Maximising opportunities for
sustainable development with
A&R CDM projects in Uruguay
Walter Oyhantçabal
Ministry of Agriculture
Uruguay
Bonn, June 5, 2003
woyha@mgap,gub.uy
Or: Trying to make very high
quality projects (VHQP)
Or: How to play a win-win game.
A High Quality CDM Project is one in
which:
Host country wins and
Annex I countries win
respecting the environmental integrity
of the KP
We know what is climate change...

 30 % more rain compared to 40 years
ago !!!!
Octubre + Noviembre + Diciembre (INIA La Estanzuela)
500
900
800
400
700
600
300
500
400
200
300
200
100
Media móvil 10 años (mm)
Precipitación trimestral (mm)
1000
100
0
0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Martino et al., sin publicar
Land use in Uruguay (2002, Ha)
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Native forests: 810.812 (4,6%)
Area with planted forests: 714.081 (4,0%)
Effective area planted: 514.038
Crops: 673.000 (3,7%)
Pastures: 14.000.000 Ha. (87,7%)
 Country with Reduced Forest Cover
(CRFC): less than 10% (Teheran Process)
Natural characteristics of Uruguay
and potential for forests

Area: 17,8 million ha.
 Subtropical/temperate climate: pp 1300 mm
 Mean tº 20-16º C
 NPP of planted forest ecosystems: medium to
high (16 to 30 m3/Ha/yr with Eucaliptus)
 3,3 M Ha classified and identified in
cartography as forest use priority.
 Degraded Lands: 360.000 Ha.
National forest policy
 Objectivs:


Conservation of natural forests through
management plans
Enhance planted forest base in zones of low
productivity for other agricultural uses.
 Instruments:

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Tax exemptions
Subsidies to plantation costs (50%)
Credit
R+D
Extension
Japanese co-operation: a key of
Uruguayan forest development
 1980: JICA-LATU: R&D equipment
 1985: JICA-MGAP agreement, Master Plan
for plantations and use of wood.
 1990: JICA-MGAP, Forest 5 year Plan
 (in that early time the plan already estimated that
100.000 Ha. would remove CO2 equivalent to 25% of
the national emissions of this GHG)
 1991: JICA-INIA, Tree breeding program.
Main achivements:
Native forest w/management plans (ha)
1990
14.000
2000
107.000
Total effective area planted (ha)
45.000
514.000
3.000
52.000
Annual rate of plantation (ha)
Exports (millions of U$S)
13
86
178
1083
Investment (millions of U$S )
<150
>900
Employment (N° of persons)
1.000
14.000
4
14
Number of firms
G forest P/G Agric. P
Evolution of the area annually
afforested (in Ha.)
90000
80000
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
Eucalipt.
Pines
Total
Perspectives for ´00:
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Annual new areas decrease sharply after ´97
Tendency to stop growth
Foreign investment in the sector diminishes
Challenge of industrialization
Progressive elimination of subsidies to 2007
Need for new and additional incentives
¿CERs?
Proposals for a portfolio of high
quality/clearly A&R and bioenergy
additional projects
 Plantations in degraded/severely eroded
lands.
 Plantations in grasslands of low productivity
with no current forest practices.
 Associative afforestation in livestock areas to
intensify and diversify income and labour
(reaching scale)
 Combined heat and power generation from
sawmills wastes and rice husks.
Strengths of Uruguay to produce
high quality CERs:
 National Board for Climate Change Projects
 Guidelines and Procedures for CDM project
submission and National approval available.
 List of criteria and indicators to estimate
contribution to sustainable development.
 Good Forest Management Practices being
elaborated for planting, management and
harvesting.
 All forest projects with management plans and
registered in the Ministry of Agriculture.
 Climate and soils make possible to remove in
the order of 300 ton CO2/Ha in 20 years.
(Strengths of Uruguay to produce high quality
CERs:)
 Uruguay is part of the Montreal Process and
covers now 20% of the 67 indicators.
 Important process of certification under FSC.
 Long tradition in fire insurances and low
primes (0,2% of the value of the plantation)
 Lack of conflict for the land.
 Deforestation of natural forests forbidden by
the law and effectively controlled.
 Most firms show concern for protecting the
environment and biodiversity in particular.
 Information available to calculate carbon
stocks and CO2 fluxes in the baseline with
reasonable accuracy.
Some weakness also:
 Lack of capital to start projects
 Lack of forest culture between cattle farmers.
 Insufficient availability of biomass coefficients
and growth models. Must be completed to
avoid use of default values.
 More studies are needed on aspects of
nutrients and water dynamic in soils under
plantations..
Focus on the key issues to
design high quality A&R
CDM projects
Going to national circumstances in
Uruguay.....
1.
Non permanence:
 Non accounting tools:
 Good Practices for Forest Sustainable
Management, to minimise risk of C losses by
fires, pests and other disasters, following IPCC
GPG.
 Use of insurance
 Diversification of sites to minimise losses.
 Legal guarantees and respect of contracts. No
risk of illegal human deforestation.
 Monitoring of losses.
 Accounting modalities: option to use tCERs
2. Additionality:
 Projects must demonstrate that they are not
the baseline.
 Identification of barriers.
 The forest area of the country tends to
stabilise.
 Projects provide new technology and
capacities to farmers.
3. Leakage:
 Uruguay is a country of Low Forest Cover.
 There is very little chance of negative leakage
by activity shifting. Moreover, afforestation
may induce intensification of meat production
in the non afforested area of the farms,
through improved pastures, increasing C
stocks in soils.
(not credited in 1º CP)
4. Socio-economic impacts:
 Contribution to sustainable development could
be seen in:
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Diversification and increase of sources of
income, in farms dedicated only to livestock
production, may help retain farmers in the
country.
Direct and indirect employment generation over
the baseline (extensive livestock production).
Replicability
Technological spill-over
Capacity building
Increase of participation in associative forms.
Promotes innovation process
Social acceptance
Care of landscape and ecoturism
5. Environmental impacts:
 Project design shall follow national criteria and
indicators.
 EIA and mitigation measures implemented.
 Monitoring of relevant indicators following
check list.
 Afforestation is made on soils of low native
grassland productivity, or degraded lands.
Minimum tillage is adopted to minimise
erosion and emissions of CO2.
 Some evidences show that in Uruguay well
managed forests might favour wildlife,
creating new refugees.
 Measures to preserve biodiversity, including:
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Use of more than one species in monoespecific
patches.
Leaving not less than 30% of the area with
native vegetation
Preserve refugees of native animal species.
Monitor biodiversity evolution.
Use of native species to the possible extent.
Respect completely native forests areas.
Use IPM and minimise use of contaminant
pesticides.
To finalize:
 We can agree that the challenge is to identify
and implement A&R CDM projects of high
quality in terms of socio-economic and
environmental co-benefits.
 But we need to learn by doing. Uruguay,
among other countries, accept the challenge.
And we want to start now.
Thank you very much !!!!
Comments are welcomed to
[email protected]