Impact of Biofuels on Forestland in Central America

Although biofuels are thought to be one of the solutions for reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the net effects might be ambiguous when indirect land use effects are incorporated. Along with the increasing price of biofuel crops, forest lands might be destroyed throughout the world. In this study, the net effect of the increases in U.S. production of corn due to ethanol demand is explored in terms of additional land impacts and deforestation in Central America. I present data from FAO and Searchinger et al, where it is suggested that the Central American region has been in the process of deforestation and convertion of forest lands for agricultural use. Consequence is contribution to higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to deforestation. Paper prepared for seminar UHON395 “Carbonomics: Will Biofuels Save the World?” Spring 2008 Instructors: Lilyan E. Fulginiti ([email protected]) and Richard K. Perrin ([email protected]). 2 Undergraduate student, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Contact author: [email protected]