Reports & Research

Pollutant Emissions and Energy Efficiency under Controlled Conditions for Household Biomass Cookstoves and Implications for Metrics Useful in Setting International Standards

The Indian national initiative for advanced biomass cookstoves - the benefits of clean combustion

India has recently launched the National Biomass Cookstoves Initiative (NCI) to develop next-generation cleaner biomass cookstoves and deploy them to all Indian households that currently use traditional cookstoves. The initiative has set itself the lofty aimof providing energy service comparable to clean sources such as LPG but using the same solid biomass fuels commonly used today. Such a clean energy option for the estimated 160 million Indian households nowcooking with inefficient and polluting biomass and coal cookstoves could yield enormous gains in health and welfare for the weakest and most vulnerable sections of society. At the same time, cleaner household cooking energy through substitution by advanced-combustion biomass stoves (or other options such as clean fuels) can nearly eliminate the several important products of incomplete combustion that come from today's practices and are important outdoor and greenhouse pollutants. Using national surveys, published literature and assessments, and measurements of cookstove performance solely from India, we find that about 570,000 premature deaths in poor women and children and over 4% of India's estimated greenhouse emissions could be avoided if such an initiative were in place today. These avoided emissions currently would be worth more than US$1 billion on the international carbon market. In addition, about one-third of India's black carbon emissions can be reduced alongwith a range of other health- and climate-active pollutants that affect regional air quality and climate. Although current advanced biomass stoves show substantial emissions reductions over traditional stoves, there is still additional improvement needed to reach LPG-like emission levels.We recognize that the technology development and deployment challenges tomeetNCI goals of this scale are formidable and a forthcoming companion paper focuses on what programdesign elements might best be able to overcome these challenges.

Monitoring and evaluation of improved biomass cookstove programs for indoor air quality and stove performance - conclusions from the Household Energy and Health Project

This is a landmark report making a bridge between new scientific knowledge justifying action on SLCFs and practical measures that can be taken by countries to reduce the burden of air pollution and climate change on their sustainable development. This report identifies priority areas and sectors for action in each region with the indicative costs and benefits. It also describes the many fora where fast action could occur—regional and national air quality agreements being a case in point. This report also outlines the important role of action at the global scale and the enabling actions that could facilitate and speed up implementation of SLCF measures.

Woodfuels In Kenya and Rwanda: Powering And Driving The Economy Of The Rural Areas

The number of woodfuel consumers in Africa is projected to increase from around 2.5 billion in 2004 to 2.7 billion by 2030, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for the highest increase. Rwanda and Kenya are two good examples of countries in which woodfuel plays a key role in energy provision, poverty alleviation and economic development.

Pre-Feasibility Study For An Improved Cook Stoves Project In Northern Ghana

The overall objective of the assignment is to collect sufficient information to allow for an assessment and decision by CARE and the Danish Energy Agency on project focus and scope of a CDM Program of Activities on improved cook stoves project in Northern Ghana.

Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund: An Innovative Governance Framework

The objective of BCCRF is to support the implementation of Bangladesh’s Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan for 2009-2018. The Bangladesh Government leads on the management and implementation of BCCRF. On behalf of the contributing Development Partners, and in consultation with the Government of Bangladesh, the World Bank, for a limited duration, is ensuring due diligence requirements on the BCCRF (including fiduciary management, transparency and accountability) and is ensuring projects are implemented with due regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

Indice De Marginacion Por Localidad, Capítulo 3: Marginación de las localidades.

Part 3 of a document that addresses the concept of marginalization from different points of view in an effort to understand the definition of marginalization and how it is measured. This section looks at the marginalization of localities.

Indice De Marginacion Por Localidad, Capítulo 1: El concepto de marginación y su discusión

Part 1 of a document that addresses the concept of marginalization from different points of view in an effort to understand the definition of marginalization and how it is measured. The first part includes different concepts of exclusion and marginalization and establishes the relationship between poverty, exclusion and marginalization. It emphasizes the effect of marginalization on democracy and participation, and emphasize importance of measuring and tracking marginalization for the design of public and social policy.

Energy And Sustainable Development In Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s situation is typical of most developing countries, i.e., additional funds to pursue sustainable development are not available even though decision makers may be aware of the correct strategy. The scarcity of resources can become so critical that in many cases a path contrary to that of sustainable development is followed. Often policy makers do not understand the implications of the development path they are pursuing. Capacity building of government agencies therefore is essential in charting a sustainable energy development path.

Ghana Country Environmental Analysis

The Ghana Country Environment Analysis (CEA) has been formulated to assist the Government of Ghana and its development partners to: (a) assess the country’s environmental priorities, the environmental implications of key economic and sector policies, and the country’s institutional capacity to address them; and (b) find practical management, institutional, and policy solutions to handle issues of natural resource management, environmental degradation, and sustainability of growth. The two main outputs of this CEA are (a) a comprehensive report that provides—for each sector/asset—an overview of the sector and its contribution to growth, an analysis of the underlying causes of degradation (with a specific focus on policy, regulatory, and institutional issues and applying public expenditure review as an analytical tool), and a set of implementable recommendations to address these issues; and (b) a set of policy/action matrixes that provide—for each sector/asset—a road map for action in the short, medium, and long-term. Whenever possible, these matrixes are accompanied by financial matrixes that identify the financial requirements for and financial gaps in the implementation of the proposed actions.

Ghana Microfinance Institutions Network (GHAMFIN) Report on Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)

This report follows closely the format for the two previous GHAMFIN reports on MFIs, with the addition of a chapter that has been added to compare the data for the institutions in the northern half of the country with the national benchmarks, as requested and supported by SPEED Ghana, a GTZ / DANIDA project. The three northern regions are the most deprived and poorest in the country. Only 11 out of the 125 Rural and Community Banks in the country are in these three regions. Chapter 4 of this report deals with outreach performance based on the entire population of MFIs, which supply quarterly outreach data to their apex bodies or to GHAMFIN for aggregation and submission to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. Chapters 5-7 analyse the performance benchmarks for the financial structure and performance, revenues, expenses, efficiencies/productivity and portfolio quality.

The Associated Programme On Flood Management Case Study - Bangladesh Flood Management

Bangladesh is one of the most flood prone countries in the world, which is situated in south Asian sub-continent. A location map of Bangladesh is given in fig. 1. Because of its unique geographical location and to1pography, flood of different magnitudes and types occurs every year. During the last half century at least 8 nos. of extreme flood events occurred affecting 50% of land area. Since early sixties of the last century the country has adopted different kinds of measures for flood management with mixed experiences.

Final Report - Sanitation Review

While appreciating that the issue of indoor air quality has, in recent years, emerged as a major health concern in both the developed and the developing countries of the world, the World Bank in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) undertook and accomplished the necessary task of attempting a Bangladesh Country Environment Analysis (CEA), a major finding of which study also convincingly pointed at the dire fact that majority people in the country living in the rural areas are putting up with poor indoor air quality only because they are continuing with the traditional cooking practices. The study also found that the indoor air pollution (IAP) exposure risks can also be mitigated by the villagers at feasible cost, if self interest motivates them, and they are convinced that the problems are serious, like problems and diseases caused by poor sanitation and bad hygiene practices. As the community led total sanitation (CLTS) approach ignited people to undertake sanitation programme at their own initiative, for own good, based on community organizations and own resources, supported and facilitated by the NGOs and LGIs, the IAP risks can also be mitigated with community-led approach through an integrated institutional arrangement (GO-LGIs-NGOs-CBOs and Private sector) and effective financial policy from the government and donor communities.

Report of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS)

The report illustrates that environmental management is essential to economic growth and poverty reduction. Environment is inextricably linked to social, cultural, natural resource, institutional and economic issues. This is not adequately addressed in the current edition of the GPRS. The SEA process has helped all participants to understand the wider impacts of policies plans and programmes on the environment, economic growth and poverty reduction. The SEA of the GPRS has involved a wide range of stakeholders as evidenced by the endorsement of the process by 27 MDAs 108 district assemblies, parliamentary representatives, civil society, NGOs the Bank of Ghana and business associates.

Gender and Community Development Analysis In Rwanda

The importance of mainstreaming gender in any country’s development initiatives and the need to monitor and evaluate the progress of the mechanism is premised on the alarming global gender disparities in social and economic opportunities, property and rights. On several occasions, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) has, through its stands and actions, demonstrated its commitment to work towards the reduction of gender-based inequalities and promotion of gender equality and equity in all areas. Rwanda adopted the Beijing Platform for Action and undertook strategic actions aimed at tackling twelve identified crucial areas. It ratified and adhered to a number of international and regional conventions, charters and declarations, including, the CEDAW, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Southern African Development Community (SADC), COMESA and among others . All these instruments highlight gender as an important approach for sustainable development. By ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in November 1981, Rwanda undertook to take appropriate measures, including legislation to fight any act or practice of discrimination against women, to modify and/or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which embody discrimination against women as discussed in the next section.