Energy gardens for small-scale farmers in Nepal: institutions, species and technology

从植物中获取能量的最大潜力在于，适当的当地物种可以在世界各地的不同环境中种植。因此，利用一系列植物种类来生产不同形式的能源，种植“能源花园”是可能的。相比之下，化石燃料需要从开采地点、加工和分配到使用地点进行散装运输。利用能源花园，贫穷的农业社区，也许生活在偏远地区，可以种植自己的燃料。传统上，这一直是木材燃料，但新技术和创新理念正在开辟种植和加工生物燃料的可能性，或者将卫生与能源生产结合起来。因此，例如，灌溉泵可以由当地生产的生物燃料提供动力，从而在农民经常财政拮据的时候为农业循环提供重要的投入。植物通过光合作用从太阳获取能量，并以营养生长的形式储存起来。这种生长形式多种多样，从木质组织到软组织，化学成分可能相当复杂，包括糖、油和其他产品。因此，植物是可再生能源的理想来源。这种能量是通过燃烧木材和其他形式的生物质释放出来的，但最近，植物产品，如植物油和糖，已被用来制造驱动内燃机的生物燃料。事实上，第一台柴油发动机是由鲁道夫·迪塞尔博士于1885年制造的，其燃料中含有花生油。能源花园项目将侧重于建立跨学科新联系的社会科学，并探索如何将新技术转移到社区进行能源生产。利用植物发电的第二个主要优点是，这种能源是可再生的。对燃烧化石燃料产生的温室气体的担忧引起了用生物燃料取代不可再生化石燃料的呼吁，生物燃料符合可持续性的基本原则，即使用可再生能源的燃料满足“当前的需求，而不损害子孙后代满足自己需求的能力”。然而，由于国家和国际政策鼓励使用生物燃料，加上矿物燃料的成本急剧上升，生物燃料的使用大大增加，引起了公众的相当大的关注。生物燃料与“粮食换燃料”的争议、食品价格上涨、“土地掠夺”导致的土地使用权丧失以及将自然生态系统转化为棕榈油等生物燃料种植园导致的生物多样性丧失有关。通过将当地植物物种用于能源生产与粮食种植相结合，可以克服这些批评。首先，通过改善农场的能源投入来促进粮食生长。其次，没有土地损失，因为能源植物可以在田地里种植或遮荫。第三，通过使用一系列当地植物物种，提高了农业系统的生物多样性，提高了当地物种的价值，最后，通过选择正确的转换方法，可以产生能源，最大限度地减少对当地社区的环境和健康影响。这种方法是由印度南部的哈桑生物燃料公园开创的，他们的成功对印度国家和州的生物燃料政策和立法产生了重大影响。通过这一伙伴关系，该项目将探索将在哈桑开发的知识和方法转移到尼泊尔和其他国家的可能性。传播产出是项目活动的一个关键组成部分。该项目采用的创新方法是利用形成“国际植物园保护”的国际植物园网络。该项目将把研究结果提炼成展示材料的形式，提供给世界各地的植物园，以推广能源花园的概念。

The greatest potential for deriving energy from plants is the fact that appropriate local species can be grown in different environments all round the world. So it is possible to grow 'Energy Gardens' using a range of plant species to produce different forms of energy. In contrast, fossil fuels need to be transported in bulk from the site of extraction, processed and distributed to the point of use. Using energy gardens, poor farming communities, perhaps living in remote areas, can grow their own fuel. Traditionally this has been wood fuel, but new technologies and innovative ideas are opening the possibility to grow and process biofuels, or combine sanitation with energy production. So, for example, irrigation pumps could be powered by locally produced biofuels, thereby providing important inputs into the agricultural cycle at a time when farmers are often financially constrained. Plants capture energy from the sun through photosynthesis and store it in in the form of vegetative growth. This growth takes a wide variety of forms from woody to soft tissues, and can be quite complex chemically including sugars, oils and other products. Plants are thus ideal sources of renewable energy. This energy is released through burning wood and other forms of biomass, but more recently, plant products such as vegetable oils and sugars have been used to create biofuels for running internal combustion engines. Indeed the first diesel engine, built by Dr Rudolf Diesel in 1885, included peanut oil in its fuel. The energy garden project will focus on the social science of creating new links across disciplines and exploring how novel technologies can be transferred to communities for energy production.The second major advantage of deriving power from plants is that the energy is renewable. Concern over greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels has given rise to calls for replacement of non-renewable fossil fuels by biofuels, there by conforming with a basic principle of sustainability in that the use of fuels from renewable sources meets the 'needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. However, the greatly increased use of biofuels that resulted from national and international policies encouraging their use coupled with a sharp rise in the costs of fossil fuels, gave rise to considerable public concern. Biofuels have been implicated in 'food for fuel' controversies, food price increases, loss of access to land through 'land grabbing' and loss of biodiversity through conversion of natural ecosystems to biofuel plantations such as for palm oil. By using local plant species for energy production integrated into food growing these criticisms can be overcome. Firstly, food growth is enhanced by improving energy inputs into the farms. Secondly, no land is lost as the energy plants can be grown in field bunds or as shade. Thirdly, by using a range of local plant species, biodiversity of the farming system is enhanced, the value of local species enhanced, and finally, by choosing the right conversion approaches, energy can be generated minimising environmental and health impacts to local communities. This approach was pioneered by the Hassan Biofuels Park in southern India, and their success has had a major impact on Indian national and state biofuel policy and legislation. Through the partnership, the project will explore the possibilities of transferring the knowledge and approach developed in Hassan to Nepal and other countries.Dissemination of the outputs is a critical component of the project activities. The innovative approach adopted by the project is to use the international network of botanical gardens that form 'Botanic Gardens Conservation International'. The project will distil the findings into the form of display materials that will be made available to botanic gardens worldwide for promotion of the energy garden concept.