Efficient Technology and the Conservation of Natural Forests: Evidence from Sri Lanka
Gunatilake, Herath | October 2007
Abstract
Existing policy instruments for conserving tropical forests have shown limited success. This paper investigates the feasibility of improving the technical efficiency of the wood processing industry as an alternative approach to forest conservation, using sawmills in Sri Lanka as a case study. Improved wood processing efficiency decreases the volume of raw material (logs) required to produce a given quantity of processed wood products and, therefore, decreases the pressure on natural forests. A stochastic frontier production function was estimated to assess the technical efficiency of sawmilling in Sri Lanka. Given the considerable inefficiency found in sawmilling operations, current sawn wood output can be obtained with 28% less inputs. Compared with other policy measures, technical efficiency improvement has a potential to play a noteworthy role in conserving natural forests. Technological improvements, as a tool for conservation, deserve the attention of researchers and policymakers.
Citation
Gunatilake, Herath. 2007. Efficient Technology and the Conservation of Natural Forests: Evidence from Sri Lanka. © Asian Development Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/1863. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.ISSN
1655-5252
Keywords
Forest Products Industry
Construction Industry
Plywood Industry
Agriculture
Commercial agriculture
Forestry
Sustainable development
Agricultural products
Show allCollapse
Citable URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11540/1863Metadata
Show full item record
Users also downloaded
-
Energy Security, Food Security, and Economics of Sugarcane Bioethanol in India
(Asian Development Bank, 2011-04-01)Energy security has been an important global policy issue for more than 4 decades. Transport biofuels like bioethnol have been receiving increased attention in recent years as a solution to heavy dependence on imported petroleum fuels, which brings ... -
Energy Security and Economics of Indian Biofuel Strategy in a Global Context
(Asian Development Bank, 2011-08-01)Herath Gunatilake, David Roland-Holst, Guntur Sugiyarto, and Jenn Baka Energy write that biodiesel expansion, when combined with energy efficiency improvements and food productivity increases, could provide India much better opportunities for enhanced ... -
Market-Based Approaches for Managing the Asian Environment: A Review
(Asian Development Bank, 2008-10-01)This paper identifies inadequate effort to use market-based approaches, among others, as a reason for limited progress in arresting continuing environmental degradation in the Asia and Pacific region. Quoting examples, the paper asserts that markets ...