Sunday 9 January 2022
Islamabad (News advertisment DW News January 09, 2022) The use of bioenergy with alternative energy sources such as solar and kinetic energy is on the rise worldwide, but there are also global concerns.
What is bioenergy and why is it so important in the future?
Many people in Pakistan may not know about bioenergy, so let's make it clear to them that bioenergy is actually the energy gained by recycling organic compounds of plants and animals, which is called solid, Liquid and gas can be produced in all three states.
In solid state they are wood pellets or wood pellets, which are made from tree wood and burned as an alternative to coal in power plants.
Wood pellets are widely exported worldwide by the United States, European countries and the United Kingdom.
Wood pellets and carbon emissions
Timothy Schringer, a senior scholar at Princeton University's Center for Research and Energy and Environment, told Deutsche Welle that although biomass is becoming increasingly important as a renewable energy source, it is important to know that wood pallets When burned in plants for production, they emit more carbon into the atmosphere than coal.
According to Surchanger, carbon is also emitted during the harvesting, manufacture, drying and transport of these pellets to other countries, which is much higher than the carbon emitted by fossil fuel. Yet one of the main reasons for preferring bioenergy is that wherever forests are, they are actually carbon deposits.
As trees grow, they return to the carbon ecosystem, which is released throughout the process from cutting down wood pellets to burning them.
It is on this basis that the Wood Pallets Industry has been set up, which promotes sustainable forests and guarantees employment to the local people.It is important to reduce hunger and poverty
In this regard, Pakistan's leading environmental economist Dr. Pervez Amir told DW that poor or developing countries must first focus on 'hunger' and 'two loaves of bread'. Like education, health and water.
In Pakistan, the Ministry of Environment is allocated only 1% of the total annual budget. It has now been renamed the Ministry of Climate Change.
According to Dr. Pervez, there are separate budgets for plants, forests, wildlife, etc. all over the world, but in our country they are all tied together. Although Pakistan has made significant strides in environmental protection over the past 20 years, there is still a lack of budget and steps in the right direction.
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Peg Pitt, a senior policy maker with the Environmental Paper Network, says that worldwide, the supply of biomass has doubled in the last two decades, while the production of wood pallets has quadrupled. Expected to But for all of this, planning in the right direction is crucial because the planet's natural system is on the brink of collapse due to human activities that cannot afford further experiments and their negative effects.
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What is the main cause of climate change in Pakistan?
According to WWF Pakistan experts, indiscriminate deforestation is a major cause of climate change in Pakistan. In any country about 25% of the area must be forested but in Pakistan this area has been reduced to only 4%, which is a very worrying situation.
According to a report released by the World Food and Agriculture Organization in 2015, Pakistan's forests are declining by 2.1% annually and about 42,000 acres are being lost every year. The demand for timber in the country is more than three times its potential supply and about 66,700 acres of privately owned forests are being lost at an average annual rate.
Why has the trend of relentless deforestation increased in Pakistan?
Ziarat resident Kaleemullah Khan is a lecturer at a private university in Islamabad.
Talking to DW Urdu, he said that the employment of people in his area is related to deforestation and sale of timber. The same wood is also used as fuel in winter. Many governments have changed in the last ten years, but the gas supply to Ziarat has not been completed, leaving the poor with no fuel other than wood or coal.
Lecturer Klim adds that most of the people here are illiterate, "It is very difficult to explain to these people how they have cut down just one tree, destroying the entire ecosystem of the region and their livelihood." Causing "Green Emergency" in Pakistan. Man himself may go hungry but providing for his home, children and family is a huge responsibility so everyone is compelled and no one is ready to hear the lament of the earth.
Pine trees
In October 2021, five pine trees were illegally cut down on Forest Department land in Kalam, a popular recreational area of Pakistan. Locals protested and demanded action. Authorities then took immediate notice of the incident and made three arrests. The culprits were also fined heavily.
The incident took place near a major road connecting Kalam and Bahrain, where about 50-year-old trees were cut down at night with the help of heavy machinery.
There are also thousands of years old trees in these pine forests, the deforestation of which is expected to destroy the entire ecosystem of the region. Kalam and the surrounding areas are the home of the cedar, where it has its natural habitats.
These trees grow in the natural environment of these areas. The livelihood of the rural people is related to deforestation and sale of timber. Extremely strong pine wood is used in making furniture and buildings as well as in the manufacture of ships.
Why is the energy crisis getting worse in Pakistan?
Pakistan is currently suffering from a severe energy crisis.
About 68% of the country's population relies on wood and coal for fuel, mostly in rural areas. Although gas and electricity are available in the cities, deforestation in the name of urbanization, air pollution and growing industries are making the situation worse.
Pakistan was working on several coal power plant projects under C-Pack with the cooperation of China to overcome the energy crisis.
But these fossil-fueled plants are playing a key role in increasing the amount of carbon and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Following the global outcry over coal power plants, Pakistan reiterated its commitment at the Glasgow World Environment Conference 2021 that it would not be a part of any future coal-fired project.
