The critical nexus between bioenergy and land use

Baral, H., S. Shin, D. Murdiyarso. (July 2023) “The Critical Nexus Between Bioenergy and Land Use.” Center for Global Sustainability, Centre for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), and IPB University. 12 pp.

• Encourage implementation of mixed-species plantations, landscape-level planning and management, the use of marginal and degraded land, and the promotion of local initiatives to ensure sustainable biomass production for bioenergy. Specifically, promote the adoption of agroforestry systems — such as nyamplung systems, maize-gliricidia intercropping, and bamboo systems — to improve land productivity and support rural livelihoods.
• Encourage landscape-level planning and management to integrate bioenergy production with other land use and safeguard natural forests, conservation areas, and agricultural land.
• Develop and implement policies that promote cross-sectoral policy coherence and collaboration among the forestry, agriculture, energy, and trade sectors.
• Foster public and private partnerships to disseminate best practices and identify the potential for scaling up and improving existing models of sustainable bioenergy production.
• Strengthen governance of biomass supply systems through integration into local government systems while ensuring sustainable production.
• Advocate for international land restoration efforts — such as the Bonn Challenge, the New York Declaration on Forests, and the SDG Target on Land Degradation Neutrality — to coordinate and support land restoration and bioenergy production on a global scale.