Greening the Desert with Bamboo

Beautifying the city or public facilities is increasingly prevalent today. In addition to adding beauty so that residents or the community increasingly like it, beautifying the city and public facilities is also designed to function to add freshness to the air and shade, namely by greening it with suitable plants. Cities or public facilities that are hot and arid because there are no leafy plants are certainly not attractive. Moreover, a city that will be built in a desert area, greening is absolutely necessary.

Bamboo is an adaptive plant that can even be planted in marginal lands including desert lands. And because of the need to beautify the city, ornamental bamboo species are more suitable. There are a number of ornamental bamboo species that can be an option. The beauty factor related to plant design and the city layout concept is a consideration for the selection of these ornamental bamboo species. And this bamboo planting can be done massively, especially for large desert areas so that it is green and beautiful. It is the kingdom of Saudi Arabia that will make a futuristic city in desert land costing around $ 500 billion even with the Saudi Green Initiave (SGI) program which intends to fight climate change targeting planting 10 billion trees throughout Saudi Arabia so that the use of bamboo can be an option interesting. Saudi Arabia is currently economically dependent on the oil and gas sector 56% with a vision of 2030 also reducing dependence on its oil and gas sector and pursuing the success of the UAE which is only 34%.

Compared to ASEAN countries, namely trade and investment cooperation with Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, the three countries in ASEAN surpass Indonesia and these Middle Eastern countries. The performance of Indonesia's investment and trade cooperation relations is indeed concerning compared to the three countries in ASEAN. Indonesia still fails to identify opportunities with a country that has the purchasing power and economic capability that has the highest income in the world. The oil and gas and non-oil and gas trade deficit between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia reached 60%. Supplying the need for bamboo seeds as well as creating plantations can be one of the efforts to reduce the trade deficit.

Meanwhile, if the goal is to green the desert or barren areas for the production of biomass as industrial raw material, then the choice of bamboo species is also different for the purpose of beauty of the city. Specific bamboo species can be selected for this purpose. The factors of altitude, the type of industry to be made are several things for selecting the type of bamboo to be planted or used for example for bioenergy or biomaterials. Wood-based industries in general can be replaced with bamboo.

Water Crisis, Bioeconomy and Climate Change

The water crisis is part of an environmental disaster that greatly affects the lives of all living things including humans. Environmental disasters such as the water crisis also have a cause. The main cause of this is due to environmental damage caused by human hands. If the environment is not maintained, a number of such disasters occur. Victims of the disaster not only affected the perpetrators of environmental destruction but also other communities. Deforestation so that the land becomes barren and arid is the main cause of the water crisis. In the dry season it results in a water crisis and in the rainy season has the potential for floods and landslides. Deforestation and illegal logging in general are closely related to economic interests and ignore environmental aspects.

During the dry season as it is today, many of us encounter areas that are drought and even some areas of forest fires occur. More technically and in detail the drought causes the decrease in the supply of clean water from water sources to decrease, the level of lake water or reservoirs to hold water, the wells to dry up as well as the rivers. A number of regions have even experienced a marked decline in water supply and levels. There is no living creature that can live without water, because water is a vital need for living things, even in the Qur'an it is explained that Allah SWT created living things from water (QS Al-Anbiya, verse 30), the human body itself 70% is water.

So many critical lands, marginal lands, up to idle lands that are not utilized, and these lands will be increasingly damaged such as desertification and the potential to cause various disasters. This should be utilized so that potential disasters can be minimized. Furthermore, these lands should also be able to provide economic benefits so that forest destruction can also be minimized. When the community has been able to be economically independent by utilizing these lands, the protected forest can be well preserved. The solution to environmental problems as well as economic aspects is the right solution and below there are 2 scenarios that can be done, namely first,bamboo plantation for biomaterials and energy plantations for biomass  energy supplies. Aside from deforestation, water crisis is also a result of climate change. The high concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere affects the climate change and the solution of making these plantations as well as a medium to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

Bamboo as Biomaterial
Bamboo trees are very familiar to almost all people and many people still use bamboo until now. But the use of bamboo is mostly still on a variety of products that have low added value so that it is economically less attractive. Bamboo trees also have great potential for large plantations with a top priority for environmental improvement and a second priority as a source of biomass feedstocks for biomaterials. Bamboo plantations are for environmental improvement because the plantations are able to prevent erosion, absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, O2 sources and are able to lift groundwater so that it helps the availability of water. Although basically all trees are able to absorb and retain water, but bamboo trees have the ability above average that can lift the surface of ground water an average of 10 meters in 20 years or 0.5 meters annually. The water crisis that occurs can be reduced or eliminated by making bamboo plantations.

Bamboo plantations are also very effective for the supply of biomass  for biomaterials. When the bamboo tree is 5 years old, every month from its clump, bamboo stems can be harvested every month until the productive period reaches 60 years without replanting. As for wood from other trees, it generally takes 10 years or even more to be harvested once and replanting it for the next cycle. Furthermore, the use of bamboo so as to produce high economic value products is an important thing to do. Products such as bamboo composites, bamboo textiles, and flooring, are a number of uses of bamboo with high economic value. The quality of bamboo composites is special as well as bamboo textiles. Imports of textile raw materials that are still dominant today can also be reduced with bamboo textiles. Bamboo plantation and processing can be a model of bioeconomy and for more details can be read here, as well as further bamboo as a biomaterial can be read here.

Energy Plantation to Supply Biomass Energy
Although currently almost all energy producers from biomass are limited to utilizing waste wood from wood working industries, sawmill and agricultural waste, but because the supply of these wastes is limited and fluctuating, it is difficult to be relie upon to supply for large capacity and sustainable. In the near future it is estimated that the energy plantation will replace it. Energy plantations with fast rotation plants are the ideal solution for supplying large amounts of energy and sustainability. Wood pellets are one of the products that can be made from these energy plantation. The demand for wood pellets in the international market is increasing along with the awareness onenvironmental problems. Wood chips as a simpler product can also be made if the user of the biomass fuel is close enough to the energy plantation.

On a smaller scale, wood from energy plantations can also be used for briquette and charcoal briquette production. Briquette needs are not as much as pellets and charcoal briquettes, especially only for barbecue. Charcoal briquette or more popularly known as sawdust charcoal briquette has a large market especially in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Leaves from the energy plantation can also be used for animal feed, such as sheep, goats, cows and buffalo. The leaves also have a high protein content so that it becomes nutritious feed for these animals. Pasture can also be made in the energy plantation area so that the livestock business becomes effective and efficient, for more details, please read here. In terms of environmental aspects the energy plantation also plays a role in CO2 absorption, preventing erosion and water conservation. Even the roots of energy plantation plants that can absorb N2 from the atmosphere will increasingly fertilize the soil.

 If humans can make optimal use of the land to meet their daily needs by maintaining balance, caring for and not damaging it, then disasters such as water crises and landslides, InsyaAllah, will not occur. Utilize while maintaining the environment wisely so that it can continue to grow and be sustainable as well as a form of gratitude for the blessings of Allah SWT so that these favors are added by Him.
"If the inhabitants of the countries of faith and god fear, surely We will bestow upon them blessings from heaven and earth, but they deny (Our verses), then We torture them for their actions." (QS, Al A'raf: 96).

Bioeconomy Model for Indonesia Part 2

In addition to using leguminoceae trees such as calliandra in the form of energy plantation, as described in more detail in the bioeconomy model for Indonesia part 1, bamboo trees can also be used as pioneering plants and impact the development of various bioeconomy derivative activities. Why can bamboo trees be used in this case? Bamboo trees belonging to the group of grasses (gramineae) can grow in almost all places in Indonesia and are resistant to dry conditions, this is also because bamboo plants are plant species with C4 photosynthesis. Ground water will also rise up to the surface by bamboo plants, so that areas that were originally dry can become fertile and water is easily available.

The damage to the environment generally starts from the destruction of the soil which has become dry and barren. This condition causes the land to be untapped and further worsens the damage so desertification can occur. Damage to the soil can be caused by the use of chemical fertilizers, lack of or not available water sources and unsustainable land management. Bamboo trees that are also easy to grow can be used to improve these conditions. For this reason, bamboo plantations need to be made to rehabilitate land and also benefit economically. It only takes about 3 years for bamboo trees to be harvested and can then be harvested continuously for more than 30 years.

Bamboo can be used for biomaterials, but of course the most economical use is sought. Bamboo can be used for the production of various types of products such as building materials, paper raw materials, energy sources, activated carbon, to high-quality textiles and for more detail can be read here. The number of products that can be produced from bamboo will certainly be its own driving force. Currently there are still a number of imported products, even though they should be produced domestically. Textile raw materials such as cotton and wool are examples of raw materials that are still imported in very large quantities, and this can also be substituted with raw materials from bamboo, even better quality.

With bamboo plantations that improve environmental conditions and economic aspects, further development can continue to be carried out later, such as the creation of fruit gardens and livestock, especially sheep. The fertile soil and water are easily available making various fruit trees grow well, so can the making of pastures with green grass. Rotation grazing techniques as the best grazing technique today can be applied in the pasture. The economic sector based on this has become more passionate and a real example of bioeconomy.

Starting from bamboo, the nation's economic sector and people can become strong. Strategic sectors such as food, clothing, shelter, and energy can be fulfilled and are not import dependent. There are tens of millions of hectares of land available in Indonesia, and can be used for these bamboo plantations. Indonesia's condition with a tropical climate with high rainfall also strongly supports bamboo plantations in Indonesia. Let us improve and save the environment as well as to lead in the bioeconomy era with bamboo plantations, its processing industry and its development.

Bamboo As Biomaterial

The image of some people about bamboo is still negative, which is imagined as a bad bamboo hut and identical with the poor in the countryside. Whereas bamboo is a plant that has many uses and its use is also not inferior to wood. Construction of Barajas airport ceilings in Madrid, Spain for example using bamboo and interior of Toyota Lexus cars, and bamboo sport bikes. The use of bamboo for activated charcoal making is also widely done. Activated carbon is charcoal which is activated that has a large surface area, so it is commonly used for adsorbing filters of various chemical compounds. Over time the utilization of bamboo is also increasingly widespread, and will be very long when described one by one about the products that can be produced from bamboo. The problem that bamboo plantations in Indonesia in particular is also decreasing so it needs to be encouraged including its utilization, especially in the era of bioeconomy that is in sight.

Unlike the energy plantation that uses leguminoceae and can be harvested every year from its coppice (SRC: short rotation coppice), bamboo plantations can be harvested when at least 3 years old and can be harvested for decades. Energy plantation are capable of generating high productivity from their timber making it economical for wood pellet production, while bamboo is uneconomical for pellet production because it is much advantageous for many other needs. Waste or residue of bamboo processing that can be used to make pellets. Bamboo is more suitable for biomaterial sources that are also very needed in the era of bioeconomy today.

When bamboo is preserved with a certain treatment the durability is long so it can be aged up to tens of years, one of them because it is resistant to termites. Exotic and natural nuanced buildings are also made of bamboo. When the need for housing is higher especially in big cities, then bamboo can also be the solution. With the bamboo composite technology becomes strong, hard and durable even up to tens of years making it suitable for the manufacture of these houses. Do not imagine bamboo house with such composite technology as rustic bamboo huts in the countryside because almost all types of houses and models can also be made with the bamboo composite. In addition, the manufacture of houses with bamboo composite is fast and also environmentally friendly.