of moments (GMM), and cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL). The findings confirm that FPT and rural bioenergy reduce CO2 emissions and contribute to environmental sustainability. The estimates of control variables of economic growth, industrialization, technological development, urbanization, and financial development are positively significant, confirming that these factors increase carbon footprints and thus hurt environmental sustainability. In contrast, political stability negatively impacts carbon emissions and thus promotes environmental sustainability. In light of these findings, policymakers should encourage forest products trade and rural bioenergy to achieve environmental sustainability. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 1467 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Influence of Social Factors on Local Perceptions of Climate Change, Product Value Addition, Multiple Uses of NTFPs, and Their Influence on Poverty Alleviation in Ghana
by Obed Asamoah, Jones Abrefa Danquah, Dastan Bamwesigye, Mark Appiah and Ari Pappinen
Forests 2024, 15(2), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020248 - 28 Jan 2024
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1943
Abstract
The key to the successful and sustainable utilisation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) by local communities lies in understanding their perspectives on climate change and its effects on NTFP production. Furthermore, assessing their perceptions of the diverse uses and potential for the value [...] Read more.
The key to the successful and sustainable utilisation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) by local communities lies in understanding their perspectives on climate change and its effects on NTFP production. Furthermore, assessing their perceptions of the diverse uses and potential for the value addition of NTFPs is crucial for determining how these resources can enhance the well-being of local livelihoods. Although studies on climate change, value addition, and the multiple uses of NTFPs and their impact on local livelihoods have been conducted, locals’ perceptions of these factors have not been fully explored. This study aims to assess various social factors, including education, gender, and religion, and their influence on locals’ perceptions of the abovementioned factors. The research focused on five regions where NTFPs are prevalent in Ghana (the Western North, Bono, Ahafo, Ashanti, and Eastern regions). To investigate the influence of social factors on local perceptions of climate change, value addition, and the multiple values of NTFPs within rural communities, a total of 732 locals were randomly selected with a team of interviewers across these five regions in Ghana. Key informant interviews and focus group interview methods were used for the data collection. We applied a logistic regression model to assess the social factors and their influencing locals’ perceptions of the mentioned variables. It was revealed that age, gender, education, and occupation did not significantly influence locals’ perceptions of climate change. However, religion was found to influence locals’ perceptions of climate change. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that gender and education strongly influenced locals’ perceptions of value addition to NTFPs. In contrast, religion and constraints (related to time, finance, and skills) did not significantly influence locals’ perceptions. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the intricate interplay among local perceptions, climate change, value addition, multiple uses of NTFPs, and the capacity of NTFPs to enhance the well-being of forest fringe communities. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive, tailor-made interventions that consider local perspectives and adhere to sustainable approaches, with the aim of optimising the positive impacts of NTFPs in poverty alleviation and overall community development. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop