Most of the increase in ethanol production in the 2008-2012 period can be attributed to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) and earlier federal energy legislation. The expansion in U.S. biofuel production, particularly ethanol, was the predominant cause of the elevated...

Forest products play an important role in supporting rural livelihoods and food security in many developing countries. Pimentel et al. (1997) found that the integrity of forests is vital to world food security, mostly because of the dependence of the poor on forest resources. Studies of the role...

Biomass is being researched as a possible alternative to fossil sources of energy, in order to avoid externalities from fossil fuel use that affect the environment and the economy. Some biomass-based energy production systems may produce unwanted externalities in their own right, such as...

This paper introduces a spatial bioeconomic model for study of potential cellulosic biomass supply at regional scale. By modeling the profitability of alternative crop production practices, it captures the opportunity cost of replacing current crops by cellulosic biomass crops. The model draws...

Forests support rural livelihoods and food security in many developing countries by providing critical sources of food, medicine, shelter, building materials, fuels, and cash income. The increasing demand for forest products has enhanced rural livelihoods and enabled the expansion of domestic...

Smallholder farmers in many areas of the semiarid tropics are planting exotic tree species that provide alternative income sources, fuel, and building materials. While providing other benefits, these trees often occupy land that could produce annual food crops. This study uses a polyperiod,...

Agricultural expansion has traditionally led colonization of the Amazonian rainforest. Recently, pioneer farmers in the forest margins around Pucallpa, Peru, have been changing their production decisions and altering the deforestation process. In response to a government policy to protect...

That residents of Zimbabwe's Communal Areas (CAs) obtain a variety of goods and services from their natural woodlands has long been recognized. Little was known however, of the value or preferences of CA residents for these goods and services. This paper describes a study, carried out in...

This paper outlines a framework that will facilitate the assessment of the financial sustainability of proposed improvements in water and sanitation facilities. Financially sustainable services are those in which the revenues generated from the service users exceed the cost of providing the...

The literature on community based natural resource management largely focuses on developing conditions that enable self-organized groups of resource users to collectively manage common pool resources. The analytical approach in most economic analyses is that of methodological individualism,...