Yunnan to establish biodiesel raw material forest bases

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Recently, the 400,000-mu biodiesel (Elaeocarpus) energy forest demonstration project built in Yunnan by the **Forestry Bureau and China National Petroleum Corporation was successfully completed. Yunnan Province will focus on bioethanol and biodiesel as the key areas and main directions for the development of the biomass energy industry in the future. Within 10 to 15 years, it plans to establish 10 million mu of plantations for biodiesel production, specifically using the tung tree as a source material. This will enable an annual production of nearly 2 million tons of tung tree seeds, generating an economic value of over 3 billion yuan, thus turning Yunnan into an important national base for biodiesel-producing plantations. 　　It is understood that although Yunnan is a province with relatively abundant hydroelectric and wind energy resources, its energy consumption is quite high. According to statistics, Yunnan imports over 2 million tons of diesel each year; therefore, developing the biomass energy industry will be an effective way to alleviate the energy supply shortages in Yunnan Province and the entire southwest region. However, the main raw material for biodiesel – Jatropha curcas – grows mainly in dry and hot valleys with arid climates and poor soil, making afforestation difficult ； At the same time, a series of technical standards and management methods are also required, ranging from the selection of improved varieties, the choice of sites for afforestation, planting and cultivation, to inspection and acceptance, market procurement, as well as product processing and sales. To this end, the Yunnan Provincial Forestry Department established a leadership group for forest biomass energy in January 2006 and organized relevant experts to conduct in-depth research. They drafted the \"Development Plan for Forests for Biomass Energy – Biodiesel Raw Material Forests in Yunnan Province,\" proposing that by 2020 the province should focus on developing a number of bases for biodiesel raw material forests, with 10 million mu of Erythrina trees to be planted. Together with the existing oil-producing forests such as those for rubber, the goal is to create a total of 15 million mu of biodiesel raw material forest bases. 　　To further promote the development of the biomass energy industry and the establishment of plantation forests for castor biodiesel production, in 2006, Yunnan Province ** signed a framework agreement on cooperation for the development of the biomass energy industry with China National Petroleum Corporation. In the second half of 2006, the construction of four high-quality Paulownia breeding bases, jointly funded by the Yunnan Provincial Forestry Department and CNPC, was officially launched. In 2007, the **Forestry Bureau and CNPC jointly invested in establishing a demonstration project for 400,000 mu of forestry – CNPC integrated forest-oil biodiesel (Elaeocarpus) energy forest in Yunnan. In the future, Yunnan Province will also cooperate with CNPC in areas such as the cultivation of Gao Tong plants, the procurement of raw material seeds, and processing, in order to further promote the development of the bioenergy industry in the province. At the same time, the Yunnan Provincial Forestry Department also organized experts from units such as the Provincial Seedling Station and the Forest Science Academy to conduct a survey of the paulownia germplasm resources in 81 counties and urban areas across 15 cities and prefectures. This survey helped to gain an understanding of the existing paulownia resources in the province as well as the distribution of land suitable for its cultivation, and it enabled the identification of high-quality paulownia stands and individual trees. At the same time, in order to increase the technological level of the development of biodiesel feedstock forest bases, the Yunnan Provincial Forestry Department selected four institutions – the Yunnan Academy of Forestry Sciences, the Institute of Resource Insects of the Chinese Academy of Forestry Sciences, Southwest Forestry University, and the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences – as long-term partners for providing technological support in the development of such bases in Yunnan, and signed contracts outlining their respective responsibilities. 　　At present, the construction of the Castanopsis eyrei raw material forest bases in Yunnan Province is progressing smoothly. According to statistics, by the end of September 2007, the province had completed afforestation with Castanopsis eyrei on 862,800 mu of land, including 400,000 mu of demonstration areas for forest-oil integrated Castanopsis eyrei plantations.