Competing Ecosystem services: an Assessment of Carbon and Timber in the Tropical forests of Central America

The study compares the economic returns of carbon sequestration and timber harvesting in Central American tropical forests between 1990 and 2005. It finds that while timber generally offers higher face-value returns, the attractiveness of carbon-based conservation is highly dependent on carbon pricing and discount rates. The author argues that integrating co-benefits and sustainable forestry management can make carbon-focused options more competitive.

• Carbon credits are not economically competitive with timber at a price of $3, but at $20 they become comparable to eucalyptus stumpage prices, though they remain too low to compete with teak.
• The Net Present Value (NPV) and Present Value (PV) of both carbon and timber are strongly affected by discount rates; lower rates prioritize future benefits, while higher rates prioritize immediate development needs of poorer nations.
• While timber appears as the superior land use option on face value, the carbon option becomes more attractive when accounting for multiple revenue sources, including indirect environmental and social benefits and non-timber forest products.
• The economic viability of REDD/REDD+ options would increase if co-benefits, such as revenues from sustainable timber extraction under Sustainable Forestry Management (SFM), are included.

APA

Khatun, K. (2011). Competing Ecosystem services: an Assessment of Carbon and Timber in the Tropical forests of Central America. Basque Centre for Climate Change. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20110114122749101110349.pdf

Chicago

Khatun, Kaysara. Competing Ecosystem services: an Assessment of Carbon and Timber in the Tropical forests of Central America. Basque Centre for Climate Change, 2011. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20110114122749101110349.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Khatun |first1=Kaysara |title=Competing Ecosystem services: an Assessment of Carbon and Timber in the Tropical forests of Central America |publisher=Basque Centre for Climate Change |date=January 2011 |url=https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20110114122749101110349.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{khatun2011competing, author = {Khatun, Kaysara}, title = {{Competing Ecosystem services: an Assessment of Carbon and Timber in the Tropical forests of Central America}}, institution = {Basque Centre for Climate Change}, year = {2011}, month = jan, url = {https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/20110114122749101110349.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }