Context: Bio-energy projects set up by the Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA), to use the vast quantities of flammable pine needles for generating electricity have been “unsuccessful”, with officials saying appropriate technology does not yet exist to use them.
Pine Resources of Uttarakhand
- Out of total forest cover of Uttarakhand, about 16.36% (i.e. 399329 hectares) is covered by chir pine.
- As per the estimates, over 15 lakh tones of pine are annually generated.
Pine as flammable resource
- Pine trees have a high resin content.
- Resin is a sticky substance found within the tree, and it can be very flammable, especially when heated.
- The presence of resin makes pine trees more likely to catch fire and burn quickly.
Reasons for Unsuccess:
Challenges in resource collection: Pine Forest are at steep slope, threat of attack from wild animals and unavailability of labor at remunerative rate.
Forest fires: Annual Forest fires becoming more severe, partly because of climate change accentuated dry spells and rising stores of organic biomass.
- As per the experience of forest officials, 90% of the forest fires is manmade.