The Alliance has compiled some of the most useful information about the cookstoves and fuels sectors to populate this searchable database, including market assessments, consumer behavior and preference information, and other research studies. The database will be updated frequently as we continue to build our knowledge database, and as always we appreciate our partners’ input. If you have any reports or research to add to this database, please send it to knowledge@cleancookstoves.org
An overview of the International Biochar Initiative. As the first international NGO formed to advance biochar research and development, IBI has played a critical role in organizing researchers, educating policy makers and the public, developing biochar standards, supporting commercialization, and promoting biochar demonstration projects around the globe.
The project intends to test the effects of this biochar technology in practice in two of the upland provinces in northern Vietnam. 450 poor families selected for participation in the pilot project will benefit immediately and directly in terms of fuel-wood savings, reduced time spent on wood collection, improved health and increased agricultural production. Further, in close cooperation with Women’s Union, Farmers’ Union and the Government extension system in the respective provinces, the project will disseminate learning from the project based on tests of the effects of the biochar stove, the enrichment potentials of the biochar and the potential for replication and up-scaling in other areas. The project seeks to build a foundation for large-scale introduction of the biochar stove-cum-soil enrichment technology in poor rural upland areas of Vietnam. The project will thus contribute to national policies of poverty reduction, deforestation and rural development.
Bangladesh, with a total surface area of about 147,570 km2, is inhabited by about 140 million people, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The total annual per capita energy consumption of the country in 1995 was estimated at 8.467 GJ. The shares of commercial energy (coal, oil, gas and hydropower) and biomass fuels were estimated at 3.203 and 5.264 GJ respectively [Islam, 2001]. This is among the lowest per capita energy consumption rates in the world. Commercial energy comprising oil, natural gas, coal and hydroelectricity accounts for about one-third of the total energy consumption. The remaining two-thirds is attributed to non-commercial renewable sources. Out of the different renewable sources, biomass, peat, solar radiation, wind and hydropower can be effectively used in Bangladesh.
The key finding from HIES 2010 is that the standard of living of the population in general has improved very significantly in recent years. This is reflected in reduced incidence of poverty with stability in the distribution of income and expenditure; increased nutrition from a more diversified food consumption basket; and higher level of living in terms of nonfood indicators.
Mexican joint national public bid for the acquisition of SEDESOL cookstoves.
Overview of Dean Still's visit to GIRA in Patzcuaro, Mexico in May 2004. He learned about a new version of the Lorena stove, the Patsari, and visited the manufacturing center.
The Asia Biomass business model focuses on the fuel supply chain – the single most important aspect for long-term sustainability (both economic and environmental). ABH aligns the fuel suppliers’ interests with its own as the most effective means of assuring long-term cooperation and success. ABH has at its disposal several avenues for assuring long-term success – the competitive fuel contract, cooperation on logistical issues, equity participation and the reciprocal delivery of power when possible.
Toyola Energy won a 2011 Ashden Award in recognition of its success in producing and selling efficient charcoal stoves throughout Ghana and beyond. Most urban households in Ghana cook on charcoal, using inefficient, polluting stoves made of thin sheet metal. The cost of charcoal is a significant proportion of household income. Nearly three quarters of charcoal production in Ghana comes from unsustainable wood, so using charcoal contributes to deforestation. Toyola Energy was set up in 2006 to supply better stoves and other energy systems to low-income households in Ghana.
Rwanda is faced with the serious challenge of using biomass more efficiently. The 2008 wood supply deficit was 61% and in the baseline scenario, with no intervention, the deficit is projected to increase to 78% by 2020. This takes into consideration population projections and the population’s preferences for different fuels and different stoves. As urbanization increases, more people will switch to using charcoal. This level of wood supply deficit is not sustainable. Two sectors where there can be a significant amount of progress made in improving biomass usage efficiency are the charcoal value chain (CVC) and the improved cookstoves value chain (ICS VC). This report serves to provide information about the two sectors relevant to SNV to position itself. It does not intend to provide in-depth and comprehensive sector assessments.
Increasing evidence of the rapid deterioration of air quality and the associated potential health impacts on poor populations in Asian cities prompted the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) secretariat of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop a project concept on air pollution, poverty, and health effects in July 2004. The Vice President (Operations 1) approved the concept clearance request on 25 October 2004. The Fact-Finding Mission was held in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Hanoi during 1-4 February 2005. The potential partners of the technical assistance (TA)—Health Effect Institute (HEI), Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), East West Center (EWC), and United States—Asia Environmental Partnership (US–AEP)—also took part in the Mission. The People’s Committee of HCMC signed a memorandum of understanding covering the impact, outcome, outputs, implementation arrangements, cost, and financing arrangements of the TA on 30 June 2005.
In HoChiMinh city, industrial and transportation activities are the main air pollution sources. Results of surveying and measuring at thousands of industrial installations show that main air pollution industries as: fuel burning, refining and laminating steel, building materials, chemicals. Besides, transportation activities also emit a large amount of air pollution because of fuel consumption of hundreds of cars and about 2 millions motorcycle all types. Report introduces present air pollution condition in HoChiMinh city includes: air pollution loads of some major industries and concentration of air pollution in ambient air, workplace and roadside. Report also suggests some synthesized measures to improve that condition.
The overarching goal of Rwanda’s Vision 2020 is to transform the country into a lower middle income economy by improving its competitiveness while ensuring unity and inclusive growth and development. Significant strides towards achieving this vision have been made in the decade to 2010 especially regarding improvements in peace and security; design and implementation of prudent policies; and improvements in the country’s business environment and competitiveness. However, major impediments remain and these continue to prevent Rwanda from attracting private investments that are commensurate with her exemplary progress in implementing reforms. Rwanda’s doing business ranking improved from 150th in 2008 to 58th out of 183 countries in 2010 but the cost of doing business remains high due to the elevated transport and energy costs and poor national and regional connectivity. As a consequence, the nascent private sector is yet to play its expected role as a growth driver.
The last CSP for Rwanda covered 2005 to 2007. This CSP provides coverage for 2008-2011. It assesses Rwanda’s development prospects and challenges, the Government’s strategic options, and the role that the Bank could play, in collaboration with the Government and other development partners, in helping the country realize its development objectives. In particular, the report describes: (a) what we have learnt from implementation of the previous CSP; (b) what results we want to achieve and how to deliver them; (c) how we will address the balance between knowledge and lending; and (d) how we will work closely with others.
In the Mexico study here presented, the analysis was conducted at two different scales: at national scale, in which it allowed the definition of priority areas or fuelwood “hot spots”, and at sub-national scale in the “Purhepecha” Region (one of the priority regions), where it allowed the definition of different pressure zones according to accessibility aspects. In this multi-scale analysis WISDOM expressed its potential as national strategic planning tool as well as operational tool for sub-national planning. The results of the Mexico study - in terms of the identification of priority areas or fuelwood “hot spots”- have been incorporated by the National Forestry Commission, which plans to launch a program of efficient woodburning cookstoves and multi-purpose energy plantations directed to those areas.
Since the 1970s, many activities related to clean cookstoves have been executed all over the world but apparently failed to deliver the required impacts as technical, social, financial, institutional and political factors were not taken into account sufficiently. Awareness in developed and developing world regarding the scope of the problem, especially on the health impacts, and the range of solutions available to policy-makers and development professionals has been scant. In addition, there has been little funding in the sector compared with resources available to address comparable issues or risks in related fields (electricity, clean water, malaria, TB, and health care). A comprehensive strategy at a global scale has been non-existent, resulting in more isolated projects that could not be brought to scale. Most notably, market-based approaches including the promotion of commercial clean cookstoves by producers have been insufficiently applied.
This document presents the Comprehensive Development Strategy Sustainable wood energy program within the National Forest Commission (CONAFOR). The strategy defines an intervention program for implementation and achieving the main goals of social development, environmental preservation, economic development and strengthening of the institutions involved.
In this Volume 4 an investment package of US$ 120 million is presented for the implementation of the proposed biomass energy strategy to render the supply of wood and charcoal sustainable. The package includes four parallel programs dealing with energy conservation, rehabilitation of plantations, fuel substitution, and capacity building. Some regulatory changes are required to change the current rules that govern the cutting of wood for energy purposes: the law and decrees consider that wood comes from natural forests whereas today most if not all wood comes from man-made plantations. This makes firewood and charcoal just another product from the farm or the plantation and the legislation should take this into account. In addition, the applied taxation system on woodfuels is no longer adequate and should be improved. A different system is proposed whereby benefits are offered to stakeholders as long as they improve the efficiency of their operations. Without such changes it does not make much sense to implement the investment package.
This Chapter addresses biomass energy issues in rural areas. Although the focus of the BEST is on the commercial aspects of biomass (purchased firewood and charcoal in urban areas), it is important to also look at rural aspects: the majority of Rwandans live in rural areas and in addition, they supply over 80% of the energy used in urban areas. If there is a problem with the supply or use of energy in rural areas, this may have implications for the energy situation in urban areas. Since there are quite a few unknown aspects of rural energy, MININFRA decided to carry out a rural energy survey. This survey consisted of 3000 interviews of randomly chosen rural households, 100 in each district1, as well as focus group discussions in each district. The results of these data collection efforts are presented below.
The Biomass Energy Strategy (BEST) that is described in this report is developed in the framework of the EUEI Partnership Dialogue Facility on request of the Government of Rwanda. The strategy mainly addresses charcoal supply sustainability issues, simply because charcoal is the main urban fuel for which not many acceptable alternatives exist. Rural biomass energy issues have now been included as well. Two workshops were held, on April 30 and September 18, 2008. The first workshop was organized to discuss the main approach to the proposed strategy, to see whether there would be consensus among the participating agencies and organizations, and the second more to discuss and validate the results. The Minister in charge of Energy participated in both workshops and the Minister in charge of Natural Resources participated in the last workshop. Comments made by the various participants have been incorporated in the report. In addition, a meeting was held with district officials dealing with wood energy of the six districts that provide most of the wood, to discuss regulatory issues. Finally, in January 2009 MININFRA carried out a rural energy survey among 3000 randomly selected households, 100 in each district. The results of this survey are analyzed and used to include the most important rural biomass energy issues.
Biomass in the form of firewood and charcoal plays a crucial role in the economy of Rwanda. This is however, often not recognized and there are very few people who realize how much Rwanda has already achieved to obtain a sustainable wood supply situation. Pictures of the previous turn of the Century show completely denuded hills around Kigali. Today, these hills are green with trees, and in fact most of the firewood, charcoal, and pole wood in the country come from man-made plantations. There are very few other African countries where the same claim can be made; indeed, Rwanda is quite far ahead of the others.
The Ministry of Infrastructure, MININFRA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, MINIRENA, recently issued a Biomass Energy Strategy, prepared together with the firm MARGE and EUIE-PDF partnership financing. The results are interesting in the sense that Rwanda appears to be miles ahead of other countries in the Region or the rest of Africa in terms of sustainable supplies of wood energy. Unlike other countries, shifting cultivation has stopped and land clearing for agriculture and firewood does no longer take place. Whereas wood in other countries mainly continues to come from natural forests, in Rwanda it has come for some time now from tree plantations . These tree plantations have been planted by the Government and by farmers, mainly to earn revenue and to protect the environment. It is just a matter of time before other countries will enter into the same situation that now prevails in Rwanda.
Energy is arguably one of themajor challenges the world faces today, touching all aspects of our lives. For those living in extreme poverty, a lack of access to modern energy services dramatically affects health, limits opportunities and widens the gap between the haves and have nots. The vulnerability of the poor is only worsened with recent challenges fromclimate change, a global ynancial crisis, and volatile energy prices. This reportwas commissioned to begin bridging this gap, especially for the LeastDeveloped Countries (LDCs) and sub-Saharan Africa,where energy access is especially constrained. In addition to compiling statistics from countries on access to electricity andmodern fuels, as well as drawing on the forthcoming WHO Household Energy database and the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2009, this report supplements existingglobal reportswithavailable statistics (which, insome cases, are sorely lacking) on fuel types, improved stoves used for cooking, and mechanical power. It summarises aswell the latest evidence on the health impacts attributable to indoor air pollution resulting from household use of solid fuels for cooking and heating. It also estimates the number of additional people that would have to gain access to modern energy services by 2015 under different scenarios, including scenarios that are compatible with eeting national targets and the MDGs and are disaggregated for LDCs and sub-Saharan Africa.
Although recent research evidence suggests an association between household air pollution from solid fuel use, such as coal or biomass, and cardiovascular events such as hypertension, little epidemiologic data are available concerning such exposure effects on cardiovascular endpoints other than hypertension. We explored the association between in-home solid fuel use and self-reported diagnoses of cardiovascular endpoints, such as hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and diabetes. Our data suggest that in-home solid fuel exposure maybe associated with increased risk for hypertension, CHD, stroke, and diabetes in the Chinese adult population. Further large-scale longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm these findings.
Around 50% of people, almost all in developing countries, rely on coal and biomass in the form of wood, dung and crop residues for domestic energy. These materials are typically burnt in simple stoves with very incomplete combustion. Consequently, women and young children are exposed to high levels of indoor air pollution every day. There is consistent evidence that indoor air pollution increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and of acute respiratory infections in childhood, the most important cause of death among children under 5 years of age in developing countries. Evidence also exists of associations with low birth weight, increased infant and perinatal mortality, pulmonary tuberculosis, nasopharyngeal and laryngeal cancer, cataract, and, specifically in respect of the use of coal, with lung cancer. Conflicting evidence exists with regard to asthma. All studies are observational and very few have measured exposure directly, while a substantial proportion have not dealt with confounding. As a result, risk estimates are poorly quantified and may be biased. Exposure to indoor air pollution may be responsible for nearly 2 million excess deaths in developing countries and for some 4% of the global burden of disease. Indoor air pollution is a major global public health threat requiring greatly increased efforts in the areas of research and policy-making. Research on its health effects should be strengthened, particularly in relation to tuberculosis and acute lower respiratory infections. A more systematic approach to the development and evaluation of interventions is desirable, with clearer recognition of the interrelationships between poverty and dependence on polluting fuels.
This chapter summarizes the methodology used to assess the burden of disease caused by indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels. Most research into and control of indoor air pollution worldwide has focused on sources of particular concern in developed countries, such as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), volatile organic compounds from furnishings and radon from soil. Although these pollutants have impacts on health, little is known about their global distribution. Thus, we focus solely on indoor smoke from household use of solid fuels, the most widespread traditional source of indoor air pollution on a global scale. In order to be consistent with the epidemiological literature, binary classifications of household use of solid fuels (biomass and coal) were used as a practical surrogate for actual exposure to indoor air pollution. Specifically, household solid fuel use was estimated at the national level using binary classifications of exposure to household fuel use, i.e. solid fuel and non-solid fuel (gas, kerosene, electricity). We estimated exposure to smoke from solid fuel by combining a number of national surveys of household fuel use into a regression model that predicts use according to independent, development-related variables, such as income and urbanization. Although this method was necessary owing to the current paucity of quantitative data on exposure, we acknowledge that it overlooks the large variability of exposure within households using solid fuels. As pollution emissions from the use of solid fuel may not always indicate high exposures, we have adjusted exposure estimates by a second term, the ventilation factor, which is based on qualitative measures of ventilation. Estimates of relative risk obtained from epidemiological studies were combined in meta-analyses for three disease end-points for which there is strong evidence of an association with use of solid fuels: acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in children aged <5 years, chronic Chapter 18 Indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels Kirk R. Smith, Sumi Mehta and Mirjam Maeusezahl-Feuz obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer (estimates for lung cancer are only for use of coal). More than 1.6 million deaths and over 38.5 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were attributable to indoor smoke from solid fuels in 2000. Cooking with solid fuels is thus responsible for a significant proportion, about 3%, of the global burden of disease. Although trends are highly uncertain, attributable risks are likely to be greater than avoidable risks. Several potentially important health outcomes, including tuberculosis, cardiovascular disease, and adverse pregnancy outcomes, were not included, owing to insufficient epidemiological evidence. In addition, there was insufficient evidence to assess the associated health effects for children aged 5–14 years. The burden of disease caused by use of solid fuel is thus likely to be underestimated.
Nearly all China’s rural residents and a shrinking fraction of urban residents use solid fuels (biomass and coal) for household cooking and heating. As a result, by use of global meta-analyses of epidemiological studies, it is estimated that indoor air pollution from solid fuel use in China is responsible for ~ 420,000 premature deaths annually, more than the ~300,000 attributed to urban outdoor air pollution in the country. To help elucidate more fully the extent of this hazard, we reviewed nearly 200 publications reporting health effects, emission characteristics, and/or indoor air concentrations associated with the use of solid fuels, mainly coals, in both rural and urban areas of China. Health effects include cancer (mainly lung cancer), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, respiratory illnesses, immune system weakening, and lung function reductions. Arsenic poisoning and fluorosis, resulting from coal combustion, have also been observed. Although attempts have been made in a few studies to identify specific coal smoke constituents responsible for specific adverse health effects, the majority of indoor air measurements include only particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and/or oxides of nitrogen. Based on the measurements made in 122 individual studies, we summarize the distributions across residences from 29 provinces, showing indoor concentrations exceeding health-based standards in many of the measured households. Finally, we review various past and potential intervention options including the National Improved Stove Program and several emerging fuel technologies.
In recent decades China has pursued a number of national energy policies as integral components of its 5-year development plans including the unprecedented dissemination of several generations of fuel saving stoves in the majority of its rural populations. These programs, although designed for conservation of fuel wood resources and using deceptively simple technologies, have much wider impacts on both a national and a global level through their impacts on health and emission of pollutants that have warming consequences for the atmosphere. In the current manuscript we examine these implications using emissions data collected as part of a comprehensive evaluation of 28 typical stove/fuel technologies in common use. We illustrate that relative benefits of biomass and fossil fuels, and subsequently policies regarding promotion of different fuel types, are dependent on which products of incomplete combustion are considered. If one only considers gases included within the Kyoto protocol, the burning of renewably harvested biomass appears to have an advantage over kerosene or LPG as a large component of PIC emissions from inefficient biomass stoves are not included in the calculation. If, however, one considers a more comprehensive list of compounds that have direct or indirect effects on global warming, at best the burning of fuel wood when 100% renewably harvested has a similar GWC to these better quality fuels, and, under conditions experienced in many rural areas of the world, often considerably worse. Comprehensive evaluation would require all major radiative forcing agents to be considered, even though that presents considerable difficulties considering reported uncertainties of some global warming potentials. The stove types in this study demonstrated a wide range of emission factors. This offers an effective mechanism for achieving short-term reduction in emissions of health damaging pollutants, and also accomplishes the longer-term goal of reducing of greenhouse gas emissions. Not all the improved stoves resulted in benefits on all levels, however, and it is possible, therefore, to implement policies with the best intentions for alleviating the burden of collecting fuel, which may actually, result in increased exposure of the population to health damaging pollutants and increased global warming contributions. In addition, the difference between global warming commitments for renewable and non-renewable harvesting of biomass fuels was of such magnitude, especially compared to differences between stove types, that more detailed accounting of the renewable nature of the harvesting of biomass fuels is essential and has profound implications for global accounting of carbon emissions and credit through the clean development mechanism. Clearly, however, evaluation of biomass burning in residential stoves requires a more holistic, or full fuel cycle approach that considers both the production of the fuel wood, the burning of the fuel, sequestration of gases during the next growing season and the environmental degradation and shift in fuels that may occur due to mining of the resource.
A growing body of evidence indicates a relationship between household indoor air pollution from cooking fires and adverse neonatal outcomes, such as low birth weight (LBW), in resource-poor countries. We examined the effect of reduced wood smoke exposure in pregnancy on LBW of Guatemalan infants in RESPIRE (Randomized Exposure Study of Pollution Indoors and Respiratory Effects).
Indoor air pollution (IAP) from solid household fuel use is associated with a substantial global health burden, and addressing this is a public health priority. In considering solutions, one of the most important factors influencing options for change and methods of delivery is the close relationship between reliance on traditional fuels and poverty
Emissions from household coal combustion associated with cooking and heating are an important public health issue, particularly in China where hundreds of millions of people are exposed. Although coal emissions are a known human carcinogen, there is still uncertainty about the level of risk for lung and other cancers. Our results provide evidence that although the carcinogenic effect of coal use varies by location, coals from many locations exhibit elevated lung cancer risks.