Salİh Ertan Electrical Engineer
Salih Ertan graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering of Middle East Technical University in Ankara. He specialised in Renewable Energy Resources (RES) with a particular focus on biomass-related issues. He has performed various studies on RES and environmental issues. In the past, as a researcher, he took part in several projects carried out in the seas surrounding Turkey including the investigation of hydrocarbon resources in the seas, the inspection of submarine natural gas pipelines, especially shallow and deep seismic studies in the Black Sea, and MEDPOL (Pollution Measurement and Control in the Mediterranean Sea) carried out on behalf of UNEP in the Aegean and Mediterranean in the 1980s. He worked on projects aiming at finding leakages in drinking water networks by remote and non-destructive inspection methods. He also worked in energy working groups operating under the roof of many NGOs in Turkey and abroad. He was among the founders of the Energy Industrialists and Businessmen Association. His work within the NGOs he is involved in is continuing. Ertan is the Aegean Region Representative of the Turkish- Chinese Business Development and Friendship Association.
E-mail: salihertan@qq.com
How to cite: Ertan, S. (2021). Energy-environment nexus in eco-civilization. Belt & Road Initiative Quarterly, 2(3). 48-60.
ABSTRACT In this study, electricity, heat, and biofuel production from biomass are demonstrated to be important components of the eco-civilization era. The production of fuel in farmlands and the practice of Under-Tree Agriculture (Agroforestry) in the area where “energy crops” in combination with multiple-function trees are grown are emphasised as highly effective means of combating the phenomenon of climate change. Combatting climate change to achieve the “Negative Carbon Emission” goal will characterise the eco-civilization era. The overarching aim is “Negative Carbon Emission”. Farm Forestry (Agroforestry) / Inter-cropping / Energy Farms makes up the major theme of the study to fulfil the function of biofuel production and “Carbon Sink” together. Through these practices, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere is envisaged with a simultaneous reduction in the existing greenhouse gases accumulated in the atmosphere. In this way, it will be possible to take steps towards the goal of “Negative Carbon Emission” in the way of establishing an Ecological Civilization by overcoming the existing dominant order, which is the sole responsibility of the phenomenon of global warming and the resulting climate change phenomenon. Keywords: Agroforestry, biofuel, climate change, energy farm, negative carbon emission
Introduction “The City of the Sun” (by Tommaso Campanella) in
which a decent order takes place across the world. WHEN THE TERM “ECO-CIVILIZATION” For one thing, this is not a utopia. Humanity stands was first introduced in the 1980s, the concept was unat a crossroads between eco-civilization and mass derstood and accepted widely by various circles as a extinction. set of social and environmental reforms to be carried Today’s dominant world-system, while conout within a society with no radical transformations. suming the resources of the world for the sake of The broad and necessary reforms for modern socieself-actualisation (in the sense of A. Maslov), has ties laden with social injustices and negative contritransformed human beings into unnatural creatures butions to the natural environment were subsumed
originally under the concept of “ecological civilizati- that are seemingly enemies of the ecosystem. Global
on”. The reforms would supposedly aim at creating a warming and related climate change are the sums of
more developed social order to ensure a sustainable human actions that are guided and shaped by the
change in an evolving process. collective consciousness of the capitalist system.
Eco-civilization, with revised implications, now In the article titled “Ways of Training Individual
represents a new world order in which the relati- Ecological Civilization under Mature Socialist Con-
onship between man and nature is harmonised and ditions” published in 1984 in the journal “Scienti-
where ruthless competition is replaced with coope- fic Communism” that was being issued in the for-
ration. Eco-civilization heralds a new world order mer Soviet Union, the concept of eco-civilization
that surpasses the capitalist system, which has brou- was expressed for the first time (Ye, 1988Ye (1988). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.). Three
ght life on earth to the brink of total extinction and years later, in 1987, in China, Prof. Ye Qianji (Ye,
replaces it with a much more developed, human 1988) adopted the idea of eco-civilization and tou-
dignity. In this sense, the redefined concept echoes ched upon this concept in his works (Gare, 2009Gare (2009). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.).
Later, at the 17th National Congress of the Communist Within the scope of the revised interpretation of
Party of China (CCP) held in 2007, the term Eco-ci- eco-civilization discussed in this study and with em-
vilization was included in the Central Commission phasis on the new post-capitalist world order, the in-
Report by Pan Yue, who was the Director of the State tersection of energy and environmental issues in the
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). context of a global struggle with climate change will
Since that time, it has been adopted as one of the key be examined.
policy principles (Pan & Zhou, 2006Pan & Zhou (2006). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.). Eco-Civilization vs. “Non-Ecological” Civilization
Before addressing future ecological civilization, it will
Ecological civilization will replace be necessary and useful to look at civilization today.
“non-ecological civilization” During the Davos meeting organized by the World
with a revolutionary and radical Economic Forum in 2016, it was declared that the 4th
transformation in the social order. Industrial Revolution (4IR) was taking place. In what
kind of world is the 4IR thought to occur? l Today, around 730 million people worldwide suf-
The 18th National Congress of the CCP in 2012 fer from extreme poverty with an income of 1.9 dollars
acknowledged that environmental problems in Chi- a day or less (World relief, n.d.World relief (n.d.). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.).
na have reached a gigantic scale, especially in big ci- l As of 2020, electrical energy has not reached 940
ties. These include air pollution, pollution of drinking million people around the world. 3.0 billion people
water resources, soil erosion, and more. The pheno- cannot benefit from safe and “clean” energy sources
menon of climate change due to global warming has while cooking their food. Indoor air pollution threa-
come to the fore as the central, growing issue. tens these people (Ritchie & Roser, 2019aRitchie & Roser (2019a). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.).
The President of China, Xi Jinping, emphasised l Based on data available at the end of 2019, 775
eco-civilization at the 18th Congress. Eco-civilization, thousand people in the world die annually due to ina-
which is expressed in the phrase “Beautiful China”, has dequate cleaning conditions. 2.4 billion people live in
become a topic President Xi attributes increasing im- poor sanitary environments (Ritchie & Roser, 2019bRitchie & Roser (2019a). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.).
portance to. l According to reports based on 2017 data and pub-
In the 19th Congress held in 2017, eco-civilization lished by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and
gained further priority. Since Trump’s decision to wit- UNICEF in 2019, 884 million people were completely
hdraw from the Paris Agreement in January 2017, it deprived of clean drinking water resources (CDC,
seems that China is trying to play a dominant role in n.d.). Due to unhealthy drinking water and unfavou-
the fight against climate change (Beeler, 2017Beeler (2017). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.). In the rable living conditions, 1.7 billion cases of diarrhoea
19th Congress and afterwards, the issue of eco-civili- are seen annually in children under the age of 5 and,
zation, which was previously discussed on a national accordingly, 446 thousand children under the age of
scale by the Chinese Administration, has been exten- five die annually, mostly in developing countries. It
ded to the global scale (Hanson, 2019Hanson (2019). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.). Today, eco-ci- is necessary to add 3.0 million Cholera cases and 95
vilization is identified with combatting the phenome- thousand deaths related to Cholera to this table. With
non of climate change, which is now recognised as an 11 million typhoid fever and 129 thousand deaths re-
issue of utmost importance. sulting from it (CDC, n.d.CDC (n.d.). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.) per annum added to the
terrifying picture, the outlook becomes even more distressing. The list of negative indicators regarding the quality of human life can be further extended. However, we end the list here in order not to distract from the major subject of the study. Is it possible to pierce the atmosphere with human hands? What if the earth can be warmed up by human actions? Can the oceans be contaminated by the human hand, the subject of the capitalist system? Can cities become uninhabitable because of environmental and air pollution? The answers to these questions are, unfortunately, yes because of the ca-
tastrophes caused by today's “non-ecological” civi- In the 19th Congress held in 2017, eco-civilization gained
further priority. (CGTN, 2017CGTN (2017). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.) lization. With his actions destroying the ecosystem,
the capitalist man gives the appearance of being the here, can be characterised by tackling climate chan-
primitive ancestor of the future “civilized man”. ge and eventually dealing with this threat.
If revolution is a term that describes the radical In fact, none of the problems stated above, which
transformation of a society to improve human life, are definitively caused by today’s civilization, pose a
the 4IR cannot be described as a revolution at all. threat to the extent of abolishing life in our world
The so-called 4IR is rather an evolutionary process altogether. Nothing compares to climate change in
that finds expression in technological innovations. that respect. Also, each of these problems become
Technological innovations specified within the sco- more acute and pronounced as climate change wor-
pe of the 4IR do not correspond to a leap in the de- sens. Therefore, we take the imperative of combat-
velopment line or a fundamental break that would ting climate change as the main axis and the founda-
be an accurate indicator of the revolution. In disco- tion of eco-civilization. Thus, central to this study is
urse surrounding the 4IR, there is no good news of the means to be used against climate change during
a new, humane order in which people make peace the transition to eco-civilization.
with nature. Energy - Environment - Climate Change Ecological civilization (eco-civilization) will re- Nexus in Eco-Civilization place “non-ecological civilization” with a revolutio-
nary and radical transformation in the social order. In the 19th Congress, the concept of eco-civilization
Moreover, for the survival of all life on our planet was redefined by President Xi Jinping in a speech
and protecting an entire ecosystem, the said replace- delivered to the delegation (China Daily, 2017China Daily (2017). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.). He
ment is imperative. Symbolically stated, “tomorrow” stated, very notably, relations between humans and
must replace “today”. This is more than a choice, it nature should all be in harmony. So, what is the
is a necessity that represents a line of demarcation current state of the said relations in the prevailing
between life and death. world order, as hinted with the remarkable notes
Eco-civilization, as a generalization we accept above?
The capitalist system, which is currently the domi- view, it is of great importance to examine Energy and
nant world order, has had devastating effects on the Environment-related issues as integral parts of the
ecosystem over the past 250 years and is responsible same structured whole. In this context, the energy-en-
for bringing life on our planet to the brink of total ex- vironment-climate change nexus is the focus of this
tinction. The threat to humanity and the ecosystem study.
is the phenomenon of “anthropogenic” (originating Regarding the issues addressed in this study,
from human actions) global warming and associated eco-civilization represents a new world order in which
climate change. the threat of climate change is gradually reduced and
ultimately eliminated.
Today, it is clear that energy strategies/ Climate Change- Energy- Environment
paradigms based on fossil fuels First, with the threat of climate change growing inc-
cannot be sustained any longer. reasingly serious every day, these aspects all need to
There is an absolute need for a radical be regarded as a single and unified set of problems,
transformation in energy policies. that is a single problem: energy, agriculture, animal
husbandry, forestry, and water scarcity, conservation
From the First Industrial Revolution, which can be of biodiversity, and the entire food cycle process (abb-
considered a milestone, to the present day, an increase reviated as Environment hereinafter with Energy not
in temperature has occurred in the atmosphere and inclusive).
on the earth, largely due to greenhouse gas emissions On the way to eco-civilization, it is a priority to for-
resulting from energy production based on traditional mulate “nature friendly” holistic Energy-Environment
fossil fuels (IPCC, 2018IPCC (2018). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.). Compared to the pre-indust- policies and implement them on a global scale. When
rial period, the temperature of our earth has increased the most necessary elements to sustain life are listed,
by an average of 1.0 °C as of 2017. The phenomenon of energy comes just after air and water. Energy comes
climate change emerging as a result of this increase has before bread in the list of essential elements for life. In
turned into an existential threat today in terms of the fact, energy is required even to obtain safe drinking
consequences it is very likely to cause. In the next sta- water.
ge, if this process is not tackled, the entire ecosystem In short, energy is an indispensable element for the
will likely collapse in the so-called “Sixth Mass Extinc- survival of not only humans but also for sustaining the
tion” (Eearth.org, 2020Eearth.org (2020). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.). biosphere. From this point of view, the main indicator
However, the ecological apocalypse is not an ines- of eco-civilization will be the methods of energy pro-
capable fate. The concept of eco-civilization, redefined duction, consumption style, and the radical transfor-
by President Xi Jinping, suggests the necessary me- mation that will occur in this field.
asures and action plan needed to prevent a disaster. With air, water, and soil pollution, a disturbing en-
Potential mass extinction and the threat of ecosystem vironmental problem at the beginning has grown into
collapse due to climate change are stemming from the a global disaster, a phenomenon of climate change that
lifestyle of human beings and especially the energy threatens all life and is growing day by day. The cru-
production methods and consumption style. When cial factor in this process has been and continues to
the subject is taken into account from this point of be energy production based on traditional fossil fuels
(coal-oil-natural gas). Graphic 1: Atmospheric CO2 concentration in ppm
Today, it is clear that energy strategies/paradigms over the years
based on fossil fuels cannot be sustained any longer. There is an absolute need for a radical transformation in energy policies. Renewable Energy Resources (RES), in other words, “clean and inexhaustible” energy sources, should replace conventional fossil fuels (CFF) in the shortest possible time. The dominant social order today is essentially a “coal-oil-natural gas” (CONG) civilization. It has become an absolute necessity to create and implement new energy policies based on RES, which is the main component of transitioning to the eco-civilization era, by overcoming the “Non-Ecological CFF Civilization”, which brings the Ecosystem and all life to the brink of total extinction. Two graphs depicting the trend in global warming
and the steady increase in the level of CO2 concentra- Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental
tion are given right. Information, n.d
Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Graphic 2: Global Warming over the past 200 years
Eco-Civilization RES range from the relatively popular solar (PV and Concentrated Solar Power, CSP) and Wind to a variety of sources including Biomass, Hydrogen, Sea Waves (including tidal energy and sea currents), and Geothermal Energy (classical and “Hot Dry Rock”). On the RES list, Sun and Wind have an intermittent character, which means that their availability time (2,000 - 3,500 hours per year) is limited and often unpredictable. In this respect, Solar Energy is relatively more predictable compared to Wind Energy. Source: NASA Global Climate Change, n.d. It is worth noting that biomass, hydrogen, and geo-
thermal, to some extent, have a distinctive “Base Load” they are both storable and transportable.
character. The technical term “Base Load” refers to the Energy (electricity and heat) generation based on
availability of any energy generation plant in a conti- RES has a determinant feature in the establishment
nuous manner out of a year. The energy plants with the of Eco-civilization. However, there is a question that
Base Load feature, usually operate 7,000-8,000 hours comes to mind at this point: Does RES have the poten-
a year in contrast to intermittent wind and solar. A tial to completely replace CFF (conventional fossil fu-
significant advantage of biomass and hydrogen is that els)? The answer to this question is certainly positive.
RES has the potential to completely take over CFF. On this intercontinental network, there will be no
Moreover, RES has the potential to replace nuclear need for nuclear power plants as well as power plants
energy with its substantial risks, as evidenced from based on fossil fuels. The subject of this study is limi-
awful experiences in the past. ted to the first item above.
Through global-scale projects, a complete transiti- Fighting Climate Change in Today and
on to RES while having the adverse effects of climate Eco-civilization
change mitigated and totally avoided is possible. Such
project ideas are explained below: As a complementary determination: it is necessary
1. The generation of Energy, the production of Bi- to underline that in accordance with the character of
ofuel from Biomass, and the reconstruction of destro- climate change and the threat, which is a global th-
yed green cover of the world through Field Forestry/ reat, the strategies to be implemented on the global
Agroforestry practices integrates with activities in this scale need to be implemented urgently within the fra-
direction. mework of harmonious cooperation of countries.
2. Energy production based on hydrogen and “gre-
en hydrogen” (the production of hydrogen using wind A Silk Road Cities Association
and solar energy). Eco-civilization, with emphasis, established within the framework
will also be a Hydrogen-Carbon Age. This issue needs of the Belt and Road Initiative can
to be discussed as a separate and standalone subject. achieve especially successful results
The issues related to hydrogen-carbon will be specifi- by implementing concrete projects on
cally examined in a separate study that will follow the the road to eco-civilization.
present study. 3. The establishment of a worldwide, intercontinen-
tal DC (Direct Current) “Supergrid” (Grid: Electrical The Conference of Parties (COP), the main deci-
energy transmission network) that will operate at a sion-making body of the United Nations Framework
global scale has been its own individual and impor- Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) platform,
tant agenda for some time. Like the subject of hyd- has been organized annually in different countries af-
rogen-carbon, the Supergrid needs to be discussed ter the first (COP1) was held in Berlin in 1995. The
separately as a specific issue. Therefore, Supergrid and COP26, which is planned to be held in Glasgow in
related issues will be examined in a study that will en- 2020, will be carried out in November 2021, provided
sue in the future. Supergrid will take place as an up- that the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic will be les-
per layer over the national grids to transmit electricity sened by that time.
over great distances. Supergrid will function as a huge, The clear reality of the current international sys-
distributed (in the sense of both geography and time) tem and the current policies of developed states is
network of energy generation and transmission. Sin- that central administrations, governments, and global
ce Supergrid will be spread over a very wide area and central structures (UN) have failed to cope with the
feature a broad time difference (different time zones), threat of climate change.
RES types with an intermittent character such as wind Hardly any measures that would be effective at the
and sun will gain a “baseload” character as a total over international level are taken by the Conference of the
a gigantic, distributed network. Parties and associated central organizations. In short,
an effective action plan still does not exist. Cooperation among cities and local governments instead will have a significant impact on the policies of states in an effective fight against climate change and the realization of concrete plans. A Silk Road Cities Association established within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can achieve especially successful results by implementing concrete projects on the road to eco-civilization. Thus, the common understanding based on “joint development by sharing”, the underlying principle of the BRI, will be essential in the cooperation among the BRI cities. The joint projects to be developed and
implemented by the cities in the spirit of the BRI will According to UNICEF, the climate crisis is a child rights
inspire not only other cities and states in the BRI but crisis. (UNICEF’s website)
also those not involved in the BRI by then. Win-win right path is being pursued. It seems that the discourse projects as such will have resulted in success stories in this direction has an enormous fan base. that will be multiplied subsequently on a global scale. However, reducing greenhouse gases, primarily Cooperation among cities will play an essential CO2 and methane emitted into the atmosphere from role in facilitating and encouraging relations between fossil fuel, is not sufficient to overcome the current “clicentral governments. Setting up close and fruitful comate crisis”. As a hypothetical situation, even if vehicle operation between cities and local governments will exhausts and greenhouse gas emissions from domestic pave the way for relations to be developed at all levels.
Consequently, the cooperation platform will have an sources, power plants and factory chimneys suddenly
important role in the transformation of the initiative stopped globally, even in such a hypothetical situation
to establish an eco-civilization, which will be estab- that characterizes the concept of “Net Zero Emission”,
lished through collective efforts of the countries and global warming will not be prevented. Even in the
turned into a success story. event of such hypothetical conditions, the atmosphere
and the earth will continue to warm (Kehse, 2017Kehse (2017). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.).
Eco-Civilization and Tools to Combat Climate This is because the system formed by the atmosphe-
Change re-sea-land interaction functions like an “electronic
Nowadays, topics related to “Transition to Low Car- memory element”. Although there is no additional
bon Economy”, “Bioeconomy”, “Net Zero Emission/ input to the system, there is an output corresponding
Carbon Zero” are remarkably at the centre of the daily to the continuation of the warming. The reason for
discussions on climate change and RES. the memory-like behaviour of the system is the vast
At first glance, the intensive discussion of these amount of greenhouse gases already accumulated
issues in the international community comprising within the atmosphere over the past 250 years since
various NGOs, relevant organizations, and academic the First Industrial Revolution. In short, even if net
circles gives the impression that there is high collective CO2 emissions stop, the melting of the polar gla-
sensitivity in combating climate change, and that the ciers and the resulting sea-level rise will continue.
With the permafrost thawing, a short-term outcome new and alternative methods to achieve the “Negative
of global warming, tens of different viruses and bac- Emission/Negative Carbon” target and the realization
teria hibernating in frozen soil layers for thousands of of the projects that will be designed based on them.
years will probably spread the world through air and In the first stage, the primary goal is to prevent
water. Some of them may be more dangerous than greenhouse gas emissions. This is not enough. Gre-
COVID-19. enhouse gases, especially CO2, accumulated in the
atmosphere also need to be reduced rapidly. We as-
Greenhouse gases, especially CO2, sert that this target can be achieved through “Negative
accumulated in the atmosphere Emission/Negative Carbon” applications.
also need to be reduced rapidly. We “Negative Emission” Goal on the Road to
assert that this target can be achieved Eco-Civilization
through “Negative Emission/Negative According to measurements made at the Mauna Lea
Carbon” applications. observatory in the Hawaiian Islands, for the first time
on May 10, 2013, the CO2 content in the atmosphere
As the arctic ice and polar glaciers keep melting due reached 400.0 ppm (parts per million - 400 CO2 mo-
to global warming, North Atlantic seawater will beco- lecules out of one million air molecules). This value,
me less salty and thus lower in density. This will cause which is in a continuously increasing trend, reached
420.01 ppm in the week of April 25, 2021 (Global Mothe Gulf Stream to sink into the deep layers of the ocenitoring Laboratory, n.d.Global Mothe Gulf Stream to sink into the deep layers of the ocenitoring Laboratory (n.d.). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.). Before the First Industrial an at latitudes closer to the equator. In that case, the Revolution, this value was approximately 280 ppm. result would be a catastrophe, especially for Northern In other words, the amount of CO2 currently in the Europe as the disappearance of the Gulf Stream could atmosphere is 3,276 billion tons. If global measures are lead to a new Ice Age. The list of disaster scenarios can not taken in a way to halt the current course of events, be further extended. this amount will increase continuously. As of 2019, the In the sum of the propositions and determinations amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere is 36.44 expressed above, it is quite clear that goals such as billion tons (Statista, n.d.Statista (n.d.). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.). “Transition to Low Carbon Economy” and “Net-Zero CO2 emissions seem to have decreased in 2020 Emission/Carbon Neutral” will fall short in prevenas the pandemic disrupted the world economy. If
ting the destruction and disasters likely to be caused current energy policies remain unchanged, it is es-
by climate change. timated that the increase in the earth's average tem-
In the meantime, it is necessary to note that efforts perature will be as high as 3.0°C compared to the
to establish production and consumption mechanis- pre-industrial era by the end of the century. The af-
ms compatible with nature, which are expressed in termath will be nothing but an apocalypse. Once “the
the term Bioeconomy, will be integral for the estab- point of no return” is passed, global warming will
lishment of eco-civilization. How can the catastrophic sustain indefinitely (Niranjan, 2020Niranjan (2020). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.).
consequences of climate change be avoided? What Based on the above remarks, it is imperative to
concrete tool can be a remedy? An effective tool as implement practices that will reduce accumulated
such is described in the next section. greenhouse gases and prevent the increase of CO2 re-
In short, we urgently require the development of leased into the atmosphere. Is it possible to have an
implementation model that will reduce the amount of study carried out in the Bergama (antique Perga-
CO2 present in the atmosphere while preventing fos- mum) district of Izmir Province of Turkey.
sil-based CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere? Such an application model is described in the following section.
“Energy Agriculture” – “Energy Farms” Based on Farm Forestry (Agroforestry)
In the Farm Forestry/Agroforestry practices, which have been applied for hundreds of years in China, field crops and trees are grown together on the same agricultural land. In these applications, almost all kinds of
field crops and suitable tree species are used. Below Agroforestry /Farm Forestry /Energy Farm pilot application
are images of typical agroforestry applications whe- based on Paulownia – Canola inter-cropping carried out in
Bergama (May of 2006) re economically valuable trees are intercropped with
conventional field crops. In this practice, varieties of Canola, an energy crop,
were grown under the arrays of Paulownia trees, a fastgrowing tree species domestic in China. In the pilot project, eight different high-quality canola species were used and tested for their adaptation and growth capabilities. Up to 400 litres of “First Generation” (esterification method - chemical process) biodiesel was produced per decare after the harvest. Today, methods for biodiesel/biofuel production are second generation “thermochemical” systems characterised by the Fischer-Tropsch method (Science Direct, n.d.(a)) integrated with pyrolysis, gasification (Science Direct, n.d.(b); Science Direct, n.d.(c)) and plasma gasification. For Pergamon, which is located at sea level, the Poplar-Wheat intercropping (by courtesy of Prof. Zhu Zhaohua) Harvest/Rotation Period (harvest period - the period elapsed between planting and harvest) is as short as 6
In the transition to eco-civilization, which will to 7 years. As a fast-growing tree species, Paulownia
resemble revolution rather than evolution in effe- has the potential to permanently annually remove 2.0
ctively combatting climate change, the inter-crop- tons of CO2 per decare from the atmosphere on ave-
ping application highlighted here is an experiment rage during the harvest period. Such numerical data
based on Tree-Energy Plant agroforestry. Regar- were among the results of the pilot project.
ding a specific case, agroforestry based on Paulow- Paulownia-Canola inter-cropping is an excellent
nia-Canola inter-cropping is described below. The example of a new land-use model aiming to realise the
“Energy Farm” application was a pioneering field target of “Carbon Negative /Negative Carbon Emission”.
According to reports based on 2017 data and published by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF in 2019, 884 million people were completely deprived of clean drinking water resources. (UNICEF’s website, 2019UNICEF’s website (2019). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.)
Forestry (agroforestry) practices.
The pilot project briefly described below, not only l Planning and developing resilient agriculture and
limited to Turkey, can well be proliferated and gene- land use models against the phenomenon of climate
ralised across “the Middle Corridor” as a “Green Silk change can be achieved.
Road /Green Belt” project extending from the Medi- l Thanks to the multifunctional properties of the
terranean to Pacific Basin. Paulownia; the leaves, which contain high protein
Green Belt - Green Silk Road (25%), sugar and vegetable oil, can be used as hi-
gh-quality fodder in animal husbandry.
The “Green Belt Project”, which will be characterised l Fragrant Paulownia flowers are useful for produ-
by the Tree-Energy Crop inter-cropping (Farm Fo- cing first-class quality honey.
restry), is also a rural development project. Conside- l Coke can be produced from pruning branches.
ring the example of Pergamon pilot application and the l As a fast-growing tree species, Paulownia can be
characteristics of the Paulownia tree, we can see that harvested in a noticeably short period of 5 to 6 years.
the following advantages have ensued for rural areas: Its timber is used to make premium furniture and
l In addition to the existing product range in agricul- even wooden houses. Even the income from the sale
tural lands, new products and agricultural methods will of Paulownia logs and lumber provides an advantage.
increase the income from cultivated lands and stabilise l It is unnecessary to plant a new sapling after har-
incomes from agricultural activities in the rural areas. vest, a new plant will sprout from the buds on the root
l It is possible to achieve a significant increase in to form a new tree. Resprouting (reproduction)is repe-
the yield and thus monetary income through Farm ated several times after the original planting, with no
need to plant a new sapling for the next rotation period. to arise. Providing many benefits and options, Field
l In alternative applications, virtually all tradi- Forestry and “Energy Agriculture” practices create
tional field crops can be grown under trees. For “durable” (tolerant to the negative consequences of
example, regarding the case of Paulownia-Wheat climate change) agriculture models.
inter-cropping, part of the organic waste left in the l The Green Belt & Road, which will be charac-
field after harvest can be used as biomass for energy terised by Farm Forestry/ Energy Farming/ Agrofo-
and biodiesel production. restry practices, will also have the function of pre-
l When a multi-functional plant (forage or bi- venting international terrorism and fundamentalist
omass for energy) such as alfalfa is selected as an formations that originate from rural poverty.
alternative product, it will be possible to benefit Result and Concluding Remarks from it as a forage plant or energy plant/biomass
feedstock. With the widespread use of the practices we refer-
l Multi-functional wood and field crops will red to as “Energy Farming” in this study, a dyna-
provide a wide range of application possibilities. mic tool in combating climate is available. Energy
Significant additional income is possible through farming provides a method aiming at a “carbon
forage and energy crops and multifunctional trees. negative/ negative carbon emission” solution. Be-
l Thanks to the production of premium quality sides this, the application in question also makes
and abundant industrial logs/timber through Farm up a “Rural Development Model”. Field Forestry
Forestry /Agroforestry applications, the natural and Energy Agriculture practices will make up a
“green cover” and biodiversity will be preserved, very important and even indispensable building
with the production of timber shifted to the culti- block in the establishment of eco-civilization by
vated lands, thus eliminating the existing pressure allowing the harmony between human beings and
on natural forests. nature to be restored. I propose to name such pra-
l Farm Forestry, and Energy Farming as the spe- ctices with the term Agropark, as an overarching
cific case under consideration, constitutes a model and general concept. When Agropark projects,
for capital transfer to rural areas due to its potential which will be initiated from the Mediterranean
to greatly increase the income of farmers and villa- Basin and specifically from the Aegean Region of
gers. In this way, a balance between rural and urban Turkey, are multiplied and reach the Pacific Basin
can also be achieved. The aforementioned applica- through the “Middle Corridor”, the Green Belt -
tions can be evaluated as an effective tool within the Green Silk Road will have been formed. The Gre-
scope of the “Rural Development Strategy”. en Silk Road comprising a multitude of Agroparks
l The future balance between rural and urban that cross the middle corridor represents an integ-
parts of the country will facilitate the prevention of ral part of the BRI. The proliferation of pioneering
“population erosion” by controlling the phenome- and guiding practices to be initiated at the western
non of migration to cities. gate of the New Silk Road on the Aegean coasts,
l One of the expected consequences of climate reaching the Pacific Basin along the “Middle Cor-
change in the short term is that the existing tradi- ridor”, and forming the Green Silk Road, should be
tional crop pattern in agricultural lands cannot be adopted as an indispensable tool and an important
sustained due to the negative environmental effects goal in the establishment of eco-civilization.
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