COUNTRY
COMPASSCOUNTRY
COMPASS
Burkina Faso's unplanned use of forest resources has led to the deterioration of all forest areas around Ouagadougou, prompting a government decision to develop effective management techniques.
The project, financed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and executed by FAO, aims to develop a national programme for the sustainable and integrated production of wood and non-wood forest products, particularly fuelwood and charcoal.
In an area extending 150 km around Ouagadougou, 80 000 ha are being managed with the active participation of local people using simple techniques to implement silvicultural operations. Supported by FAO, the Government of Burkina Faso has introduced a planned and more rational approach to forest resources. This has resulted in resource conservation and protection, as well as a 50 percent income increase for local people, who are now able to fulfil urban demand for fuelwood and charcoal.
Mr A. Thiam, the project's Forestry Economist, has prepared a detailed analysis of the progress achieved by the project to date and of the possibilities of self-sustained support of current activities by national and local organizations.
Plans are under way for the management of an additional 570 000 ha in Burkina Faso. Other Sahelian countries have expressed interest in adopting a similar programme.
For more information, please contact:
Mr Mory Keita, Senior Operations Officer,
Regional Office for Africa (RAF),
PO Box 1628, Accra, Ghana.
Fax: (+233 21) 665569.
Situation actuelle des for�ts p�riurbaines d'Afrique au sud du Sahara. Yaound�, capitale politique du Cameroun, enregistre chaque ann�e l'arriv�e de nouvelles vagues de personnes venant de l'int�rieur comme de l'ext�rieur du pays. Le nombre actuel de ses administr�s repr�senterait entre 23 et 30 pour cent de l'ensemble des populations camerounaises. Cette migration interne d'individus ou de familles enti�res est souvent motiv�e par la recherche des centres disposant d'infrastructures socioculturelles, �ducatives et �conomiques et, parfois, par la poursuite d'un hypoth�tique emploi plus r�mun�rateur. Avec cet afflux de nouveaux locataires des espaces urbains, se posent les probl�mes de survie et notamment celui de la satisfaction des besoins en �nergie, probl�mes que les autorit�s administratives ne sont pas � m�me de r�soudre. Selon les statistiques, dans cette ville, pas moins de 80 pour cent des foyers d�pendent strictement du bois de feu comme la principale, voire l'unique source d'�nergie domestique. De plus, le caract�re trop informel et tr�s disparate de la fili�re bois de feu, allant de la cha�ne de production jusqu'� la consommation finale, rend l'�tablissement de statistiques fiables un v�ritable casse-t�te et ne cesse de pr�occuper l'administration locale qui a besoin de ces donn�es pour �laborer sa politique en mati�re de gestion durable des �nergies renouvelables.
Place des for�ts naturelles autour des grandes villes. Les for�ts naturelles p�riurbaines constituent depuis toujours pour les populations citadines le centre d'approvisionnement par excellence en produits divers vitaux parmi lesquels le bois combustible, les produits alimentaires et les plantes m�dicinales; elles offrent en outre de nombreux avantages environnementaux. Il va sans dire que les pressions anthropiques qu'elles subissent ne vont pas baisser. A mesure que les terres foresti�res sont converties, et que la d�forestation sauvage se fait plus difficile, le bois combustible lui aussi se fait rare. Il est devenu un bien fortement mon�tis� que seuls les gens ayant un revenu assur� peuvent s'offrir. C'est ainsi qu'� Yaound�, entre 7 et 12 pour cent de la population ne parvient pas � satisfaire ses besoins quotidiens en �nergie son pouvoir d'achat ne lui permettant pas de se procurer le bois feu, le combustible suppos� le moins cher. L'�clatement d'une crise grave affecterait la vie de beaucoup de personnes, notamment celles les plus d�munies de la ville. C'est pourquoi il faut tout mettre en _uvre pour pr�server les for�ts autour de la ville, centre caritatif naturel pour les pauvres de la cit�.
Les avantages d'une bonne planification foresti�re. Le Cameroun est certes un des grands pays forestiers du bassin du Congo. L'exploitation abusive de ses for�ts p�riurbaines pour le bois de chauffe et le charbon de bois, associ�e � d'autres formes d'usage, donne, par exemple, � la ville de Yaound� l'image de zones d�nud�es autour de lieux d'habitation qui �tait plut�t caract�ristique des r�gions du Sahel. Le rythme de d�forestation ainsi que les causes qui le sous-tendent font planer sur la ville et ses environs la crainte d'une crise imminente en bois combustible. Les efforts d�ploy�s pour la plantation d'essences � croissance rapide pour le bois de feu et la promotion et la vulgarisation de techniques modernes d'�conomie d'�nergie ne parviennent pas toujours � d�samorcer l'�tau de cette menace de crise �nerg�tique. Une mauvaise planification du d�veloppement en g�n�ral et de la gestion des espaces forestiers en particulier expliquerait, sans doute, la raison pour laquelle Yaound� serait pr�dispos�e � affronter une crise �nerg�tique dont les premi�res victimes seraient les familles les plus d�favoris�es.
A chaque probl�me sa propre solution. Etant donn� la nature des probl�mes auxquels sont confront�es quotidiennement les for�ts p�riurbaines, leur gestion ne devrait pas �tre planifi�e et appliqu�e de la m�me mani�re que celle des for�ts productives destin�es � l'exploitation foresti�re. Etant donn� que les for�ts p�riurbaines sont d'acc�s facile, et donc tr�s sollicit�es pour satisfaire les besoins croissants en produits de premi�re n�cessit�, parmi lesquels le bois combustible, elles n�cessitent une approche d'am�nagement mieux adapt�e aux enjeux urbains. La prise en compte de ces particularit�s dans la d�termination des objectifs permettrait de mieux cibler les besoins des usagers, et d'�laborer des strat�gies visant � ma�triser les difficult�s que pose souvent l'am�nagement de ce type de for�ts.
Conclusion. La d�forestation compromet dangereusement la production soutenue et l'approvisionnement r�gulier de bois de feu, faisant ainsi beaucoup de victimes, surtout parmi les familles les plus d�favoris�es ayant de faibles revenus. Elle souligne les diff�rents enjeux auxquels sont expos�es les for�ts naturelles autour des grandes villes, enjeux qui devraient servir de base pour fixer les objectifs d'am�nagement et concevoir les strat�gies et les plans de gestion n�cessaires. Cette approche nouvelle devrait �tre consensuelle, r�duire les obstacles administratifs, �conomiques, sociaux, culturels et environnementaux qui sont � l'origine des �checs du pass� et permettre un partenariat actif et participatif entre tous les utilisateurs des ressources foresti�res. (Contribution de: M. Fran�ois Ndeckere-Ziangba, Forestier principal (utilisation et environnement), Sous-Division de l'exploitation et de la commercialisation des produits forestiers, D�partement des for�ts, FAO.)
Historically
biomass has been used by the rural population on a large scale for heating and cooking in
all regions of Croatia. Fuelwood and wood waste from industry amounted to 15 percent
of primary energy consumption in 1970, and in 1990 on account of urbanization and improved
living standards the share was 5.3 percent.
Over the past few years, Croatian scientists and engineers have carried out a considerable amount of research and have developed different technologies for energy production from biomass, including briquetting, where major advances have been made, and in some Croatian regions the briquette market is already well established. Research has been conducted on briquetting wood waste and sawdust as well as straw and maize stalks.
Briquettes made from maize stalks
Forests
are one of the most important sources of bioenergy in Croatia and significant results have
already been achieved in forest management. So far, there are only a few small forest
residue-fired heating plants and some equipment for harvesting in operation. Focus is also
being placed on energy recovery from waste.
BIOEN logo
One of the activities of the BIOEN programme in 1998 was estimating the bioenergy potential and further energy production. Three different scenarios were considered. The first (S-421, "low") was based on the gradual introduction of advanced technologies and does not include any governmental support. The second scenario (S-422, "moderate") includes a stronger concerted policy for the introduction of new technologies, use of renewables and increasing energy efficiency. The third (S-423, "high") is a "very environmental" scenario and includes the problem that pollution and greenhouse effects will already significantly affect energy policy in Croatia by 2010. (Source: Biomass and Waste Use Program in Croatia [BIOEN]; http://sunce.eihp.hr/english/bioen/bioen.htm)
With its modern and contemporary architecture, impressive fleet of cars, roads, electricity, water lines, telephones and television sets, Libreville seems to be closer to the developed North than its rural hinterland 50 km away. A typically African element in this Western-style urban landscape, however, is street food. As elsewhere in the region, street food is a cultural norm and a subsistence necessity in the Congo basin's wealthiest city. From early morning right through the night, the hungry or hurried Librevillois can snack on food prepared barbecue style. It is either fried or grilled over charcoal-burning stoves made out of old wheel rims or contrived out of various pieces of scrap metal.
The charcoal itself is produced from industrial sawmill scraps - particularly relevant from a conservation or resource management point of view.
Libreville,
with nearly 500 000 inhabitants, distinguishes itself from other large cities in the
region with respect to cooking techniques because approximately 75 percent of households
have gas stoves. For different cultural and financial reasons, however, housewives also
resort to traditional cooking energy sources, mainly fuelwood - often at weekends when
they have more time or depending on the type of meal being prepared. Cooking with charcoal
is not a tradition in any of Gabon's numerous ethnic groups. This relatively high
percentage contrasts sharply with that of all other Central African capitals, and notably
Kinshasa, for example, where only a very small minority of families have access to modern
cooking equipment and those that do use electricity rather than gas. This has resulted in
the creation of a peri-urban halo which extends as much as 100 km in some directions
because people need to cut trees for fuel, given the lack of other options. This is due to
the twofold reason of serious and widespread poverty and the inadequate (and misdirected)
state investment in the sector.
The demand for charcoal in Libreville thus emanates largely from street vendors and, despite the city's rapid population growth rate of 8 percent annually, people only rarely cut down trees for fuel. Forest degradation in the Estuary Province where Libreville is located was originally caused by industrial exploitation of timber dating back to the 1880s and more recently by land clearing for agriculture.
The village of Essassa, situated between Libreville and Ntoum, produces much of the charcoal needed to satisfy the demand of street food vendors. Fang women from Makokou settled there when the sawmill at Okala closed. Okala (in the Mondah Reserve) was the area where the charcoal-producing activity first developed in the late 1970s in order to accommodate the eating habits of West African economic migrants. At that time Libreville had approximately 200 000 inhabitants and sawmill scraps were merely piled up and burnt, resulting in considerable calorie loss. Essassa was a logical destination for the migrants because another sawmill was located there: the SOMIVAB which produces lumber and railway ties for the Transgabonaise Railway.
Charcoal production in Essassa has been restructured and has boomed over the past few years. What was formerly a gendered sector (women controlled the entire chain from production to commercialization) is now mixed. Men provide the muscular force needed for this physically taxing activity and, above all, techniques, in the form of the meule casaman�aise, which maximizes caloric values and reduces waste. Burying the "raw material" and covering it with mud and leaves is an energy-saving technique which West Africans had to develop in their own seriously deforested countries. The Essassa village chief is involved in the business as it is he who allocates and rents out land. The Gabonese women who market charcoal have thus become largely dependent on West African producers. They are also dependent on West African transporters who supply charcoal-filled rice sacks to Mont Bouet, by far the largest wholesale and retail market. The product is now increasingly being sold at the Ak�b� and Nk�mbo markets.
This "informal" economic sector also plays a cultural and a social role. Economically, it gives surplus value to what is still considered elsewhere to be waste material. In addition, it is directly and indirectly a major provider of jobs. Culturally, the street barbecue has become an urban way of life which enables the Librevillois to renew the traditional village tastes and smells of the village with nostalgia, even though they have adopted Western-style eating habits to a large extent. Socially, the grill has become a convivial meeting place.
Locally appropriate and elaborated resource management strategies do exist in the Congo basin, in spite of the attitudes still widely held by Western conservationists and development policy-makers to the contrary. Populations spontaneously adopt techniques to cover their basic needs and to maximize cash revenues from available natural resources. Essassa charcoal is just one example of an economic activity based on a natural resource which is not directly environmentally destructive. Sawmill scraps are also recovered at Owendo and provide the massive amount of fuel needed to smoke fish at Pont Nomba and Baracuda.
Although handicapped by short-term economic and institutional constraints, forestry policy-makers of the region are aware of the need to manage their forests sustainably. Moreover, they have unanimously embarked on the struggle for more in-country transformation of timber which is currently very low: in 1995, only 7 percent of Gabon's timber was processed locally. In fact, if increased local transformation were to be achieved, the amount of scrap generated and recyclable could help solve the problems of peri-urban deforestation elsewhere in the region where trees are cut for fuel. Instead of elaborating conservation strategies in the North and applying them in the South, international donors could maximize public development aid by identifying and building on strategies which are initiated locally and which already fulfil social and economic needs. (Contributed by: Theodore Trefon and Claudine Angou�. This research is being carried out in the context of a project financed by the European Union [DGVIII], Avenir des Peuples des For�ts Tropicales [APFT]. Theodore Trefon is an APFT research coordinator; Claudine Angou� is an APFT research associate.)
For more information, please contact:
Dr Theodore Trefon,
Avenir des Peuples des For�ts Tropicales,
Universit� Libre de Bruxelles,
C.P. 124, 44 avenue Jeanne, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
Fax: (+32 2) 650 4337.
El Fondo de Manejo del Medio Ambiente Honduras-Canad� desembols� ayer 600 000 lempiras para apoyar a los peque�os y medianos productores de la zona sur del pa�s, en actividades forestales con fines de producci�n energ�tica.
Se
inform� que Canad� otorga esos recursos para que los grupos rurales diversifiquen la
actividad productiva y aumenten la oferta de le�a y otros productos forestales de buena
calidad en el mercado local, incentivando la reforestaci�n, la protecci�n de los
recursos energ�ticos y de las cuencas hidrogr�ficas.
El dinero para el capital inicial ser� canalizado a trav�s del Proyecto le�a, prole�a, que tiene como finalidad convertir en reforestaci�n con la participaci�n de productores rurales, mientras que los productores aportan la tierra y la mano de obra como recurso disponible.
Con esta ayuda, se busca reforestar 400 hect�reas para la producci�n de le�a, con un promedio de 400 productores rurales, la plantaci�n de 80 hect�reas para protecci�n, la generaci�n de empleo para 600 mujeres campesinas y la formaci�n de una Asociaci�n de Reposici�n Forestal, con la participaci�n de productores e industriales de la zona. (Fuente: el Heraldo, 25 de junio de 1998.)
El movimiento cooperativo agropecuario participa en el proyecto de cultivo de bamb� con el prop�sito de darle otro uso a sus tierras y obtener mejores beneficios para los socios y familias.
La Compa��a Hondure�a del Bamb� (CHB), subsidiaria de la empresa estadounidense International Bamboo Development Company, est� promoviendo en el pa�s un proyecto de cultivo de bamb� con fines comerciales, al cual se han incorporado alrededor de diez cooperativas que disponen de 1 347 hect�reas y buscan nuevas opciones agr�colas para el bienestar de sus familias.
La CHB brindar� la asesor�a t�cnica a los productores que lo requieran y se har� responsable de la compra, comercializaci�n y exportaci�n de la cosecha, garantizando la venta de los productos.
Dentro de los mayores usos del bamb� est�n los siguientes: alimento humano y animal, materia prima para pulpa y papel, aplicaciones en materia de construcci�n y fuente de biomasa para ser utilizado como combustible en la generaci�n de energ�a el�ctrica.
Para que el proyecto tenga la capacidad de suministrar los requerimientos de materia prima a las industrias identificadas y sea atractivo a los compradores de los productos de bamb�, es necesario sembrar 10 000 hect�reas. (Fuente: Tiempo, 12 de junio de 1998.)
This report by Kirk Smith can be accessed at the Stoves Web site: http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Stoves.html
La
Sra. Priyadarshini Karve del Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI) en India, est�
organizando una conferencia internacional sobre estufas de le�a, que se realizar� en la
ciudad de Pune, India en enero del a�o 2000.
En esta conferencia se analizar�n asuntos de inter�s como por ejemplo dise�o de estufas de fogueos, promoci�n, financiamiento, efectos ambientales en el medio ambiente y en la salud.
Actualmente los organizadores est�n buscando financiamiento para la conferencia y asegurar principalmente la presencia de participantes de pa�ses menos desarrollados.
Como parte de este proceso, necesitan conocer el inter�s de profesionales de los pa�ses menos desarrollados que desean participar en la conferencia, para gestionar apoyo financiero para pasajes a�reas y estad�a.
Si usted desea participar a esta conferencia pero necesita apoyo financiero, se puede comunicar con la Sra. Priyadarshini Karve inform�ndole sobre el costo para poder participar en la conferencia, as� como una breve descripci�n de su trabajo relacionado con las estufas de le�a (gpk@physics. unipune.ernet.in).
Si adem�s conoce a otras personas interesadas en el tema puede transmitirles esta informaci�n.
Hasta el momento no existe ninguna promesa concreta de apoyo, por el momento se trata solamente de una encuesta sobre los posibles interesados. (Fuente: Red Latinoamericana Electr�nica en Bioenergia.)
Nota: La conferencia ser� en ingl�s sin traducci�n simult�nea.
The First National Wood Energy Forum was held in Managua, Nicaragua on 9 and 10 September 1998. This event was an initiative of the Association for Wood Energy Development of Nicaragua (PROLE�A) and the Tropical Agronomy Center for Research and Education (CATIE). The purpose of this meeting was to gather for the first time more than 140 representatives from the commercial fuelwood sector of Nicaragua in order to evaluate and discuss the main limitations and recommendations for the sustainability of that sector.
In Nicaragua today fuelwood is the major energy source as well as the major forest product. It is estimated that 58 percent of all energy consumed is from fuelwood, and 70 percent of all wood consumed is also as fuelwood. Total annual fuelwood consumption is estimated at 2 million to 2.5 million tonnes, 90 percent of that total being used for home cooking, 60 percent of which through commercial channels. However, it is also estimated that 95 percent of commercial fuelwood is not harvested in a sustainable way, and that 90 percent of all fuelwood-consuming households use open or semi-open fires without a chimney. Therefore, there is a need to modernize fuelwood production and utilization in Nicaragua, and the National Wood Energy Forum was created to address this need.
The final Forum Declaration makes an urgent call for coordination between the government and the private institutions working in the sector to eliminate immediately barriers to fuelwood sector development and to implement policies, strategies, projects and programmes which will facilitate and promote the modernization of this sector, with special emphasis on guaranteeing the sustainable management of forest resources and to increase the efficiency and rational use of fuelwood.
The Declaration also points out that: government agencies lack resources to carry out properly their tasks of regulating, monitoring and supporting the modernization process; land ownership nationwide must be properly secured as a fundamental base to sustainable management of the forest resources; the legal paperwork required for the harvesting and commercialization of fuelwood is burdensome; taxes and other costs are excessively high; there is a tremendous lack of incentives and technical assistance for sustainable forest management and energy efficiency; there are economic and cultural barriers to energy efficiency; and, although there is no substantial evidence of deforestation caused by commercial fuelwood harvesting, there is clear evidence of forest degradation.
Finally the Declaration also recommends that the taxes paid by the commercial fuelwood sector should be reviewed and, as a priority, should be reinvested back into the sector for finance regulation, monitoring, incentives and technical assistance. Additionally, municipal governments should take a more active role in regulating and planning the sector, new market opportunities for fuelwood for power generation should be developed, a massive programme of improved woodstoves and alternative fuels should be implemented, the National Police should change their manner of dealing with fuelwood merchants, and a national fuelwood master plan should be developed.
As a result of this national forum, the Interinstitutional Wood Energy Committee (CDI), comprising representatives from PROLE�A, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Public Health, the Nicaraguan Forest Institute and the Nicaraguan Energy Institute, will meet regularly and coordinate action to implement the recommendations of the Forum. International cooperating agencies such as FAO, the World Bank and the Interamerican Development Bank will consider these recommendations as input for their projects and programmes which support the wood energy sector of Nicaragua.
For the full Declaration and more information, please contact:
Mr Rogerio Carneiro de Miranda,
Main Technical Adviser, PROLE�A/Nicaragua,
Apartado Postal C-321, Managua, Nicaragua.
Fax: (+505) 276 2015;
e-mail: [email protected]
Pakistan, like most of the developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, depends on woodfuel for domestic energy. The annual demand for woodfuel for this purpose has always remained high and is expected to increase in the future with the expanding population and its per caput consumption. However, as in most developing countries, the woodfuel trade in Pakistan has been conducted in an informal manner and very few records are available on this subject. It is only recently that some systematic studies have been carried out on woodfuel demand and supply in the household energy sector of Pakistan. Such data are essential for planning purposes because Pakistan has a very small forest area and tree growth has to be promoted to meet the woodfuel needs of the people without causing deterioration of the environment.
In
addition, wood energy rarely appears on the curricula of the region's educational
institutes, whether they provide an education to foresters, energy specialists or other
professionals. This situation disregards the economic and social importance of wood energy
in Asia and needs to be remedied.
COURTESY OF BOILING POINT
The
Pakistan Forest Institute (PFI) in Peshawar is one of the enlightened exceptions to this
general observation. For a long time, PFI has recognized the importance of wood energy in
the national and local economy and, moreover, is aware that many of its graduates will
take up jobs which relate in some way to wood energy. Therefore, the institute has
pioneered the integration of the various aspects of wood energy into its curricula and
routinely provides specialized research programmes for students who opt to pursue wood
energy subjects. (Extracted from: Woodfuel in Pakistan - training material.
RWEDP Field Document No. 51, which was prepared by PFI with advice from RWEDP. The
publication is intended to serve as a reference and training material for all those
interested in learning more about wood energy and will be of help not only to foresters in
Pakistan, but also to many other professionals in the region.)
For more information, please contact:
Mr Wim Hulscher, Chief Technical Adviser,
RWEDP-GCP/RAS/154/NET,
c/o RAP, Maliwan Mansion, Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand.
Fax: (+66 2) 280 0760;
e-mail: [email protected]
The Romanian National Commission for Statistics has conducted a study on the energy consumption of individual consumers which shows that 44 percent of energy is provided by wood, while 28.4 percent represents central heating, 14.2 percent is provided by gas, 4.3 percent by liquified petroleum gas and 6.1 percent by electricity. (Source: Energy ... In Demand, 10(2), June 1998.)
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Science and Technology has initiated a project with the assistance of the European Community to carry out a feasibility study for the establishment of dendro power generation in Sri Lanka. In this project, short-rotation-coppice (SRC) trial plantations will be established in 12 3-ha sites which have been chosen to represent the varying agroclimatic zones in Sri Lanka. The objective of the trials is to determine the optimum parameters for each agroclimatic zone.
Parameters include species of trees and harvesting intervals, and the trials will also determine the yield and production cost of biomass. This project is a collaborative programme involving the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Forest Department, the Land-Use Planning Division, the Energy Conservation Fund, the Coconut Research Institute, and others.
Key differences between SRC plantations and traditional fuelwood plantations are as follows:
In traditional plantations, trees are widely spaced, typically at 2 x 2 m intervals, and are clear-felled eight to ten years after planting. Thereafter, new trees are planted and the cycle repeated.
In SRC plantations, coppicing types of trees of the leguminous variety are more closely spaced, for instance at 1 x 1 m intervals. Instead of clear-cutting the trees, only the mature branches which are more than 40 mm in diameter are harvested, the tender branches being allowed to mature until they reach this diameter. After every harvest, new shoots sprout from the base, grow and mature in due course. The repeated harvesting of branches can be continued almost indefinitely. Each hectare of SRC plantations is expected to give a yield of 20 tonnes of dry wood and 3.5 tonnes of dry leaves annually on a sustainable basis. The woody biomass will have a market price of around Rs 1 500 (US$25) per tonne; the leaves can be used as animal fodder.
If the trials at these plantations are found to be economically attractive, it is proposed to lease out to the public state land which cannot be used for agricultural purposes, to establish and manage SRC plantations. The study will conclude with a feasibility report on the establishment of dendro power plants with the associated SRC plantations in Sri Lanka.
Any suggestions and comments on this project are most welcome.
For more information, please contact:
Mr P.G. Joseph, General Manager, Energy Conservation Fund,
410/34 Baudhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7,
Sri Lanka.
E-mail: [email protected]
The
Chia Meng Ricemill located in Nakorn Rachasima (Korat) has installed a 2.5-MW power plant
fuelled by rice husks. RWEDP organized a study tour for the chairmen of the Sri Lanka
Energy Conservation Fund and of the Sri Lanka National Energy Research and Development
Centre to study at first hand the use of rice husks and other residues as a source of
energy. (Source: Back to office report of A. Koopmans, Wood Energy Conservation
Specialist, RWEDP.)
Several agencies in Thailand are concerned with wood energy data. RWEDP brought them together in a National Working Group and initiated a national seminar/workshop on wood energy data and planning organized by the Department for Energy Development and Promotion (DEDP). The workshop was successful but it appears that there is still a long way to go before effective cooperation among the agencies will materialize. (Source: Back to office report of W.S. Hulscher, CTA, RWEDP.)
