New Forest, Tamanu Forest
More than 100 world leaders who met at COP26, Glasgow-England, Monday and Tuesday agreed, among other things, something very important for the world, namely no more deforestation by 2030.
For us this should not be a problem, not only that we no longer need to cut down forests — in fact we even have the opportunity to create new, very productive forests.
Currently we have around 14 million hectares of critical and very critical land. Being a source of drought in the dry season, and a source of floods and landslides in the rainy season. Our study estimates that around 40% of this critical and very critical land can still be ‘forested’ with suitable plants, our choices fall to tamanu or nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum). The remaining 60% can be rethought about its utilization according to their respective conditions.
First, because tamanu can live on dry land with minimal rain, swampy peat soil, former forest fires, former mines and even live on shorelines where the water is salty. This more or less fits the profile of the majority of our critical and very critical lands.
Second, tamanu forests can be very productive without having to cut the trees. The flowering season will be a producer of high quality honey, when the fruit gets matured — it becomes a producer of
multi-purpose oil.
Cold pressed tamanu oil represent more than 40% of the dried tamanu kernel — rich in polyphenols, so it has a high selling value for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, care, perfume and wellness industries in general.
Hot pressed tamanu oil, about 30% of the dry kernel weight, can be processed relatively easy into drop-in biofuels in the form of diesel, gasoline, LPG and even Bio-Jet. So it is a new and renewable energy source that is truly sustainable, not competing with food nor agricultural land.
And more importantly, from the upstream of the nursery to the downstream end, making it fuel and personal care or wellness products — complete knowledge and technology are available, ready to be applied directly with companies and institutions that are interested in them.
