The story of profit and loss from chir- (Pinus roxburghii)

Puneet Mishra1, Siddhita Pandey2

1Universidad Politecnica de Madrid-CEI Moncloa. ETSI Agrónomos, Avenida Complutense s/n. 28040, Madrid, Spain 2Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263145, U.S. Nagar,

Background Methods Results

Chir-pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg. syn. P. longifolia • Forest Department, Government of Roxb.): and Watershed Management Directorate, • gymnospermic that prefers quartzite soil for its Uttarakhand has recognized the ill influences of growth. the tree-pine needles. • mycorrhizal association present in its root system • Now, the dry fallen chir-pine needles are collected facilitates utilization of traces of nutrients and and used for briquetting. moisture from soil for its fast spread • The briquettes are used as substitute of wood • ecologically, it is an early-colonizer and fire fuel/charcoal in energy-efficient smokeless hearth/ tolerant but fire stimulating species. stove by the local people. • predominance is recorded in state Uttarakhand, and Jammu and in North-western Himalayan region of India (1200-1600 m asl.)1

Scope

• of chir-pine are cutinized, resinous and Figure 2: Two women performing pyrolysis of chir- needle like in appearance. The fall occurs pine needles before preparing the briquettes. during mid-February to mid-June continuously. A thick carpet of litter, thus, gets established on the forest floor. • Its serves as bone dry fuel for accidental human- induced fire in the forests that leads to several ecological and economic losses. • Being slow decomposer, the thick carpet of litter Figure 5: A hill woman using briquettes in energy- arrests grass and herb growth on the forest floor if efficient hearth for preparing the morning tea. litter is not removed or burned. Production of briquettes has: • The hill women collect some amount of litter as 1. reduced the fire incidences bedding material for livestock and foliages for 2. facilitated understory growth preparing compost. 3. reduced deforestation and wood fuel usage 4. reduced indoor air pollution and related adverse

health effects Way Forward

• If organized as a non-corporate enterprise, the briquette production can be a source of village- based employment and income for rural women especially, hence, will reduce women drudgery and their marginalization in economic development process. • Women are the main beneficiary of the briquetting initiative, hence, financial gain from briquette will bring confidence in women who depend on men for financial needs. • By promoting access to energy resource and Figure 3: A hill woman using the mechanical setup indigenous source of employment and income for making briquettes from chir-pine needles. generation, briquetting will satisfy the socio- economic dimensions of sustainability within the regionous culture. • In an another attempt, being a hydrophobic biological waste, the fallen dry needles are being used as raw material for developing bunds or small Figure 1: A hill woman collecting fallen chir-pine check dams in rivulets to arrest soil and water loss needles from forest flour. during floods. (N.P. Melkania, Pers. Comm.) • But, a significant amount of litter remains on the • However, this innovation is still at pilot stage. forest floor that leads severe summer fires, “The views expressed in this information product therefore, serves as deleterious waste in the forest. are those of the author and do not necessarily • Additionally, its flow during rains with the rainwater reflect the views or policies of FAO.” also causes blockage in smooth run-off from hill slopes, which in turn facilitates flow of debris to agricultural land leading to crop loss or failure. • Further, an appreciable amount of financial References resource is wasted in controlling fires, which is also marked by loss of human and animal lives Figure 4: An energy efficient smoke hearth for 1. Champion H.G. and S.K. Seth. 1968. A Revised during fire control. burning the briquettes. Survey of Forest Types of India, Govt. Press, New Delhi.

The author is grateful to Prof. N.P. Melkania, Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani 263 139 (India) and to Erasmus Mundus INDIA4EUll program of European Union and Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain for providing funding to attend the conference.