Bats make bio-fuels sustainable!

Am I kidding? Not really. It is pretty common to think about certain economies to be completely technology driven and controlled. Bio-fuel production definitely belongs to that category. Bio-fuels however have always landed in a controversy when it came to measuring their environmental sustainability. It is also a fact that other feed-stock options in form of diverse oil seed bearing tree species (biodiversity) were never considered seriously for bio-fuel production. The results are there to be seen. The bio-diesel industry never took off in India nor in any other country worth a mention till date. 

Are we at least now ready to consider nature-based solutions ?

 Callophyllum innophyllum ( Undi/Tamanu) a mangrove associate and oil seed bearing tree distributed across coastal regions of India, South East Asia and Polynesian Islands , provides an excellent example of how interdependence and sustainability is engraved in nature. This tree produces enormous amounts of oil rich fruits. These fruits are savored by bats for their flesh and the seeds are dispersed by them across the landscape as return of favor to the tree. Most of the seeds dropped on the ground are collected by the local fishing community as they are ready for extracting oil. Another free service given by Bats to us. Have we ever thought returning that favor ? Anyway, in India, fishermen use this oil to run the diesel engine on boats. 

Remaining seeds bring about the next generation of Undi/Tamanu trees to protect the local community from gutsy winds and storms that are common for coastal regions.

Talking about scale, Indonesia -the first country to understand the potential of this feedstock - makes about half million litres of bio-diesel from Oilseeds of Undi/Tamanu. 

Isn't it high time we really made biodiversity integral part of sustainable economic growth/ green economy ? It would also do a world of good to us if we thought about Bats differently !