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Biomass resources use in tea plantations in Sri Lanka
[top] [end]Energy in Sri LankaThe primary energy consumed in Sri Lanka consists mainly of bio-mass fuel (67%), petroleum (22%) and hydro-electricity (11%). Sri Lanka has no known fossil fuel resources and biomass is used for both cooking and for small industries. It is of vital importance to the economy since 94% of households use it for cooking. Heating is required only in small areas of the country, in the high altitude tea plantations. Biomass fuel has been growing in importance since the fuel crisis of 1973. National biomass fuel consumption, estimated at 4.2 million tonnes in 1975, reached an estimated 5.2 million tonnes by 1980. The overall trend in energy consumption has been increasing during the past two decades at an annual rate of 1.7%.[top] [end]The decline of forestsDuring recent decades, natural forests have been disappearing rapidly, with adverse effects on the sustainable supply of fuel-wood for domestic and industrial purposes. However, the Forestry Sector Master Plan (FSMP 1993) states that there will not be any serious crisis in the immediate future, but in certain localities an imbalance between supply and demand has been caused by an increased pressure on land resources, the fragile environmental conditions and unequal access to fuel resources. Examples of deprived groups include labourers in the estate sector, the urban poor and the rural landless poor.[top] [end]Energy sources in the household sectorFuelwood and other biomass sources are the dominant fuels in cooking, which consumes most of the energy used by households. In the tea plantation areas, fuel-wood is also used for space heating. However, in urban areas LPG, electricity and Kerosene are quite commonly used for cooking. As a result, only 79% of households in urban areas rely primarily on fuelwood.Table 1: Biomass resources used for cooking by type
Source: Sri Lanka Energy balance [top] [end]Biomass use in tea plantationsIn Sri Lanka tea is planted in the Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces. The tea region is divided into three main zones; Low, Mid, and High country. The Low country tea region extends over areas of the Southern Province, the Mid country extends over areas of Sabaragamuwa and parts of the Central and Uva provinces, and the High country tea is mainly located in the Central Province. The use of biomass resources differs in each of these areas, depending upon the climate.
[top] [end]Influence of biomass resource use on the familyFuelwood is used for cooking food, heating small quantities of water for preparation of tea and space heating etc. inside the house. Water for bathing is heated outside. Firewood is generally not purchased but collected in the tea estates. It is collected from tea fields, roadsides and nearby forests. Journeys of between two and six kilometres must be made to fetch firewood for home use. A woman will spend her whole day in the field plucking tea and then go to collect firewood in the evening and have less time for other household chores, and no time for leisure.As tea clippings are not available in sufficient quantities, women and children spent considerable time obtaining wood, either legally or illegally, from wherever possible; and for this they suffer harassment. Men work until 1.p.m. in the fields in estates. Given the opportunity they would then work in their home gardens and vegetable plots; at present they have to forgo this productive time as they too must use it collecting fuel-wood. [top] [end]Health aspectsThe tea estate workers live in houses of the olden type which are called 'barracks'. These houses have two rooms including the kitchen. The fuelwood used by the estate workers in the high altitude regions is generally wet and emits lots of smoke when burning. The traditional stove, built by the households themselves, makes this situation worse.
[top] [end]Availability of fuel from tea bushesThe availability of tea prunings and other biomass fuels has been in decreasing. The pruning cycle has altered and this situation is leading to worse conditions in terms of biomass availability. Pruning now involves removing leaves with only little portion of the wood, whereas previously, complete pruning once every four years was undertaken. Because tea workers must spend time finding fuel, they cannot pluck tea for as long as previously, leading to a reduction in their income. Some households have tried to use alternative forms of energy, such as kerosene for cooking, and in doing this they spend more money than they can really afford.[top] [end]Influences on tea industry caused by biomass useSince women are involved in tea plucking in tea estates, illness due to ARI makes them less productive in the tea fields and thus the output and profitability of the tea industry is reduced.It is desirable for the tea prunings to be left in the field for at least for two weeks as fertilizer, as it enriches the tea fields by adding potash as it dries and decays, it improves the soil texture and prevents soil erosion etc. Since most of the tea prunings are removed for use as fuel-wood by the estate residents, direct environmental damage such as soil erosion and a loosening of the soil texture leads to a lack of productivity. In the long term, this will adversely affect the lives of the estate workers since, when production of tea goes down, the workers will have less work and will be paid less, resulting in financial crisis at household level. [top] [end]Influences on the national economyIn Sri Lanka, a large proportion of the foreign exchange brought into the country is due to the tea industry. If the productivity of tea is reduced by either poor soil or by poor output caused by ill-health among the estate workers, it automatically exerts an impact on tea production. The cost of the tea production tends to increase with any increase in the cost of fuels used by the industry. Extra costs are incurred when trees other than tea must be grown for fuel.When the profitability of the tea industry is low, it causes great concern for those dependent on the tea industry. The tea industry workers are mostly Tamil speaking or belonging to an ethnic group called Tamils who were made to migrate from South India during British rule. These people were made to settle in areas where tea was grown. A decrease in profitability for this ethnic group can cause economic and political problems in the country. [top] [end]Contents: Boiling Point 39: Using biomass residues for energy
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Page created:
03 August 2007; Last edited:
03 August 2007; Version: 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Pagename: BiomassResourcesUseInTeaPlantationsInSriLanka @HEDON: FGGA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
