Home > Agenda > Sustainable biomass for a greener future
5 Oct 2019 | 08:30 - 10:30 | R04-Wing 3

Sustainable biomass for a greener future

Highly productive management systems required for biomass production may have a strong impact on ecosystems. Consequently, sustainable, locally adapted best-practice management schemes are needed, and the development of forest biomass harvesting guidelines is a promising tool to ensure sustainable production. This session is open to contributions assessing aspects of woody biomass production at different scales (e.g. local-global, national forest inventories), dealing with potential consequences of land-use change on soils (e.g. nutrient depletion, acidification, carbon cycle), water (e.g. pollution, altering catchment water balances) and atmosphere (e.g. climate change mitigation potentials). Interdisciplinary and holistic approaches, as well as abstracts proposing alternative use of forest biomass (gasification, biomass-to-liquid, torrefacation, and pyrolysis) are welcome. We also encourage submission of contributions about policy development in context of sustainable biomass production (e.g. harvesting guidelines).

Chair: Dr Viktor Bruckman, Dr Florian Kraxner
Himlal Baral
Senior Scientist, CIFOR
Restoring land and growing renewable energy: opportunities, challenges and the way forward
Primary energy demand in Indonesia has rapidly been increased, i.e. 43% between 2005 and 2016, while domestic energy supply failed to fulfill this needs and leading to the reliance on energy imports. Meanwhile, vast area of degraded lands in Indonesia have also created an opportunity for the biofuel production, fulfilling energy demand, as well as restoring land with environmental and socio-economic benefits. This paper provides an overview of identified potential and challenges associated with biofuel production from degraded land in Indonesia. Our preliminary findings highlighted that some biofuel species in Indonesia is suitable to grow in a degraded land and potentially restore the land that may not be suitable for common agricultural production and/or reforestation. The initial finding also shows that culturally familiar species and stable markets are favorable terms of biofuel species selection for the landowners. Supportive agricultural extension service such as knowledge and technology for honey production can providing an added value in this concept, in addition to social (e.g. strengthening social solidarity, employment opportunities) and environmental (e.g. carbon storage, soil moisture, erosion control, biodiversity) benefits. Meanwhile, to create this overall initiative to be successful, a supportive measure from the policy makers is needed. Further research on capacity of biofuel species to restore degraded lands in different biophysical profiles, analysis on biofuel production feedstocks and potential co-benefits, viable business model, and stable market are necessary to maximize benefit from biofuel production and to restore degraded lands in Indonesia.

Back to top

Sign up to our monthly newsletter

Connect with us