Around the world, conflict and natural disasters have displaced millions of people. Displaced populations fleeing to settlement camps and seeking safety in host villages often put great stress on natural resources, leading to environmental degradation and conflict with local populations. One of the greatest needs of people affected by crisis, be they displaced, settled, or on the move, is firewood or some other type of fuel to cook their food, heat their homes, and treat water for drinking and food preparation. The risks endured (especially by women and children) collecting scarce wood resources constitute some of the most challenging and serious protection concerns both in IDP camps and in villages where conflict over resources is high. USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) has been one of the key US Government entities providing funding for humanitarian organizations implementing fuel-efficient stove (FES) programs in populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The FES programs are intended to help accomplish various goals, such as improved food security or decreased deforestation, by reducing fuel consumption. However, the large number of implementers, their varying program objectives and degrees of expertise, and differing conditions within and among IDP communities have made it difficult for OFDA to determine the relative efficacy of the FES interventions and provide guidelines for USAID-funded institutions working in IDP settings.
We examine how an unassuming domestic technology -- the fuel-efficient stove -- came to be construed as an effective tool for reducing sexual violence globally. Highlighting the process of problematization, the linking of problems with actionable solutions, we show how US-based humanitarian advocacy organizations drew upon spatial, gender, perpetrator, racial, and interventionist representations to advance the notion that 'stoves reduce rape' in Darfur. Though their effectiveness in Darfur remains questionable, efficient stoves were consequently adopted as a universal technical panacea for sexual violence in any conflict or refugee camp context. By examining the emergence and global diffusion of the rape-stove problematization, our study documents an important example of the technologizing of humanitarian space. We postulate fuel-efficient stoves to be a technology of Othering able to simplify, combine, decontextualize, and transform problematizations from their originating contexts elsewhere. When humanitarian advocates construe immensely complex crises as 'manageable problems,' the promotion of simple technical panaceas may inadvertently increase the burden of poverty for user-beneficiaries and silence the voices of those they claim to champion and serve. Adapted from the source document.
Two models of the village firewood-gathering economy are developed: one where the firewood is treated by households as a common-property resource and one where it is treated as a private asset. Under both models, rebound of consumption occurs as a result of distributing more-efficient wood-burning stoves into households. It follows that policies premised on the assumption that the use of scarce resources can be curtailed simply by raising the energy efficiency of appliances used in the household are flawed. The same policies, however, when judged according to their contribution to the utility of the household appear to be better.
Corn stover can be efficiently transformed into biobutanol by using low acid concentrations during the physicochemical pretreatment, employing adequate Clostridium strains and performing a detoxification with reusable resins. A broth with 4.75 g/L acetone and 9.02 g/L butanol was obtained. Off-line gas stripping is efficient for butanol recovery from fermentation broths. ; This document is a pre-print version of the manuscript that was subsequently peer-reviewed and accepted for publication by the journal Renewable Energy (Vol. 148, pages 223-233, year 2020). The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.12.026. This work has been funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Agrocycle, grant agreement 690142). MH-V is supported by a postdoctoral contract (DOC-INIA, grant number DOC 2013-010) funded by the Spanish National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA) and the European Social Fund.
AbstractMost households in Timor‐Leste use lali'an, a traditional open fire method of cooking that has considerable environmental, health, and social impacts. Many of these impacts can be mitigated using simple, low‐cost, and more fuel‐efficient improved cook stoves (ICSs). Drawing on qualitative data from householders, key informants, and the researcher's observations, this article explores women's experiences of using ICS in Timor‐Leste. It outlines the economic and time cost for households using lali'an, and the health, social, and economic benefits of ICSs. Using the information–motivation–behavioral skills model, this study explores the dynamics of the decision‐making process and behavior change related to cooking technology. The findings show that women are primarily responsible for the household kitchen; however, they are not always in a position to make the decision to adopt an ICS. It is therefore imperative that the introduction and promotion of ICS to households in Timor‐Leste be accessible to women, as investment and awareness‐raising regarding ICS will contribute much to the satisfaction of women's basic needs, children's health, and reduction of deforestation in Timor‐Leste.
The high economic & ecological costs resulting from the increased farming of watershed lands in Pakistan, Ethiopia, India, & other developing countries are described. Strategies for rehabilitating watersheds that can be implemented through World Bank projects are discussed, eg, the use of improved & more suitable farming methods, reforestation, use of more fuel-efficient stoves, & construction of more effective dams for flood control & soil & water conservation. D. Dunseath.
Household air pollution from traditional cook stoves presents a greater health hazard than any other environmental factor. Despite government efforts to support clean-burning cooking fuels, over 700 million people in South Asia could still rely on traditional stoves in 2030. This number could rise if climate change mitigation efforts increase energy costs. Here we quantify the costs of support policies to make clean cooking affordable to all South Asians under four increasingly stringent climate policy scenarios. Our most sringent mitigation scenario increases clean fuel costs 38% in 2030 relative to the baseline, keeping 21% more South Asians on traditional stoves or increasing the minimum support policy cost to achieve universal clean cooking by up to 44%. The extent of this increase depends on how poliymakers allocate subsidies between clean fuels and stoves. These additional costs are within the range of financial transfers to South Asia estimated in efforts-sharing scenarios of international climate agreements. Three billion people globally burn solid fuels such as firewood, charcoal, coal, dung, and crop resides in open fires and traditional stoves for cooking and heating. Household air pollution from the incomplete combustion of these fuels globally leads to 4.3 million premature deaths each year, with 1.7 million of those in South Asia. This exceeds the burden of disease from any other energy-related or environmental risk factor. Solid-fuel use also perpetuates income and gender inequality by forcing users, mostly poor women and children, to spend long hours collecting fuels and to suffer from its adverse health effects. To address this problem, the United Nations Secretary-General's Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative and the new Sustainable Development Goals aim to achieve universal access to modern energy services by 2030. Numerous intervention efforts have focused on distributing more efficient and cleaner burning biomass stoves, but several of these programmes have had little or no demonstrable impact on health outcomes. In India, the nation with the largest population of solid-fuel users globally, government interventions have sought to make petroleum-based fuels, such as kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), more affordable through subsidy at an estimated cost of over US$6 billion per year. Although LPG use has grown rapidly, particularly in rural areas, over 72% of Indians continued to rely primarily on solid fuels in 2012. In the future, expanding clean cooking may become more challenging if climate policies increase the cost of fuels. Previous research has found that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in Asia and Africa would increase the cost of kerosene and LPG. However, these studies do not explore compensatory policies that could counteract these effects, and assess only a limited set of climate mitigation scenarios. Only two studies explore normative scenarios that achieve access and climate goals simultanously, both of which do not explore the cost-effectiveness or distributional impacts on population subgroups of these policies. Meanwhile, studies that have evaluated the cost-effectiveness of energy access policies have not considered the impact of climate policy. Te latest assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that we have only low confidence in our understanding of the possible impacts of climate policy on access to modern energy services, and medium confidence in the policies needed to counteract them. In this study, we contribute new insights to the interaction of climate policy and clean cooking acces policies by quantifying the feasibility and costs of achieving universal access by 2030 for a range of climate policy stringencies, and under a wide range of fuel and stove price support policies. Our analysis suggests that the potential trade-offs between the two goals might be arger than suggested by previous studies. However, we find that efficient policy design could partially compensate for the additional access policy costs associated with climate mitigation. Furthermore, these costs fall below the level of potential financial transfers to South Asia that may result from international climate agreements.
Household air pollution from traditional cook stoves presents a greater health hazard than any other environmental factor. Despite government efforts to support clean-burning cooking fuels, over 700 million people in South Asia could still rely on traditional stoves in 2030. This number could rise if climate change mitigation efforts increase energy costs. Here we quantify the costs of support policies to make clean cooking affordable to all South Asians under four increasingly stringent climate policy scenarios. Our most sringent mitigation scenario increases clean fuel costs 38% in 2030 relative to the baseline, keeping 21% more South Asians on traditional stoves or increasing the minimum support policy cost to achieve universal clean cooking by up to 44%. The extent of this increase depends on how poliymakers allocate subsidies between clean fuels and stoves. These additional costs are within the range of financial transfers to South Asia estimated in efforts-sharing scenarios of international climate agreements. Three billion people globally burn solid fuels such as firewood, charcoal, coal, dung, and crop resides in open fires and traditional stoves for cooking and heating. Household air pollution from the incomplete combustion of these fuels globally leads to 4.3 million premature deaths each year, with 1.7 million of those in South Asia. This exceeds the burden of disease from any other energy-related or environmental risk factor. Solid-fuel use also perpetuates income and gender inequality by forcing users, mostly poor women and children, to spend long hours collecting fuels and to suffer from its adverse health effects. To address this problem, the United Nations Secretary-General's Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative and the new Sustainable Development Goals aim to achieve universal access to modern energy services by 2030. Numerous intervention efforts have focused on distributing more efficient and cleaner burning biomass stoves, but several of these programmes have had little or no demonstrable impact on health outcomes. In India, the nation with the largest population of solid-fuel users globally, government interventions have sought to make petroleum-based fuels, such as kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), more affordable through subsidy at an estimated cost of over US$6 billion per year. Although LPG use has grown rapidly, particularly in rural areas, over 72% of Indians continued to rely primarily on solid fuels in 2012. In the future, expanding clean cooking may become more challenging if climate policies increase the cost of fuels. Previous research has found that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in Asia and Africa would increase the cost of kerosene and LPG. However, these studies do not explore compensatory policies that could counteract these effects, and assess only a limited set of climate mitigation scenarios. Only two studies explore normative scenarios that achieve access and climate goals simultanously, both of which do not explore the cost-effectiveness or distributional impacts on population subgroups of these policies. Meanwhile, studies that have evaluated the cost-effectiveness of energy access policies have not considered the impact of climate policy. Te latest assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that we have only low confidence in our understanding of the possible impacts of climate policy on access to modern energy services, and medium confidence in the policies needed to counteract them. In this study, we contribute new insights to the interaction of climate policy and clean cooking acces policies by quantifying the feasibility and costs of achieving universal access by 2030 for a range of climate policy stringencies, and under a wide range of fuel and stove price support policies. Our analysis suggests that the potential trade-offs between the two goals might be arger than suggested by previous studies. However, we find that efficient policy design could partially compensate for the additional access policy costs associated with climate mitigation. Furthermore, these costs fall below the level of potential financial transfers to South Asia that may result from international climate agreements.
Background: Much of the Malawi's energy source, which is biomass, is consumed using traditional household technologies. These technologies contribute to over consumption of biomass leading to increased forest degradation, and they release various gases and particulate matter that often cause indoor air pollution which is a health hazard to the users. To combat deforestation and pollution, improved cookstoves were introduced in Malawi from early 2000. A number of improved stoves were introduced including speranza which is reported to have 60% wood fuel saving under controlled conditions compared to the traditional 3-stone stove. The efficiencies of improved stoves were obtained through controlled cooking test, but very limited studies have evaluated them under normal household settings. Therefore, this study sought to compare the performance of the Esperanza stove with a 3-stone stove in a typical domestic setting. Methods: A Volunteer in Technical Assistance (VITA) standardized questionnaire was administered to households that were using the Esperanza stove. A cross-sectional Kitchen Performance Test (KPT) was conducted to compare the wood-saving performance of exclusive use of Esperanza stove and the 3-stone stove using the VITA KPT tool. Results: In the study area, a policy of banning household use of other cooking technologies has been in place with the main goal of encouraging the use of new technologies. There is evidence that the Esperanza stove was used more often, though it was used in combination with other technologies. Although Esperanza stove had earlier been reported to be more fuel efficient than the 3-stone stove, results revealed that due to improper use, the Esperanza stove consumed 86% more wood fuel compared to 3-stone stove. Conclusions: Three-stone stoves are still the preferred mode of cooking technology in most rural and peri-urban environments in Malawi. The shift to the improved stove technologies therefore requires urgent government intervention to ensure total use of these technologies that save energy and the environment. Additionally, the optimum efficiency of the Esperanza stove can be viable with training to new users. Thus, the importance of training on the proper use of Esperanza stove is recommended in order to optimize its performance and maximize energy saving.
In India, Silk industry plays an important part in textile industry. Muga silk, the golden yellow silk is quite unique to Assam, North-east India where its production is regarded as an important tool for economic development. But, outdated manufacturing technology is followed during the silk production in Assam. The existing cooking process of silk cocoons consists of boiling of silk cocoons in a stainless steel vessel along with water and soda in an open fireplace which is highly energy inefficient. Therefore, two modified systems have been designed; one having cylindrical boiling chamber (vessel) and the other having spherical boiling chamber (vessel). Both the chambers are having a cocoon heating chamber associated with them for cooking and drying of silk cocoons simultaneously. These designs are further classified into two types of designs based on channel and nozzle type combustion chambers. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to improve the existing designs to maximize the utilization of heat carried by the combustion gases. These modified systems are analysed by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) selecting standard k–є model. From the analysis, it is seen that these new systems having nozzle type combustion chambers are more efficient than the systems having cylindrical combustion chambers and if these systems are used in silk production, it will be very beneficial for the silk industry as well as for our society.
