BIOCHARM: Biochar for carbon reduction, sustainable agriculture and soil management
- Key Staff:
- Timescale:
- January 2010 to December
- Funding:
- Asia Pacific Network for Global Change (APN) (www.apn-gcr.org)
This project is led by Apropriate Rural Technologies India (ARTI) and also involves the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and SME Cambodia, an NGO and company 
involved in installing gasification plants, utilising rice husks as the fuel, in Cambodia. Simon Shackley devised the project and helped the team develop a successful proposal to the Asia-Pacific Network on Global Change (APN). The work involves field trials in 
rice paddy and a variety of vegetables in Cambodia and India, utilising either carbonised rice husks from gasification, or sugar cane bagasse from small-scale pyrolysis. Sarah Carter is the researcher in situ and has developed a blog-site for more information.
For more information: http://biocharm.wordpress.com/
Two workshops have been organised as part of this project:
Biochar: the potential in Asia Pacific
An e-seminar was organised (24-29th October 2010) under the BIOCHARM project to encourage international participation from Asia-Pacific and Europe. 68 participants engaged in lively and fruitful discussions, including policy makers, researchers, practitioners, scientists, agricultural extension / agronomy analysts, staff members of IBI, and so on, etc.
Details on the e-seminar can be found at:
http://biocharm.wordpress.com/eworkshop/
National Consultation on Biochar
This event took place on the 22nd and 23rd of Novemeber 2010 at BAIF, Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was organised by the Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI), India and was supported by UKBRC, UK and The Society of Biochar Initiatives, India. Dr Simon Shackley from UKBRC was one of the keynote speakers. Around 40 participants including practitioners, research scientists, agronomists, policy makers and agricultural support analysts attended the event. The event was funded by the Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN).
Publications:
Karve P, Shackley S, Carter S, Anderson P, Prabunhe R, Cross A, Haszeldine S, Haefele S, Knowles T, Field J, Tanger P (2011), Biochar for Carbon Reduction, Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Management (BIOCHARM). A Report for the APN (Asia Pacific Network for Climate Change Research).
Shackley, S., Carter, S., Knowles, T., Middelink, E., Haefele, S., Haszeldine, S. (2012), Sustainable gasification-biochar systems? A case-study of rice-husk gasification in Cambodia, Part II: Field trial results, carbon abatement, economic assessment and conclusions, Energy Policy, 41:618-623
Shackley, S., Carter, S., Knowles, T., Middelink, E., Haefele, S., Sohi, S., Cross, A., Haszeldine, S. (2012), Sustainable gasification-biochar systems? A case-study of rice-husk gasification in Cambodia, Part I: context, chemical properties, environmental and health and safety issues, Energy Policy, 42: 49-58.