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7.5 Discussions
From the land use trends at the global level, the focus of attention in this chapter has
evolved into the province level. Since the next analytical step will be the detailed
assessment at the plantation level, the first point to be discussed here is LCI data. It
is important to point out that the background data used for modeling agricultural
production such as fertilizers and pesticides in ecoinvent are European or Swiss
ones. Therefore, adaptation and development of the regionalized data are important;
e.g., Indonesian background data are appropriate for LCA of palm oil in Indonesia.
A pragmatic method to regionalize background data is the modification of
European LCI data. In other words, if local industrial LCI data (as background data
for, e.g., fertilizer production) exist, they can be used to regionalize the European
LCI data (e.g., LCIs of fertilizers). Ossés de Eicker et al. (2010) demonstrate the
usefulness of the modification method through conducting a case study of triple
superphosphate in Brazil. Hayashi et al. (2010) illustrate the effectiveness of the
method in constructing LCI database for crop production systems in Japan. Recent
LCI inventories of palm oil production developed by, for example, Malaysian Palm
Oil Council (MPOC) and Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute (IOPRI) will play
an important role in conducting LCA of palm oil.
The second point is how to cope with indirect impacts. Indeed, there are intensive discussions on indirect land use change after the Science papers (Fargione et al.
2008; Searchinger et al. 2008). Although the assessments in this chapter are
restricted to direct impacts because there is no consensus in the methodology including consequential modeling, indirect effects of biofuels should not be neglected
(Renewable-Fuels-Agency 2008; Miller et al. 2010).
7.6 Concluding Remarks
The implications of the case studies in this chapter are summarized as follows: First,
land use impact assessment within the framework of LCA can be applied to intertemporal comparisons based on hypothetical scenario construction. The result
revealed that there is a disadvantage of newcomers and it means social issues are
deeply related to environmental impact assessment of land use change. Second, land
use impact assessment can be regionalized using land productivity and conditions.
The province-level assessment showed that land transformation is crucial both in
reducing GHG emissions and in conserving biodiversity. Although land use impact
assessment within LCA is still on the development, it will play an important role in
policy-making processes.
K. Hayashi
7.5 Discussions
From the land use trends at the global level, the focus of attention in this chapter has
evolved into the province level. Since the next analytical step will be the detailed
assessment at the plantation level, the first point to be discussed here is LCI data. It
is important to point out that the background data used for modeling agricultural
production such as fertilizers and pesticides in ecoinvent are European or Swiss
ones. Therefore, adaptation and development of the regionalized data are important;
e.g., Indonesian background data are appropriate for LCA of palm oil in Indonesia.
A pragmatic method to regionalize background data is the modification of
European LCI data. In other words, if local industrial LCI data (as background data
for, e.g., fertilizer production) exist, they can be used to regionalize the European
LCI data (e.g., LCIs of fertilizers). Ossés de Eicker et al. (2010) demonstrate the
usefulness of the modification method through conducting a case study of triple
superphosphate in Brazil. Hayashi et al. (2010) illustrate the effectiveness of the
method in constructing LCI database for crop production systems in Japan. Recent
LCI inventories of palm oil production developed by, for example, Malaysian Palm
Oil Council (MPOC) and Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute (IOPRI) will play
an important role in conducting LCA of palm oil.
The second point is how to cope with indirect impacts. Indeed, there are intensive discussions on indirect land use change after the Science papers (Fargione et al.
2008; Searchinger et al. 2008). Although the assessments in this chapter are
restricted to direct impacts because there is no consensus in the methodology including consequential modeling, indirect effects of biofuels should not be neglected
(Renewable-Fuels-Agency 2008; Miller et al. 2010).
7.6 Concluding Remarks
The implications of the case studies in this chapter are summarized as follows: First,
land use impact assessment within the framework of LCA can be applied to intertemporal comparisons based on hypothetical scenario construction. The result
revealed that there is a disadvantage of newcomers and it means social issues are
deeply related to environmental impact assessment of land use change. Second, land
use impact assessment can be regionalized using land productivity and conditions.
The province-level assessment showed that land transformation is crucial both in
reducing GHG emissions and in conserving biodiversity. Although land use impact
assessment within LCA is still on the development, it will play an important role in
policy-making processes.
K. Hayashi