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South East Asian Biochar Interest Group

Supporters of biochar in South East Asia are trying to gather enthusiasts together under the umbrella of a regional group.  There are a wide range of economic and agricultural development needs in the region.  Biochar priorities and interests will be varied but it is hoped that this mix of strengths and needs will help increase the profile of biochar with potential local and international agricultural aid and research groups. 

There are a number of aid and research groups active in the region, that have been involved in soil carbon research or have expressed interest in biochar (JICA, CGIAR-IRRI, APN, ACIAR, FAO-RAP).  Given the support of sponsor organisations, it is hoped that a new regional biochar interest group can coalese the resources, management and expertise for more field trials and research on the performance of biochar in local conditions. This may also require collaboration of research expertise from regional universities and local farming groups (www.AsiaFarmers.org). 

Comments, support or participation interest can be directed to Trevor Richards (febiochar@gmail.com) or see http://sea-biochar.blogspot.com.

January 2010 Update

  1. The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAORAP) is planning to support a biochar related study in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) under the GMS Economic Cooperation Program. The study methodology is based on conducting investigations into the potential for adapting biochar to existing agricultural and bioenergy systems. Further information will be available once the terms of reference have been finalized and project participants have been identified.
  2. In conjunction with the University of Edinburgh’s UK Biochar Research Centre (www.biochar.org.uk), there are two projects underway in India and Cambodia. The first, Biochar for Carbon Management, Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Management (BIOCHARM) involves field trials in India and Cambodia, as well as some analysis in the Philippines. This 12 month project funded through the Asia Pacific Network on Global Change (APN) includes partners from four countries, and it is led by the Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI) in India. The other partners are the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), SME Cambodia and the University of Edinburgh. The second, Participative Distributed Innovation Processes and Biochar: Smoke Reduction, Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Management received funding through the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). This project is led by the University of Edinburgh, working closely with ARTI to investigate the potential of gasification cook stoves which produce biochar.
  3. Academics from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (Dr R.T. Bachmann, www.micet.edu.my), Universiti Putra Malaysia (Prof. Taufiq Yap, Dr Wan Azlina, www.upm.edu.my), Santo Tomas University, Philippines (Eng. Andrew Benedict Tengkiat), Eritrea Institute of Technology, Eritrea (Dr Anbu Clemensis Johnson), St. Peter’s Engineering College, India (Dr Thangappan Hariharan), Sheffield University, UK (Dr Robert Edyvean) and Cornell University, USA (Dr Johannes Lehmann, Dorisel Torres) have been working together in different constellations on various biochar-related projects since 2006. We participated in the Mondialogo Engineering Award competition with projects titled "Biochar to enhance sustainability of crop production, reduce fertilizer usage and greenhouse effect" (http://www.mondialogo.org/) and "Application of Biotechnology for the Treatment of Dyehouse Effluents in India and Philippines" (http://www.mondialogo.org/).  Recent research activities (2009) include the production of biochar from rubberwood sawdust (RWSD) at 500 to 900degC and physico-chemical characterisation (FTIR, particle size, CHNS/O, ash content, BET surface area, pH point of zero charge, SEM-EDS, sorption kinetics and capacity for methylene blue and to some extent NPK) and data modelling for optimum biochar production using DesignExpert software. Commerically available activated coconut shell carbon (ACS) was evaluated and used as control.  Subsequently, RWSD and ACS were added to orthic acrisol (prevalent, low-fertility soil in M'sia) at different ratios (1 g / kg to 100 g / kg) to study its effect on seed germination and biomass yield of Oryza sativa and Jatropha curcas (tobacco under way). Phytoremediation experiments with Brassica juncea and Copper polluted orthic acrisol were also conducted to establish which char type (RWSD, ACS) and concentration (1-100 g/kg) is effective in remediating the soil.  Planned and ongoing research activities: Continue to produce, characterise and test char from different sources. Collaborate with Trevor Richards (BSL, Malaysia), Prof. Baki Hj Bakar (Universiti Malaya), Gerard Cornelissen (Norges Geotekniske Institutt, www.ngi.no), Dimitrios Kalderis (TU Crete, Greece) and Marcela Guiotoku (EMBRAPA Florestas, Brazil)."

August 2009 Update

The following is the first Far East biochar report - just a quick snapshot of some of the current known activities in the region.  A more complete picture will be available when the regional interest group has more structure and a platform for presenting information.  A google-group structure is proposed as an interim platform.

Philippines
Jochen Binikowski has been working with biochar since February 2007.  He is living in and reporting from the front line, on biochar experiments with farmers in the Philippines. 

Indonesia
An ACIAR funded project "Building more profitable and resilient farming systems in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and New South Wales", is being lead by Dr. Peter Slavich (NSW DII). Biochar experiments are underway in Aceh and Tamworth (NSW, Australia) on rice and dryland crops.

Malaysia
Funding has just been released for the first biochar soil trial in Malaysia.  The study is being led by Theeba Manickam, a researcher with MARDI (govt. horticulture agency). A number of other researchers, universities, and agriculture organisations are expressing interest in biochar research.  Overseas collaborations and funding options are being investigated.  Some local and regionally specific research opportunities include soil rehabilitation (tin mining, bris) and the annual haze issue (slash&char).

Information on future, current and historical biochar work is being accumulated for reference on a future website.  Any contribution to this would be welcome.

Trevor Richards
FarEastBiochar