Forest biomass for bioenergy: opportunities and constraints for good governance. A case study from Italy

Abstract

Interest in the use of biomass for energy has increased significantly in the last few years. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlights the influence mankind has had on the climate: an unprecedented increase in GHG levels in the last 800,000 years and a rise of 40% in CO 2 concentrations since pre-industrial times. The challenge now is to find energy alternatives, and in this context, one important option is bioenergy, one of the most important energy sources of the future. In light of this, the goal of this paper was to assess the sustainable potential of woodfuel resources in Italy using WISDOM methodology. WISDOM, developed by the FAO, has been applied in many countries around the world. From this study, at national level, household consumption was at 19.3 Mt in 2003 (average value), while the potential supply of woody biomass (productivity) was 24.9 Mt (average value), with a surplus of almost 6 million tons between household consumption and productivity. This study represents an advance in knowledge of the biomass potential for energy use in Italy, and, as such, is subject to possible future improvement. Forest bioenergy development creates good opportunities to mobilize the production potential of European forests, and to contribute to a more climate-friendly, bio-based economy.