Located in Southeast Asia, Cambodia covers an area of 181 035 square kilometers, with a population of over 14 million (July 2008) of which about 85-90 percent lives in the rural areas (Ministry of Rural Development 2006, Central Intelligence Agency 2008). More than 80 % of energy derives from biomass (De Lopez, 2003). Fuel wood is the major source of energy for rural population and tile brick industries. According to De lopez, natural forests are the main source of fuel wood in Cambodia that lead to severely degradation of forest for the past twenty years. Currently, woody biomass also can be obtained from old rubber plantation by harvesting the old rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) (Abe, 2007). In addition, the biomass is not only the produce from woody plants but also the residues from agricultural crops such as rice, sugar cane and maize (ReCambodia, n.d.).
Tree plantations would be highly suitable for supplying biomass fuel for rural mini-grid electrification especially fast growing legumes such as Leucaena spp. and Gliricidia spp., farmers are able to harvest stems and branc...
More than 17 million tonnes of fuel wood are consumed annually in Nepal, out of which less than 1% is commercialized. The rest is collected by the users free of cost from forests or their own cultivated land.
Taking wood from rainforests and old-growth forests is detrimental to the environment and society. However, it is possible for us to have sustainable wood if we make an effort.
In Thailand, fruit bundles have to be transported from the plantation to the mills and refineries, which are located in Krabi province. The Thailand government is using palm oil biodiesel to become more sustainable. They are trying to reduce the dependence on import and to improve energy security in the country. After analyzing the life cycle production of methyl ester, it was found that the three major energy consumptions is transportation, fertilizer, and methanol. There should be a reduction in the amount of fertilizer. Biodiesel should be used instead of diesel and fossil fuels, which are often used, for a more environmental friendly way. There should be non-fossil fuels to produce methanol. There should be efficient utilization of co-products, including fibers and shells to improve overall energy output (Pleanjai and
Woodfuel is not a new form of fuel; historically wood has been used as fuel for millennia with many civilisations relying on it as a source of energy. Even today the global south still use wood to produce heat. At the turn of the 19th century wood in the UK was no longer the main source of energy, but instead fossil fuel, which now outlines and dominates the way we live today. Furthermore with a growing population since World War II, much of the UK agricultural land has been used for conservation schemes and agricultural harvest only. Nevertheless with the rising concern of climate change, woodlands are now emerging to be used again for the use of renewable energy. Woodfuel in the UK is available as sawdust, pellets, sheets, charcoal chips, and firewood. The particular type used depends upon factors such as application, quality, quantity and source. When we view the geography of woodfuel in the UK we can view it from a broader perspective that reflects the discipline of geography. Sustainability is a way which tries to combine earth landscapes, environments and people together. We view sustainability “through the so called ‘three pillars’, namely economic, social and environmental or ecological” (Gregory et al 2009: 738) and it is these pillars which are to “be used as a benchmark for goals in which we must achieve” (O’ Riordan 2004: 245) so that we can use todays resources without compromising future generations supplies. Due to greater awareness of climate change and the need to use low carbon, renewable source of energy, this essay will predominately focus on the sustainability of woodfuel in the UK.
Tropical rainforests are an extremely unique and diverse ecosystem that are located around the earth’s equator. They once covered roughly 7% of the world, but due to human encroachment that has dwindled to just 2%. It is a highly moisture rich environment that typically receives anywhere between 60 and 400 inches of rainfall annually and average humidity ranges from 70 to 90%. A high average year round temperature, coupled with the moisture rich environment, creates an ecosystem that allows for a level of biodiversity seen nowhere else on the planet. This also results in a specific type of layering design that allows the system to survive and recycle its nutrients.
There are many species of trees that get turned into lumber and then manufactured. By harvesting lumber, we are cutting down many trees which are very important to many cycle in the environment. Fortunately we are able to grow back. Forests are burned or clear-cut to facilitate access to, and use of, the land. This practice often occurs when the perceived need for long term sustainability is overwhelmed by short-term sustenance goals. Not only are the depletion of species-rich forests a problem, affecting the local and regional hydrological regime, the smoke caused by the burning trees pollutes the atmosphere, adding more CO2, and furthering the greenhouse effect. For thousands of years, wood has been used as a building material and the fact is wood has huge environmental benefits over other building products. It is completely biodegradable, works as an effective insulator, and is 100 percent
Biomass 9 Ramamurthi, R., Kastury, Satish, & Smith, Wayne H. (2000). BIOENERGY vision for the new millennium. Enfield, NH: Science Publishers.
Tropical forests provide important renewable resources that can contribute significantly to national economic growth on a continuing basis. Forests products like fruits and timber play a crucial role in the economy of developing countries. Deforestation by means such as logging and cattle ranching is also economically profitable and lucrative. The forest produce generates more than $120 billion, in reported income in the late 2000s, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Hence this shows that there are indeed benefits that rainforest can bring to the human
GreenPalm (2015) states how ‘the removal of acres of rainforest threatens the rich biodiversity’ in the ‘ecosystems’. Highlighting the risks of the cutting of the oil palm trees to produce the palm oil to both the environment and also the organisms which live within the areas, as certain species in the areas of the clearing of land, mainly with the palm oil ‘exported from Indonesia and Malaysia’ according to Say-No-To-Palm-Oil (2015), face possible extinction. There is still however ways in which the production of palm oil can be sustainable to the environment, as palm oil is essential for the use by humans because of the containment of the nutrients and also with the production of foods and
Wood is said to be vastly depleting since the late 1970’s from logging and deforestation. But
The study’s methodology was qualitative. While the study recognizes that palm oil plantation increases deforestation and consequently reducing biodiversity, the authors argues that the demand for palm oil up to the year 2020 can be met without any reduction of forest cover through the improvement of yields and conservation of degraded land. In particular, the study notes that while palm oil plantation endangers orangutan’s habitat, the authors suggest that encroachment of orangutan’s habitat could be reduced by up to 30% through the use of sustainable land use initiatives and policies. Overall, the findings of this article suggest that is there is a need to advocate for an environmental sustainable biomass industry in Malaysia in order to protect the natural habitat for
Vegetal oils are one of the most rapidly expanding sectors in agriculture. Palm oil is an example of it, being the most produced than any other vegetable oil. The oil palm plantations are found in tropical forests, ecosystems really suitable for this kind of practices due to their high conservation values. The deforestation practiced for the plantation of this monoculture, lead to a destruction of the habitat and the consequent eviction of the forest-dwelling people.
The authors suggest that the utilization of woody biomass is beneficial to the forest ecosystem, the environment, forest landowners, and society; stating that, woody biomass can help to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, to create healthier forests, and to reduce the risk of wildfires. This was supported by Alistair (2003) who suggested that many log residue benefits could be derived, especially when the world’s energy source is dwindling and our climate
Although subsistence activities have dominated agriculture-driven deforestation in the tropics to date, large-scale commercial activities are playing an increasingly significant role. In the Amazon, industrial-scale cattle ranching and soybean production for world markets are increasingly important causes of deforestation, and in Indonesia, the conversion of tropical forest to commercial palm tree plantations to produce bio-fuels for export is a major cause of deforestation on Borneo and Sumatra.
One of the main causes of deforestation in the Amazon is the logging industry which produces plywood and mahagony products like toilet paper, rayon, camera film and cigerette filters. E...