Anthropedogenesis via Biochar for

10 m2 (~100 sq. feet) in Haiti.

To Illinois Biochar Group 4 December 2015

.

Paul S. Anderson, PhDpsanders@ilstu.edu

Including materials from Dr. Roy Beckford, with permission.

Anthropedogenesis:The creation of soil by human

activity.

Effects of Biochar

BioChar•Charcoal is the oldest technology on the Earth•Practiced by indigenous people in many locations around the worldwide•Pulverized charcoal identified as a soil amendment by South American Indians•Referred to as ‘black gold’ by Portuguese explorers

BioChar•Biochar is produced using pyrolysis, that is, biomass is super-heated in the absence of oxygen at high temperatures (350-700° C) in specially designed furnaces. •The most sustainable feed stocks are what are now considered waste: excess manure, wood debris, construction waste, slash from forest thinning (or land clearing), food processing waste, residue from methane digesters or urban tree trimmings.

Cornell Study of Biochar Impact (Led by Dr. Johannes Lehmann)

The shown (front) plot is approximately eight (8) sq. meters.

Applying Resiliency and Sustainability models in ecologically degraded environments

ADVANCING AN INTEGRATED FOOD ENERGY SYSTEM (IFES) IN HAITI:

Roy Beckford Dissertation Presentation

Prescott College, May 2015

Components of an Integrated Food Energy System (IFES), contextualized to Haiti

(1) AnthropedogenesisBuild soils.

(2) Food-Energy Farming

Grow food and fuel.

3. Household Sustenance

Eat food; cook with fuel.

4. Pyrogenic Carbon

Create biochar.

Integrational Tools

Learning, Knowledge, Practice / Actions

Integrational Levels

Soil, Food, Fuel, Biochar

Why Haiti?

Haiti Basics:

Population: 10.2 millionArea: 27,750 km2 [ 10,714 sq mi ] Comparisons:Very similar to Maryland (USA) or Rwanda or Burundi, and mountainous.Illinois has 12.9 million people and 5.4 times the area. One quarter the size of France.

Haiti: The Contemporary Reality•Of Haiti’s 10.2 million people, 80% live below the poverty line• 54% live in extreme poverty• 60% of the food consumed by Haitians is imported•Subsistence farming is the main source of income for 70% of working population• 80% of domestic energy derived from fuelwood and charcoal•Charcoal is used by 90% of households in the capital city of Port-au-Prince

Haiti’s Ecology•About 10% of Haiti’s soils remain – most eroded•Approximately 1% of natural forest cover remains•Named one of the countries least able to rebound from natural disasters (UNDP)•Most at risk from climate change (Climate Change Vulnerability Index)

Haiti’s Soil Horizons•More than 60% of Haiti’s soils are deeply eroded down to the B horizon.•And 20% to the C horizon (Paskett & Philoctete,1990).•Some of the good O and A soils (right photo) have been buried by erosion deposits.

Haiti’s poverty has forced its people to remain dependent on forest-derived charcoal for cooking fuel, and increasingly, this has accelerated the destruction of the territory’s last remaining forested areas, resulting in more erosion.

Concepts Often Overlooked•Environmental Economics consider the costs and benefits to the physical environment. The financial and political economics of mercantilism and capitalism placed Haiti as the “Pearl of the Antillies” while the environment was being destroyed and not counted into the costs.

•Social Economics consider the costs and benefits to the society and people. Slavery gives no consideration to the enslaved people. Modern-day motives of profit and “development” often overlook the people.

•Slow Violence is the damage done so slowly that the participants are unaware of (or denying) the decay until it is profoundly pointed out, possibly when it is past the tipping point for remedy. …………… [Consider atmospheric CO2 today.)

All of these apply to the Haitian environmental disaster.

Eras of Haitian History

•The following four slides are NOT part of the presentation to the Illinois Biochar Group, but are left in this deck of slides for readers of this presentation.

Eras in Haiti’s History• > 1492: Pre-Columbian indigenous tribes throughout region.• 1492 – 1695: Destruction of native Indian population, then minimal activity as part of the Spanish empire. Became a pirate refuge.• 1695 – 1804: Saint Domingue French colony, with the rise of sugar and slavery became the “Pearl of the Antilles” contributing 25% of the wealth France (more than the economic output of the USA in 1789 or of the whole Spanish Empire in 1776).

Slavery: Brutal conditions. Probably 2 million arrivals. 30,000 arrived in 1789. No natural increase. 500,000 slaves, compared to 700,000 in all of USA.

Eras in Haiti’s History• 1791 – 1803: Slave rebellion. Much destruction of infrastructure. • 1804: Declared independence as Ayiti, ended slavery, second country in the Americas to throw off colonial rulers. World’s first (and perhaps only) successful revolution by slaves.• 1804 – 1825: Independence was not recognized by anyone; defenses against French and others; blockaded by USA for France; minimal contact with other countries; mullato leaders continued abuses.• 1825: Recognition of independence in exchange for reparation payment of 150 million francs, later reduced to 90 million francs. In comparison, the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 was for 60 million francs. Debt paid in full in 1949, much through the export of timber, stripping Haiti of its forests. (124 years of payments)• 1825 – 1915: Marginalize country. By 1900 the reparation payments were 80% of the Haiti national budget. International diplomatic boycott, embargos impacting terms of trade.

•

Eras in Haiti’s History• 1915 – 1934: Occupied by the US Military. Disruption of self-governance, with imposed economic structures ensuring payments to France; opened to mining that disrupted agriculture and furthered deforestation and erosion of the land. • 1934 – 1986: Fragile state. Continuing population growth without much access to education, health care, etc. Declining agricultural productivity.• 1986 – 2015: Welfare state. Development funding largely tied to political, military and commercial interests of the donors. Imposition of IMF regulations disrupted agricultural production (e.g., rice), Haiti goes from mostly self-sufficiency for food in mid-1980s to importing ~60% of food by 2012. Earthquake in 2010 had 230,000 deaths, 1.5 million homeless; reported $9 billion in aid, but not much accountability.

Important Literature

• CLR James: The Black Jacobins• Alfred Crosby: The Columbian exchange• Robert Lawless: Haiti’s bad press• Michael-Rolph Trouillot: Haiti-State against nation• Paul Farmer: The uses of Haiti • Vereda Johnson–Williams: A case study of desertification in

Haiti.• Jared Diamond: Collapse• Food and Agriculture Organization: Energy-smart food • Clare Wilson: Post burial change in soils• William Schlesinger: Biogeochemistry • Hans Jenny: Factors of soil formation• Paul Taylor (Editor): The biochar revolution

Tragic, yes.What can we do about it? Anthropedogenesis via Biochar for 10 m2

(~100 sq. feet) in Haiti. 1000 replications = 1 ha 10o,oo0 replications = 1 km2

Ten square meters = 107 square feetOne square meter is about 10 sq. ft.

•One kg of biochar spread on one sq meter is the same impact as ten tons (10,000 kg) of biochar spread on one hectare (10,000 m2).•Recommendation is 40 tons / hectare, or 4 kg / m2, with compost.•Or 2 kg / m2 if applied to only half of the sq meter, that is, in the root zone.

•One household can create about 2 kg / wk of biochar, or 8 kg / mo.•That can service 2 sq. m. / month.•That is almost 25 sq. m. / year•In 4 years that becomes 100 m2 which is sufficient for serious gardening.•In 40 years that becomes 1000 m2

A Project to Consider• Sunset Rotary Club of Bloomington-Normal, IL • Haiti Cookstoves Project:• The project supplies equipment for FdS (El Fuego del Sol) in

Haiti to facilitate production of fuel briquettes from biomass waste, and for the manufacture of some initial char-making stoves. (List is separate.)• FdS is a functioning organization with USA organizational

leadership (by Kevin Adair, who has ties to Chicago and Bloomington-Normal.).• The biomass briquettes and the TLUD cookstoves are

compatible for producing charcoal / biochar.• Rotary District Grant of $4000 with required matching of

$4000 for a total of $8000 (or more), mainly for activities in October 2015 thru March 2016.• At their own expense (estimate $1000 each), a group of

Sunset Rotarians and friends can spend a week in Haiti at FdS with hands-on involvement, probably in Jan or Feb 2016.

A separate biochar project is proposed to use the available

char.• Antropedogenesis for reconstitution of soils in Haiti. • Many millions of dollars, but is starts with the first square meters.• Early discussions are underway, see Paul Anderson.

Questions on any parts of the presentation?