Nepal brings clean bio-energy to rural communities.

• Author: Sorkin, Lauren
• Position: ENVIRONMENTAL INTELLIGENCE

Rural communities in Nepal are now harvesting cow dung to process into biogas, thanks to an innovative program being implemented in 66 of the country's 75 districts. The Biogas Support Programme (BSP), founded in 1992, supports the construction of household-scale "digesters" that use bacteria to break down the dung in airless conditions, producing a clean, smokeless gas.

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A striking contrast to development projects stalled by the 10-year Maoist insurgency, the BSP has lit 140,000 Nepalese kitchens to date, saving an estimated 400,000 tons of firewood and 800,000 liters of kerosene. It has also helped reduce the respiratory problems associated with burning fuel wood.

Perhaps the most valuable savings come from the estimated 600,000 tons of avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Through the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, the World Bank has agreed to buy the $5 million in GHG emissions saved by the BSP. Other financial institutions in Germany and the Netherlands are eyeing carbon credits from the BSP and could provide important income for rural villages as the European Union's new emissions trading system makes carbon an attractive investment. And local communities in Nepal have also benefited from the jobs created to support the biogas facilities. Nearly 60 private companies have hired approximately...