Innovation in the use of wood energy in the Ukrainian Carpathians: Opportunities and threats for rural communities

Abstract

Ukraine is traditionally deeply dependent on fossil and nuclear energy. However, in response to global climate and energy policies, a major shift towards renewable energy (RE) is presently underway. Apart from ample wind and solar capacities, the country has abundant bioenergy resources, mainly from agriculture and forestry. Particularly in the densely-forested Ukrainian Carpathians, wood is the most prominent bioenergy source used to meet the heat demands of households and public buildings. However, despite increasing forest area and timber volume in this region during the last 50 years, affordable bioenergy from forests remains scarce in many areas. At the same time, local communities suffer from energy scarcity, energy insecurity and high energy costs.In an effort to understand how better use might be made of Ukraine's bioenergy resource, addressing sustainability goals as well as the needs of local communities, this study assesses the significance and future potential of wood energy for regional economies and households from an environmental, economic and social perspective. The study employs a mixed-method approach combining literature review, a Best Practice contest and semi-structured interviews with forestry sector stakeholders in rural areas of Transcarpathia and Lviv. Several reasons were identified for the scarcity of affordable bioenergy, including the export-oriented wood processing industry, the lack of forest road networks and machinery, the short-term character of national forest strategies in relation to bioenergy, and other institutional settings that limit access to forest resources. Illegal logging, corruption, and laxck of transparency in and corrupt and non-transparent timber markets add further difficulties. To address these problems and to meet the challenges defined by international climate agreements, two key innovative instruments were identified; 1) certification schemes for forest products and; 2) community-driven bioenergy initiatives (e.g. local cooperatives.). These approaches, ideally embedded in a local energy strategy developed by the communities themselves, have the potential to transform energy and benefit communities and the local economy.

The relationship between socioeconomic development, renewable energies and the innovative process

“…Among the 11 publications found, we identified the following SLRs: Soloviy et al (2019) evaluated the energy importance of wood and future potential for Ukrainian regional economies and households from the environmental, social and economic perspectives. Lazar et al (2021) highlighted the integration of sustainability into logistics and the supply chain. Elkjær et al (2021) addressed cocreation in wind power transitions. Vrchota et al (2020) analyzed green processes in the context of Industry 4.0. Hansen et al (2019) sought to understand energy transitions from a socioscientific point of view. …”

“…Soloviy et al (2019) evaluated the energy importance of wood and future potential for Ukrainian regional economies and households from the environmental, social and economic perspectives.…”

Cienciometria do uso de fontes de energia renováveis no meio rural / The scientometrics of the use of renewable energy sources in rural areas

“…Grande parte dos estudos referentes a utilização da energia solar na agricultura estão principalmente ligados a sistemas de irrigação, devido a consumirem muita energia para seu funcionamento. Novas pesquisas buscam aproveitar a eficiência solar, além de controlar a utilização da água, ajudando os agricultores a tornarem suas atividades mais benéficas (SOLOVIY et al, 2019).…”

Розвиток Відновної Енергетики У Світлі Підходів Еколого-Економічної Теорії: Виклики Для Політики Сталого Розвитку

“…У той же час Ніколас Георгеску-Роген, наставник Германа Дейлі, надав концептуальну основу екологічної економіки на основі матеріальних та енергетичних потоків виробництва і споживання (Georgescu-Roegen, 1971). «Закон про ентропію та економічний процес» Георгеску-Реогена та «Багатство, віртуальне багат-ство та борг» Фредеріка Содді (Soddy, 1987) заклали основу еколого-економічного мислення. Екологічна економіка розпочалася спільними зусиллями вчених-природничих і соціальних наук для усунення основних недоліків обох галузей у сфері розуміння екологічних і соціальних проблем та їх вирішення.…”