Climate Change: The Bamboonomics Way
Bamboo logic can be given a new dimension by recognising its socio-economic and ecological value, industrial and commercial value and its importance in climate change strategies. Its use as an effective tool in arresting land degradation and as a carbon sink also needs to be explored.
In fact, in the context of the understanding of bamboonomics, we must check where we stand internationally in the Climate Change cobweb.
Back story:
When the Modi government came to power, a large number of projects awaiting environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change were cleared in no time. There were deviations from the line towed by the previous Government, and therefore, some policy deviations or “mega clearances” (a term used by Mr. Prakash Jadvedkar, the then Environment & Forest minister of the Modi Govt.) of the projects were to be justified. That was done in the due course of time.
COP: Conference of Parties: They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC Parties to assess progress in dealing with climate change, and beginning in the mid-1990s, to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The COP 21 preparations, which were on in the meantime, needed a clear roadmap in the changed political scenario by the Climate Change Mandarins of the Government. The world wanted them to define the country’s professed path, and the actual path followed the road of climate change.
In fact, COP 21 created a dilemma of sorts for India with the advent of Modi policies and the old Congress Government policies. There were internal conflicts between the two policies, and it took some time for India to clear the confusion and define a clear stand in COP 21.
China had announced that time Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which has its fans and detractors in the COP nations. In fact, China is projecting itself as a country making serious strides by committing to a 60-65% reduction in its emissions by 2030 (baseline 2005) and fortifying its petrochemicals up to 20% non-fossil energy component. Then, over and above, China is taking the lead in solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing to such a peak with its low-cost manufacturing expertise that it is putting the domestic manufacturing units in India to close down. India needs to counter the Chinese INDCs.
Indian climate change challenge got a shot in the arm with the Modi Government’s aim of 175 GW of solar energy as a part of th “Make In India” campaign. This is taking off with the growing investments in solar energy by investors with attractive PPAs (Power Purchase
Agreements). The sale of coal blocks by the Government of India, however, is being seen as a brake to this clean environment strategy as this is wiping out the gains made in the Indian climate change strategies. This also affects the Indian INDC disclosures, but on the other hand, the country’s Green India Mission, with the aim of increasing India’s tree cover to 33% by 2022, supports India’s INDC efforts. So, the checks and balances pertaining to climate change strategies are built into India’s developmental efforts.
The BJP Government of Narendra Modi has a clear vision that developmental efforts will not stop on environmental concerns. In fact, his Government has made the classic debate over development vs. environment alive again. The Indian scenario has rekindled this classic ideological conflict and perhaps put the country on a high carbon pathway wherein even wildlife has been put at grave risk at the hands of development. Prerna Bindra, renowned Wildlife Expert, has clearly stated in her book, “The Vanishing:
India’s Wildlife in Crisis”, that forests and wildlife have been put at grave risk on the altar of development. Her arguments are on solid grounds and worth considering. The hope lies in rapid afforestation, and besides fast-growing tree species, bamboo is emerging as one of the master keys to unlocking this great Indian environmental puzzle! The bamboo can improve in meeting the Indian Climate Change Challenge targets successfully.
Bamboonomics for mitigating climate change and rehabilitating degraded lands:
The harvesting of Bamboo, in fact, helps in carbon sequestration as it keeps on growing at a very fast pace and, as an invader species, covers the forest blanks in no time. The more bamboo is used as timber, the less deforestation takes place in the real sense of the term, and therefore, bamboo can improve India’s position as the key component of the low carbon regime.
Bamboo grows from the same rhizomes when cut in a particular manner. Thus, it’s not required to plant it again and again. And as bamboo grows to its full size at a breath-taking speed within 4-6 years, it sequesters a lot more carbon from the air than a tree does in the
same time frame. And because there are more than 1500 species of bamboo in the world, it can be grown in almost every type of climate and soil. So, harvesting bamboo is equivalent to plantations, and so long it is not being burnt, the carbon sequestered by it remains for a long time.
In 2015, Germany, along with India and many other countries, decided to rehabilitate 350 million ha. of degraded lands by 2030, leading to substantial carbon sequestration. The Government of India made a Bonn Challenge pledge to bring 13 million hectares of degraded land into restoration by 2020 and an additional 8 million hectares by 2030. In addition to this, PM Modi announced an additional 5 million hectares to be restored by 2030 at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP14 in September’19.
According to IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), India had covered 9.8 million hectares till September 2019. An amount indicating that India was falling short of its 2020 target already. The task of covering the remaining 3.2 million hectares by the end of 2020 would be very difficult. It will cover around 0.2 million hectares each month till December 2020.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change, during the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee held on 9th April 2018, informed that India would Environment, Forest and Clim fall short of its global commitment by about 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon stock.
Harvesting bamboo can be a great supplement to help achieve the targets. The other benefit of the abundant stock of bamboo in India is to make charcoal from it. We can make bamboo charcoal and put it in wastelands to restore them. As charcoal stays in the soil for
thousands of years, it can be a good soil amend. Charcoal also absorbs nutrients from the air, namely nitrogen, which contains carbon that enhances the soil quality and binds the soil together, reducing nutrient leaching. Bamboo charcoal is, therefore, the best tool for the “4P1000 Initiative”. Using Bamboo Charcoal in the soil will reduce the use of Urea, and it is only a one-time application as charcoal remains in the soil for centuries, thereby saving a substantial amount of money. Thus, this way, degraded lands can be rehabilitated, and their soil quality can be improved as well. It will help India achieve its “Bonn Challenge Targets”. Bamboo activated charcoal to be produced by rural and tribal India is a high-value product and high in demand. This will enhance the livelihood earnings by 4 to 5 times with a positive impact on climate change.
Therefore, bamboonomics can be a great tool to mitigate climate change and rehabilitate wastelands.
