by Singy Hanyona – SANF 05 no 66
An ambitious regional programme for biomass energy conservation has been launched in southern Africa with a vision to satisfy the energy requirements of the region.
The programme, which is mainly targeting lower income population groups who often depend on wood fuel, hopes to ensure protection of millions of hectares of the region’s forest resource, while ensuring social equity.
Through the Programme for Biomass Energy Conservation (ProBEC) established by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) is supporting training of metal fabricators and engineers in the region, to construct efficient energy saving stoves.
The ProBEC project is active in eight SADC countries including Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In Zambia, the ProBEC project trained 13 regional entrepreneurs in July in production of improved “Rocket Cook Stove” in the capital, Lusaka.
The stove is environmentally friendly as it produces minimal carbon dioxide, making it safer for indoor cooking.
Biomass energy is fuel derived from any living organism, traditionally it comprises wood, charcoal, dung and agricultural residues. Throughout the region, biofuels are burned in simple fires for food processing and for heating.
There is need for households in the region to adopt the use of energy efficient stoves in order to combat desertification, said Coordinator of the ProBEC project in Zambia, Ngula Mubonda.
“We all know that most households use firewood fuel for cooking and heating. There is need to use this source of energy to ensure sustainability,” she said.
Mubonda noted that although the technology was good for the environment, governments in the region should look into ways of empowering local people to access the facility, as it is costly for the ordinary poor households.
While biomass fuels provide energy to most households in the region, the use of biofuels can lead to negative environmental impacts when demand outstrips supply.
Over-harvesting and inefficient burning contribute to deforestation, desertification, increased soil erosion and air pollution. Fuel shortages also put tremendous pressures on people’s livelihoods as more and more time is spent searching for fuel.
Speaking on the efficiency of the Rocket Stove as an effective and environmentally friendly option for households, Andi Michel, of ProBEC-Malawi said that the stove has the advantage of not spreading ashes around the cooking area.
Experience in Malawi has shown that half a drum of cooking local maizemeal (nshima) can use up to 170 kg of firewood on open fire, while the same quantity of nshima can only use 14 kg when prepared on a Rocket Stove, accounting for 60 percent energy efficiency, said Michel.
Integrated approaches to Biomass Energy Conservation thus offer ways to tackle fuel shortages, reduce the burden of fuel collection and preparation, and reduce exposure to indoor air pollution.
The ProBEC project has benefited rural and urban households in the region, as well as small business and institutions that are now using biomass energy for thermal processes.
The use of the biomass energy is also benefiting individuals as well as businesses.
For instance, a Tea Estate in Malawi was using 170 kg of firewood to prepare food for 120 employees on ordinary open fires, but after buying the Rocket Stove, they now use only 20 kg.
Among the institutions that have benefited from the Rocket Stove in Malawi include hospitals and schools.
Analysts say, given that in the foreseeable future biomass will remain the primary source of basic energy consumption for families and small businesses in most parts of southern African, it is of paramount importance that the available energy is being used in an environmentally sound and socially responsible way. (SARDC)
