scholarly journals Silvicultural Management System Applied to Logged Forests in the Brazilian Amazon: A Case Study of Adaptation of Techniques to Increase the Yield and Diversity of Species Forestry

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 509
Author(s):  
Agust Sales ◽  
Marco Antonio Siviero ◽  
Sabrina Benmuyal Vieira ◽  
Jorge Alberto Gazel Yared ◽  
Ademir Roberto Ruschel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Silvicultural Management ◽  
The Cost

The existence of degraded forests is common in the Eastern Amazon. The maintenance of these forests standing and the recovery of their productivity play an important role in the conservation of biodiversity, storage and carbon sequestration. However, the management techniques currently employed are designed for natural forests in the first harvest cycle or lightly explored and do not apply adequately to forests that have gone through several harvest cycles. Therefore, adaptations and the establishment of new management criteria that take into account other characteristics of these types of forests are necessary to ensure their sustainability. The objective of this study was to propose a silvicultural management system that has the potential to recover and perpetuate the productivity of an intensively logged tropical forest. A forest census was carried out on 535.6 ha for trees with dbh ≥ 25 cm. With these data, the following two treatments were designed: (1) criteria: the BDq method was applied from B = 9.8 m2 ha−1, D = 100 cm and q = 2. The criteria for standing wood commercialization were, in this order, first, Health; second, Tree Stem; third, Tree Density and fourth, dbh ≥ 105 cm. (2) Control: the planning was in accordance with Brazilian regulations. For the cost–benefit and sensitivity analysis, the Net Present Value (NPV) was used and a projection of ±20% was made in the commercial price of standing wood. In the criteria treatment, a higher number of trees and species destined for the commercialization of standing wood was verified in relation to the control treatment, showing a greater diversity of species. In the criteria treatment, NPV was positive and superior to the control treatment in all scenarios. The proposed silvicultural management system with an object of an explored and enriched forest, with criteria for harvesting trees with a minimum cut diameter of 25 cm, proved to be viable to generate economic returns and with conservationist potential for the continuous supply of forest products and maintaining biodiversity.

scholarly journals Harvesting Criteria Application as a Technical and Financial Alternative for Management of Degraded Tropical Forests: A Case Study from Brazilian Amazon

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 373
Author(s):  
Marco A. Siviero ◽  
Ademir R. Ruschel ◽  
Jorge A. G. Yared ◽  
Osmar J. R. de Aguiar ◽  
Paulo C. G. Pereira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Conservation ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Economic Information ◽  
Silvicultural Management ◽  
Stem Quality ◽  
Commercial Species ◽  
Selection Of

This article addresses a case study on the application of criteria for harvesting, aiming at restoration and profitability in a degraded tropical forest in the Amazon. The objective is to provide technical and economic information to promote a truly sustainable silvicultural management system in forests with this profile and turn them into a desirable financial asset for conservation and social development. In the forest census, 85.907 trees ha−1 (100.8566 m3 ha−1) were inventoried with diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥ 25 cm, belonging to 106 commercial species. When applying the harvest criteria, 19.923 trees ha−1 (29.99 m3 ha−1), referring to 53 species, were destined for harvest. Some trees were selected by more than one criterion, totalizing 17.985 trees ha−1 by density, 1.831 trees ha−1 by compromised health, 0.212 trees ha−1 by maximum dbh, 18.933 trees ha−1 by minimum dbh, 1.385 trees ha−1 by tree stem (quality 3), and 0.080 trees ha−1 by species conservation. In all scenarios, the application of criteria for harvesting proved to be profitable with excellent cost–benefit ratios. The selection of trees with a minimum cutting diameter of 25 cm in shorter cycles tends to allow the promotion of new commercial species. The set of actions presented has the potential to favor the maintenance of biodiversity and expansion of low-density populations, health and the potential increment of the forest productivity. In addition, it is more feasible for the supply of forest products in a shorter time than provided for in Brazilian regulations; however, they must respect the specificities of the species and also of the site.

scholarly journals Economic Analysis of the Use of VCS2000 for Pork Carcass Meat Yield Grading in Korea

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1297
Author(s):  
Juntae Kim ◽  
Hyo-Dong Han ◽  
Wang Yeol Lee ◽  
Collins Wakholi ◽  
Jayoung Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Feed Consumption ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Meat Yield ◽  
The Cost

Currently, the pork industry is incorporating in-line automation with the aim of increasing the slaughtered pork carcass throughput while monitoring quality and safety. In Korea, 21 parameters (such as back-fat thickness and carcass weight) are used for quality grading of pork carcasses. Recently, the VCS2000 system—an automatic meat yield grading machine system—was introduced to enhance grading efficiency and therefore increase pork carcass production. The VCS2000 system is able to predict pork carcass yield based on image analysis. This study also conducted an economic analysis of the system using a cost—benefit analysis. The subsection items of the cost-benefit analysis considered were net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and benefit/cost ratio (BC ratio), and each method was verified through sensitivity analysis. For our analysis, the benefits were grouped into three categories: the benefits of reducing labor costs, the benefits of improving meat yield production, and the benefits of reducing pig feed consumption through optimization. The cost-benefit analysis of the system resulted in an NPV of approximately 615.6 million Korean won, an IRR of 13.52%, and a B/C ratio of 1.65.

scholarly journals The ALARP Principle in the Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Acceptability of Investment Risk

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Nesticò ◽  
Shuquan He ◽  
Gianluigi De Mare ◽  
Renato Benintendi ◽  
Gabriella Maselli
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Investment Risk ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Mitigation Design ◽  
The Cost

The process of allocating financial resources is extremely complex—both because the selection of investments depends on multiple, and interrelated, variables, and constraints that limit the eligibility domain of the solutions, and because the feasibility of projects is influenced by risk factors. In this sense, it is essential to develop economic evaluations on a probabilistic basis. Nevertheless, for the civil engineering sector, the literature emphasizes the centrality of risk management, in order to establish interventions for risk mitigation. On the other hand, few methodologies are available to systematically compare ante and post mitigation design risk, along with the verification of the economic convenience of these actions. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate how these limits can be at least partially overcome by integrating, in the traditional Cost-Benefit Analysis schemes, the As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) logic. According to it, the risk is tolerable only if it is impossible to reduce it further or if the costs to mitigate it are disproportionate to the benefits obtainable. The research outlines the phases of an innovative protocol for managing investment risks. On the basis of a case study dealing with a project for the recovery and transformation of an ancient medieval village into a widespread-hotel, the novelty of the model consists of the characterization of acceptability and tolerability thresholds of the investment risk, as well as its ability to guarantee the triangular balance between risks, costs and benefits deriving from mitigation options.

Creating continuous areas of old forest in long-term forest planning

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 1817-1823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Öhman
Keyword(s):  
Net Present Value ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Core Area ◽  
Northern Sweden ◽  
Present Value ◽  
The Core ◽  
Long Range Planning ◽  
The Cost

Harvest activities tend often to create landscapes where the old forest is fragmented into isolated patches that provide marginal conditions for species that inhabit forest interiors. This paper presents a long-range planning model designed to maximize the net present value and to create continuous patches of old forest. In this model, the spatial structure of old forest is controlled by core area and edge habitats. Core area is defined as the area of old forest that is free of edge effects from surrounding habitats. The core area requirement is set to a fixed value for each of a number of time periods, whereas the area of edge habitats, which should be as small as possible, is weighted against the net present value. The model is applied in a case study to an actual landscape consisting of 755 stands of forest in northern Sweden and solved using simulated annealing. The results show that distinct continuous patches of old forest are created when both a core area requirement and consideration of the amount of edge habitats are included in the problem formulation. The cost of creating continuous areas of old forest was found to be significant.

Offline Well Abandonment SIMOPs: An 81 Well Phase I & II Case Study Enabling ABEX Reduction in South East Asia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Canny ◽  
Jane Amarin ◽  
Verapich Pinprayong ◽  
Chumpae Sratongroy ◽  
Pancharat Pitchayang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phase I ◽  
Phase Ii ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Pressure Control ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
Well Abandonment ◽  
The Cost

Abstract In the decommissioning phase of oilfield facility lifecycles, focus pivots from positive net present value to executing the care and preservation, then decommissioning in the safest and most environmentally sensitive manor, and at the lowest total cost of ownership. Asset Retirement Obligation (ARO) is a long-term liability carried on the balance sheet, as a provision for the cost to return a wellsite to pre-exploration condition. The reduction of abandonment and decommissioning expenditure (ABEX) in executing compliant operations is a key business performance factor, and critical in executing higher volumes of wells earlier than planned. In doing so maximizing value to company shareholders, residents, industries and government level stakeholders. In the case study, an offline pre-abandonment and Phase I primary reservoir isolation project is presented, which seeks to maximize net project efficiency via offline wellbore intervention, executing the primary reservoir isolation of the wellbore via rigless techniques. This approach contributed to ABEX reductions by up to 40% per well vs the planned approval for expenditure (AFE) provisions taken for the operations. The project execution structure utilized offline intervention and Phase I primary reservoir isolation of 81 wellbores, across 5 wellhead platforms and 47 days continuous operations. Operations were part of a simultaneous operation (SIMOPS) project, as an offline work front located on the wellhead platform (WHP) weather deck. A second work front for Phase II and Phase III well abandonment operations, is executed concurrently, from the jack-up rig cantilever above the WHP. Live well operations are conducted concurrently by both work fronts, through the Christmas Tree (XT) and pressure control equipment in Phase I, and through the drilling riser and blowout preventor for Phase II and Phase III, to maximize productivity when the rig is on location. The scope of operations included wellhead qualification, wellbore access and preparation, well kill, injectivity testing, various wellbore preparation and cement placement techniques, pressure testing and lubrication of the wellbore. The operator's system engineering, design of operations and planning agility are key to its success. Acute focus was given to the batching of operations and delivery of these in a phased approach to increase productivity and maintain high service delivery through repetition of tasks. The project successfully executed Incident Free Operations (IFO) with 100% productive time and facilitated combined project performance, which delivered wells up to 44% ahead of the planned AFE. To enable this, over 4.19 million feet of slickline was run, conveying 428 bottom hole assemblies (BHAs), preparing the wellbores to isolate 804 primary reservoirs, and 2 intermediate reservoirs.

scholarly journals Religious Regulation and Churches’ Responses—A Case Study on the Anti-Demolition Actions of Christians in Wenzhou

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianzhong Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Market Operation ◽  
Government Planning ◽  
The Cost

This article focuses on the characteristics, causes, and patterns of the anti-demolition actions by churches in Wenzhou. Based on my six field studies from July 2014 to February 2016, I discovered that: (1) these actions are more explicit in Wenzhou churches due to their regional distinctiveness; (2) a wide range of differences can be observed among Wenzhou churches due to their doctrinal diversity; and (3) ‘poor pastors’ have taken the leadership roles in the anti-demolition activities instead of the ‘boss Christians’. Considering the ongoing tension in the Chinese religious environment between central government planning and free market operation, the author points out that the pastoral district system in Wenzhou plays a very important role in anti-demolition and offers the ‘cost–benefit’ exchange theory to explain the pattern of the anti-demolition activities by Wenzhou churches.

scholarly journals Guide to cost benefit analysis of community-based interventions

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Sanni Yaya ◽  
Xiaonan Li
Keyword(s):  
Net Present Value ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Community Based Interventions ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
The Cost

This paper offers a general guide on how to conduct a proper economic analysis for community-based intervention projects. Identification and quantification of costs and benefits are the focus of the cost benefit analysis. We categorize costs and benefits from human and physical perspectives and pay special attention to the measures of saving human lives accompanied by the proposed calculation methods. We recommend net present value and benefit-cost ratio as the criteria to assess projects and highlight some challenges remaining in the analysis.

scholarly journals A centralised cost management system: exploiting EVM and ABC within IPD

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faris Elghaish ◽  
Sepehr Abrishami
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Risk Sharing ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cost Management ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Cost Management System ◽  
The Cost

PurposeIntegrated project delivery (IPD) is highly recommended to be utilised with building information management (BIM), specifically with BIM level-3 implementation process. Extant literature highlights the financial management challenges facing the proposed integration. These challenges are mainly related to the IPD compensation and the conventional cost control approaches that are not consistent with IPD principles. As such, this paper presents an integration of several methods to support automating risk/reward sharing amongst project parties thus enhancing IPD core team members’ relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe literature review was used to highlight the challenges that face the IPD-based cost management practices such as the risk sharing/reward sharing amongst IPD core team members and potential methods to bridge the revealed IPD gap. A framework was developed by integrating the activity-based costing (ABC) – as a method to analyse the cost structure – and earned value management (EVM) to develop mathematical models that can determine the three main IPD financial transactions (i.e. …) fairly. To demonstrate the applicability of the developed system, a real-life case study was used, in which, promising results were collected in regard to visualising the cost control data and understanding of the accumulative status of the project cost and schedule for team members.FindingsA centralised cost management system (CCMS) for IPD is developed to enable the IPD cost structure as well as automating the risk-sharing/reward-sharing calculations. This system is linked with a web-based management system to display the output of proposed risk-sharing/reward-sharing models. Moreover, a novel grid is developed to show the project status graphically and to respect the diversity in core team members backgrounds. In addition, the case study showed that the proposed integration of different methods (ABC, EVM, BIM and web-based management system) is interoperable and applicable.Originality/valueThis research presents a comprehensive solution to the most revealed challenges in cost management practices in IPD implementation. The outcome of this research contributes to the body of knowledge through presenting new extensions of the EVM to be used with the IPD approach to calculate risk/reward. Moreover, the implementation of the proposed tools such as centralised cost management system (CCMS) and CCMS for IPD web system will enhance/foster the implementation of the IPD in conjunction with BIM process.

Environmental costs and their impact on the net present value of a hydro-electric project in Kerala, India

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Santhakumar ◽  
Achin Chakraborty
Keyword(s):  
Net Present Value ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Environmental Costs ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Net Benefit ◽  
Pulp Industry ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Cost

This paper presents the operational procedures involved in incorporating the environmental costs in the cost–benefit analysis of a hydro-electric project. The proposed project, if implemented, would result in the loss of 2,800 hectares of tropical forests and dislocation of two settlements of about 200 families who are currently dependent on the forests for their livelihood. The forests are mainly used for extracting reed – a material used both by traditional artisans and the paper-pulp industry. The potential environmental costs and benefits of the project are identified and approximate estimates of some of these costs are made for items such as carbon sequestration, bio-diversity, and so on, based on similar estimates made elsewhere. These estimated environmental costs are incorporated into the analysis, and the hypothetical estimate of the non-use value, which would make the project's net benefit zero, is estimated under different discount rates. The analysis brings into sharp focus some crucial factors that have a direct bearing on the social trade-off involved in the project choice.

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