Sea Buckthorn (Part 2)
Sea buckthorn for combating desertification & mitigating climate change
I'm continuing from where I left off in my last article on sea buckthorn. In this article, I’ll discuss the climate aspect: how to mitigate climate change, combat desertification, achieve India’s “Bonn Targets,” and create employment by creating ‘green jobs’ while keeping sea buckthorn and Ladakh at the helm.
India, as we know, is facing an uphill task in meeting its international commitments on combating desertification and mitigating the climate change effects.
The “Bonn Challenge” targets are difficult to meet and months before PM Modi announced in Cop 14 of UNCCD (United Nations Conference to Combat Desertification) in September 2019 in Noida, New Delhi- NCR, Mr. C.K. Mishra, the then Secretary, Ministry of Environment Forests & Climate Change, Government of India, had accepted before the Parliamentary Committee in April 2019 that India will fall short of its commitments by 9.2 billion tons of CO2.
India has enhanced its Bonn Targets by 5 million ha, as the PM announced, but thereafter, there seems to have been a very poor follow-up to fulfill the commitments. What the MOEF and CC did was announce the amount of money per ha meant for the plantations and treat that as an achievement.
So, lots of money has been announced for plantations which include CAMPA funds mainly. No new funds exclusively for this purpose have been given. Even if we admit that the fund is sufficient for achieving the “Bonn Challenge Targets,” then achievement should be announced based on the survival percentage of the plantations, and in India, it is generally 50-60% survival in a four-year period.
Here, MOEF & CC is not only misguiding the country but also is untrue to the Indian public by twisting the facts.
The potential of sea buckthorn cultivation on barren land in Ladakh
India is falling awfully short of its “Bonn Challenge” targets and for this, I had written about how bamboo harvesting and its subsequent prudent uses lead to carbon sequestration. In this article, I am describing how higher reaches of the Himalayas in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh (H.P.) can play a significant eco-economic role in meeting India’s committed climate change targets.
Ladakh’s Nubra Valley, Leh, and other suitable areas of Ladakh and Lahul-Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, should be taken in mission mode to plant this wonderful shrub, sea buckthorn.
The forest department in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, and other colder regions of the Himalayas, where sea buckthorn can be grown, should focus on planting this shrub to combat desertification. With its ability to give so many products, sea buckthorn can provide job opportunities and an income boost to the locals.
Ladakh: A model for improving the ecology
Large areas in Ladakh are barren because of the lack of water or proper irrigation facilities. If we analyse this further, we see that the area under forest cover is 0.064 %, and the total cropped area is just 0.2% in the district of Leh. So, all these barren lands can be planted with sea buckthorn.
The Forest department is gearing up to cover 2500 ha. in Leh district alone.
Sea buckthorn plantations can be useful for the income of the tribals and locals and at the same time, it will sequester a considerable amount of carbon. Sea buckthorn grows at a faster rate as compared to many trees and, in 3 to 4 years, begins to give berries. As none of the parts of the sea buckthorn plants is burnt (all parts are used), therefore it acts as an excellent carbon sink. Thus, the plantation of sea buckthorn in barren cold areas can be of immense potential in combating desertification and mitigating the climate change effects.
Sea buckthorn is a native plant of Ladakh. Therefore, its extensive plantation would not create any ecological problem in the area. Rather, it would help sustain the fauna and humans in the region.
The situation of the berries of sea buckthorn
As per 2015 records, around 361.3 MT of berries were harvested, processed mostly by private firms (91%), while the Cooperatives could process only 9% of the harvest. This was not the position until 2012, as out of 183 MT of berries harvested, 64% were processed by the Cooperatives.
Obviously, with time the Cooperatives have become weaker while the companies have taken over the trade.
In 2014, the price of the berry was Rs.35 /kg, while that of the pulp was Rs.120/—per kg. Today, the pulp costs Rs. 260/—per kg.
Besides processing fresh berries, dried sea buckthorn leaf is also collected from the district of Leh, and every 1-2 MT of dried leaf is sold at Rs 300-500 per kg.
Currently, the demand for sea buckthorn far exceeds the supply capacity of the region. Therefore, sea buckthorn has the potential to become an important means of sustainable livelihood in Ladakh.
With the current trend, it has been estimated that the berry harvest will reach 1509 MT in 2030, and net income would be Rs. 35–40 crores p.a. from the existing natural sea buckthorn resources if only the pulp is sold. Value-added products would increase the earnings by 3 to 4 times.
A report covered the plantation aspect of sea buckthorn in Ladakh. It gave a detailed analysis of the area that can be covered by sea buckthorn plantations and the income they would generate for the locals.
The said report says that “Cultivation of sea buckthorn on 2500 ha in Ladakh is projected to result in net income of Rs 491 crore per annum in 2030 from raw material harvesting and its primary processing. Income generation will increase many-fold if value-added products are also manufactured in the region.”
Interestingly the same report says that “Sea buckthorn is considered as a forest crop. There are no policies or incentives to promote sea buckthorn as a horticultural crop.”
I must admit that this report by Tsering Stobdan and Tsewang Phunchok on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture is a candid one and states that “there are NO policies or incentives to promote it as a horticulture crop”, pointing a direct finger at the Ministry of Agriculture who is looking after horticulture crop in India. This report had come in the year November 2017 and now the Ministry of Agriculture issued a directive for its plantation in April 2018 under its Horticulture Mission. This is pretty fast by all standards.
But it has also been estimated in the said report that if the plantation area is increased by 2500 ha, then the harvesting and primary processing will result in income generation to the tune of Rs 446.8 crore per annum by 2030. Similarly, income generation from leaf harvest from a mature plant would result in an income of Rs 169.2 crore per annum in 2030. So through the total income from the earlier and present stock, we can earn between 250-350 crores p.a. depending upon how we use it.
Thus, we need to plant more on the war footing, and we are hopeful that the Ladakh Administration will look keenly into this area since a major income source is not being developed and utilized fully. A similar response from the State Government of Himachal Pradesh is expected.
