Biofuels and the Problem of Tropical Islands, part I of II

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Though there are exceptions among the archipelagoes with access to offshore oil assets — Indonesia comes to mind— but these are, in the main, exceptions to what might be described as the general problem of tropical islands.

There, lush plant life disguises what is generally poorer soil, where nutrients are leached out by incessant rain – yet the societies are highly dependent on biomass for food and fuel. SironaCares’ Michelle Lacrouciere noted, “Haitians cook with charcoal. It is a way of life, but the charcoal trade is destroying the fragile island. Deforestation is arguably Haiti’s largest issue. We can stabilize these hillsides and replenish the soil, the indigenous trees will return in time.”

The challenges are different for each tropical locale — from subsistence economies in the Caribbean to low-lying Asian island highly exposed to climate shift, to sophisticated economies such as Hawaii’s. In Haiti, the country fights to avoid becoming a failed state. In Hawaii, the challenge is to reduce dependency on imported energy and its high, and highly volatile, costs that stress the local economy and tourism.

In today’s Digest, we look at the arrival of new crops, new processing technologies and new investments that can alter the energy outlook in the tropics, where abundant rainfall and year-round growing seasons offer biomass opportunities. In part one today, we look at Haiti; in our concluding part tomorrow, at Hawaii.

“Our jatropha farming and our electricity projects are focused upon sustainable development. By putting the power to produce and sell fuel in the hands of the world’s poorest people we empower them, creating a real basis for economic stability.But two projects are working to change the equation in Haiti.”

Back in 2010, we first reported in the Digest on the work of Sirona Fuels and the Sirona Cares Foundation to develop jatropha plantations in Haiti.

If you connect Sirona with Oakland’s Blue Sky Biodiesel — give yourself a gold star. They’re connected by their founders and driving spirits, Paul and Michelle Lacrouciere.

...Sirona’s nursery operations included planting multiple strains of seeds and seedlings that will be intercropped with Moringa trees. Moringa leaves are high in protein and nutrients and can be simply processed into a micronutrient powder to fight malnutrition.

Partner for People and Place writes that “sustainable solutions come from joining the entrepreneurship of local people with the ecology of the place where they live. Our current project is JATROPHA PEPINYÈ. Jatropha Pepinyè is a nonprofit cooperative of smallholder farmers in northeast Haiti that fosters sustainable agriculture – farming that is tied to the ecological capabilities of the land and the capacities and aspirations of local families. Sustainable farming is structured on multiple crops in order to produce stable farm income throughout the year.”

Latest on the project: ” The transformation of this land with Jatropha in just 3 years is nothing short of amazing – but what’s even more amazing is the income it can generate for poor farming families. June brought a good harvest on trees that were planted just two and a half years ago and are not yet fully grown. All month scooters loaded with sacks of seeds traveled rutted dirt roads to bring their harvest to Jatrofa Pepinyè to sell. READ MORE