The Role of Biochar Production in Sustainable Development in Thailand, Lao PDR and Cambodia

The potential for biochar application in rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China: a pot trial

“…High cost and expensive transportation make biochar production with machinery impractical, but farmers have the local knowledge to produce charcoal by burning biomass (Lehmann and Rondón 2006). In Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, a variety of traditional kilns are built by farmers and smallholders to produce charcoal for consumption, and many of these have been developed and improved (Haruthaithanasan et al 2016). These simple methods can make it practical for biochar to be produced at low-cost and used everywhere.…”

Sustainable Forest Bioenergy Development Strategies in Indochina: Collaborative Effort to Establish Regional Policies

“…The natural forests of the region were suffering from the highest rate of deforestation among all major tropical regions in the past, with disastrous consequences for the rich biodiversity [14]. In order to accommodate and expand upon the long tradition of using raw biomass and charcoal for energy [15] while mitigating the negative effects of a changing global climate, a number of initiatives to promote bioenergy were recently implemented through national energy-related policies within this region.…”

“…Representatives of responsible ministries were involved to avoid risks which could have meant that the concept for the regional bioenergy network might otherwise not have been fully accepted during the policy making process. During the second workshop, it was agreed that assessing how biomass was presently being used throughout the region would be an important activity [15]. Biomass use was only minimally regulated at present, and poorly quantified.…”