Seaweed farming: A multi-pronged resource

There is a renewed emphasis in Pakistan on Carbon Credit market with a view to earning revenue and as well as meet the Green House Gas (GHG) targets achievements made under Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

Two conferences have been held recently on the subject. As the humanities problems are mounting, new opportunities, resources and solutions are emerging. Seaweed farming in the oceans is one such development which offers multi-pronged solutions, varying from carbon absorption to food, medicine and cosmetics production.

Unfortunately, Pakistan has been lacking in carbon market participation. However, there is a great success that must be mentioned here regarding the Mangrove development project in Sindh. The Sindh mangrove project has already earned 40 million USD of Carbon Credit.

In part-II, it is expected to earn another 60 million USD. Over a period of 75 years life of the project, total carbon earnings of this project have been estimated to be 12 billion USD. Besides, environmental benefits will accrue to the country.

Similarly, there is tremendous potential in forestry, agriculture and Energy Conservation. Our concern in this space is Biogas and Bio-Methane which we will elaborate in the following.

Here we will discuss the potential of developing a related project based on Seaweeds. Seaweeds grow in the salty water of oceans, naturally or through man-made efforts. Seaweeds are a unique natural product requiring no land, no fertilizer or no fresh water of which all the humanity is short of. It offers a multi-pronged solution to the climate problem; absorbs atmospheric Carbon, reduces cattle’s emissions, provides feedstock for bio-fuels and fertilizers.

According to a World Economic Forum (WEF) on the subject, seaweeds have the following properties or distinctions;

• Seaweeds are both nutritious and delicious and can play a major role in world food supply chain

• Some seaweeds grow as fast as 50cm per day and up to 60meters in length.

• Some seaweeds can reduce methane emissions from ruminant cattle by up to 90percent.

• Seaweeds fix carbon at a rate of 1000-3400gms per meter per year.

• Seaweeds are better absorbent of CO2 than trees of the forest on earth. It can be a great carbon sink.

Just one property of reducing entering fermentation in cattle’s stomach can be of tremendous value in Methane mitigation. There are more than 100 million cattle in Pakistan. Pakistan is among the five top milk producers of the world. A single cow emits as much as 250-500 liters of methane per day.

Adding 3 percent of a seaweed product in the cattle diet by weight can reduce the enteric emission by 80-90 percent. There are more than one billion cattle in the world, which all can be the market of this seaweed product, even if the Pakistani farmer does not use it for the cost reason. It can be exported.

Joint Ventures can be formed with companies, which produce and market this product. One can earn revenue or Carbon Credits, or probably both as a combination of both exports and internal consumption. One is, however, not sure of a commercial product having come out into the market at a reasonable volume or scale.

Seaweeds can be digested under a bacterial process and Biogas can be produced out of it in almost the same manner as biogas is normally produced by digesting various kinds of wastes. Seaweeds have a great potential of producing bio-methane.

It has been estimated that if seaweeds are cultivated on 9 percent area of the ocean, all needs of world fossil fuel can be met. One is, however, not sure of the cost. Alongside, it will sequester 53 billion tons of carbon per year. Our gas resources are dwindling. However, for us Biogas production may be a ready and fast track priority.

Annually, 35 million tons of seaweeds are produced globally. In dollar terms, the market size is 11.4 billion USD. There are projections of its commercial market to a level of 95 billion USD by 2027.

Some 97.5 percent of Seaweed of the world is produced in Asia, 90 percent of which is artificially cultivated. China is the largest producer having a share of 56 percent. Second is Indonesia, which cultivates 28.6 percent of global Seaweed production. Japan and South Korea are engaged in high tech seaweed products in food, medicine and cosmetics sector.

Seaweed farming has been initiated In India as well. Seaweed farming machinery is being developed and also work is going on there on bio-fuels production from seaweeds. There are companies busy in developing replacement of carbon intensive products like so, fertilizers and plastics. And produce their bio-versions based on seaweeds.

In Indonesia, one million people are employed in seaweed farming. It can be great source of creating employment and reducing poverty. While, land could not be allotted to the poor, ocean plots can be allotted to them for working on their seaweed farms, especially, in Sindh and Balochistan.

A study in the Philippines has estimated that in seaweed farming, there is a potential of earning 5-6 times more than that of land farming. In Tanzania, seaweed farming is the third largest foreign exchange earner and a major employing sector, especially, women. There are diverse places where seaweed production is there which include Chile, Ireland and Sweden.

There can be co-production of fishing and seaweed farming. Seaweeds produce oxygen and reduce eutrophication and thus help fishery grow. Seaweed farming is an ideal poverty alleviation project.

It has a short harvesting cycle of 45 days. Also commercial projects can be developed. Three types of projects can be developed; 1. Small subsistence farming; 2. Commercial farming; 3. Environmental-cum-commercial farming. Small societies can be licensed for subsistence level farming with a nominal registration fee or no fee at all; Commercial farming would require licensing and regulation; Environmental-cum-commercial farming would require registration and other features that are usual under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) regulations. This would allow carbon trading.

It is obvious that feasibility and investment studies would be required to be done to launch larger projects which can be done under JVs. However, for smaller projects, programme studies may be done under bilateral or multilateral technical assistance.

Time is of essence. Opportunities may be lost if and when competing countries or companies may develop projects earlier. It is regrettable that a serious biogas and Bio-Methane programme under an organized policy framework could not be initiated, even though all project elements are available.

Substantial industrialization and employment can be generated. And a lot of R&D activities in the universities and companies may be initiated. For immediate effect, GHG project may have to be developed under a JV with one of the several large companies, which are engaged in Seaweed farming and producing products of various kind.

China is a technology leader in this sector being the largest producer of seaweeds and its products. How good it would be if a seaweed project is included in CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor). Balochistan would tremendously benefit from it. It would have multi-pronged positive impact on the province and the country. Let us shun pessimism and move ahead.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023