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).