A dynamic bio-economic model for analyzing deforestation and degradation: An application to woodlands in Uganda

This study is an effort at developing a dynamic non-linear programming bio-economic model capable of analyzing deforestation and degradation processes in the Ugandan woodlands. The model is unique in capturing the entire systems behavior affecting deforestation and degradation, approximated through changes in forest area and stand density. Thus the model incorporates biological factors, such as growth, the socio-economic factors and related interactions between them. A matrix growth sub-model for the woodlands, accounting for diameter increment, mortality, recruitment and harvest of trees, was imbedded in the overall model to account for the stock changes over the planning horizon.