August 24, 2018
Enhanced WOOD PRODUCTS consumption – THE BEST BET to combat Climate change – Series 1
The best solution to combat climate change is to enhance usage of wood and wood products……….Isn’t it absurd and odd to advocate or to encourage wood products consumption to provide this as one of the best solution to combat climate change.
But What I say I mean it with conviction, if we view the same with some economics of demand and supply ie if the demand of the product increases value as well as price too increases thus initially with some hick ups, planters cum farmers will plant it and in due course supply too increases. In other words with more demand, supply becomes a constraint, prices go up encouraging planting as wood and wood product becomes more lucrative to manufacturer thus lead to enhanced production to keep up demand supply balance ultimately resulting in more planting more trapping of carbon ie more carbon sequestration ultimately combating climate change.
Same happens with Agri crops and agri products too eg if Onion prices go up, farmers plant more onions during the year leading to enhanced supply and gradually market take its own course and correct prices in the long run and the game move on.
Food crop can not be substituted by any other item, hunger has to have only food as supply thus its availability is always maintained, short term shortfall happens and with every production cycle it corrects and manages to have sustained supply as there is no other alternative to food.
Regarding forestry / timber trees like Teak, Sal, Sheesham etc. and Pulp / paper wood species like Pine, Eucalyptus, Casuarina, Poplar etc their end products can be substituted with Steel, Aluminium and Plastics and currently paper with electronic and digitization respectively.
And when option was available say about 30-35 years or even before we didn’t do anything to protect natural products availability and supply, rather adopted short cuts and discouraged usage of timber furniture and substituted with Steel, Aluminium and currently with plastic in the name of protecting environment. These actions have not helped in protecting environment rather they have degraded further by way of mining and creating permanent scars on mother earth.(will mention in Series 2 of the same series in more detail). Thus continued reduction and destruction of forests happened which led to reduced carbon sinks which has now led to imbalance in nature and leading to global warming.
We didn’t realize if the tree is not replanted we are missing on the cheapest and best source of sequestering carbon. Gradually source of converting CO2 to O2 kept on reducing and supply of CO2 kept on increasing and balance got disturbed and has led to rise in global temperature and threat to survival of humanity.
Rather instead of substitution if we could have continued usage of wood products with enhanced supplies or even balancing supplies and continued planting of desired species (carbon sinks) would have continued to flourish resulting in carbon balance in the atmosphere but unfortunately it didn’t happen.
Rather instead of substitution if we could have continued usage of wood products with enhanced supplies or even balancing supplies and continued planting of desired species (carbon sinks) would have continued to flourish resulting in carbon balance in the atmosphere but unfortunately it didn’t happen.
We keep on talking on reduction of Carbon emissions and improved technologies and their adoption, these actions may delay the catastrophe for few more years but will not stop it forever.
Its only the more trees and more improved water conservation measures( Ref: Forestry and Water Conservation series blog) will save mankind.
We have always missed on encouraging consumption of wood products still its not too late to do so.
I would like to quote example of Pulp and Paper industry in India where Pulp and Paper is produced through their Farm Forestry plantations undertaken with the participation of farmers.
It is always being advocated to reduce consumption of paper to save trees.
Don’t print : you save trees.
Looks so fitting to save forests and the climate. But the facts which I am going to highlight below will surely open every body’s eyes and these are altogether different than this common understanding.
Hope everybody start thinking differently.
More demand for paper is created will result in more no of trees being planted and thus more mitigation of carbon resulting in call for reduction in global temperature.
In India, Pulp and Paper production is just like producing Potato Chips, Noodles or any other agriculture based product. Trees too are being cultivated the same way as Potato and Wheat are being cultivated on Farmer’s field means pulp wood farmers cultivate trees for the production of Paper, like any other agriculture crop
How it had happened ? Paper industry continued to grow at the desired pace, resulted in enhanced demand of wood. Wood prices became lucrative to farmers by way of helping them in improving productivity of trees/ acre and minimum support price of wood too was given so that it remains lucrative for the farmer and indirectly supporting the environment by way of sequestering about 15 million tonnes of carbon every year.
We can estimate demand of other wood substituted products and gradually work on enhancing supply of wood by way of undertaking demand related plantings that will help and support combating climate change and as well as reduce demand supply gap in long run.
Question can be asked who will do this? Biggest responsibility lies on Government and second lies on the primary consumers of wood products ie the manufacturers thus they all have to do their own assessment of demand growth and plan it accordingly and secondly Govt has about 29 Million hectatres of degraded land they can lease land for undertaking consumer based planting like Teak, Sal, Sheesham etc etc which are native to India and protect Bio diversity at micro level. But till now nothing has moved.
In today’s (16th Oct-16) Hindu newspaper Henri Noltie a renowned botanist from Edinburgh says grow locals in Ooty ecosystem not Eucalyptus in Nilgiris. (Eucalyptus is grown in Ooty area since so many years that’s why Eucalyptus other name is Nilgiris). Question comes if not fast growing species then what? If we would have banked upon native and slow growing species our condition would have further worsen with very slow growth in carbon sinks resulting in further reduction of carbon sinks.
I am 100% in favor of protecting biodiversity but not at the cost of increasing Carbon and other deadly gases. First prioritize this control and parallel work on protection and conservation with full sincerity and commitment.