Types and Importance of Community Impacts

Socioeconomic impacts of bioenergy development are ample and varied. Domac and others (2005) categorized these impacts into four groups: social aspects, macro level, supply side, and demand side. Among these impacts are employment, income, tax revenues, economic diversification, social coherence, and community stability.

The most significant socioeconomic impact is probably the creation of jobs and income. The importance of bioenergy development in job creation has been recognized in both developing and developed countries. A compilation of case studies (Borsboom and others 2002) reiterated this evidence. Studies in Asia, Africa, Canada, and Western Europe all concluded that bioenergy projects created jobs and income in their specific areas. In fact, Domac and others (2005) found that bioenergy had the greatest potential in employment creation among other renewable energy sources. This is partly because biomass harvesting, transporting, and processing are labor intensive. In addition, high transport costs limit the economic transport distance for biomass feedstock, keeping jobs in the local areas. For instance, biomass-based electriticy production, because of relatively high initial investment and the use of locally-produced feedstocks, tends to have a greater ripple effect on local income than power generation using coal and other energy sources.

Along with job creation, biomass and bioenergy development will infuse income to local households and tax revenues to local communities. The increase in household income will raise the standard of living. The tax revenues will help improve local infrastructures, public services or systems including utility supplies, roads, and public transportation, telecommunications, schools, etc. Providing job opportunities for individuals, particularly younger residents, will allow them to remain in the community rather than migrate out in search of quality employment elsewhere, thus preventing aging of the community. All these will enhance social coherence, community stability, and the quality of life (IEA Task 29 2005).

Furthermore, the establishment of a forest biomass and bioenergy industry will contribute to the diversification of local economies. Such diversification is directly linked to the sustainable development of rural communities, particularly those that traditionally depend on timber production (Bliss and Bailey 2005).

These socioeconomic benefits associated with biomass and bioenergy development are extremely important to southern rural communities. A large portion of the forest biomass in the South is concentrated in areas considered rural in nature. Due to overcapacity of the forest products industry, industry adjustments, and globalization, many of these communities are facing an increasing challenge to sustain their economies which have been based on traditional timber harvesting and processing. Production of feedstock, bioenergy, and bio-based products could help maintain the prosperity of these communities, though to become a successful rural development tool such new ventures must be interrelated with community political and socioeconomic systems (Kennedy and others 2001).  By creating value-added products from forest resources, the bioenergy and bio-based products industries could serve as a catalyst for moving southern rural communities into a brighter economic future.