Household energy is relevant to a considerable number of ministries or departments including energy, forestry, agriculture, rural development, urban development, health, foreign trade, planning, land use regulations, social affairs, education and training, industry, housing, finance, and commerce. It concerns all regional and provincial local authorities, some parastatals, private industries and many NGOs.
There is a growing awareness that these institutions do not operate in isolation, and if their policies are not aligned, it is hardly possible to design and implement an effective household energy policy. Present structures and operating methods, which tend to separate economic, social and environmental factors, are seen as hindering the successful assimilation of broad developmental and environmental aims.
The acknowledgement on the part of the health sector that health problems arising from present patterns of household energy use cannot be improved without close connections with other sectors, is seen as an important post-UNCED development. As energy issues have never traditionally been seen as relevant to health policy, neither has official energy policy traditionally embraced the domestic level. It is now necessary to use the knowledge of the health impact of domestic fuel shortage and low-grade fuel use to create new policy, new links, and joint activities with other sectors and partners. In similar fashion, the problems and solutions to the household energy issue highlight the need for links and cooperation between other sectors - links which are often either non-existent or weak.
To accomplish and strengthen the work outlined in this document, HEDON reiterates Agenda 21's call for a reshaping of the planning process, involving the modification and strengthening of existing institutions and the creation of structures which straddle traditional sector boundaries, aiming at improving capacities for integrating environmental and developmental objectives.
At the top level, the accent lies on a participatory approach, bringing together representatives from the major actors involved to analyze situations, design strategies and implement specific programmes.
At a regional and at village and town level, a similar participatory approach is required. Populations themselves must be closely involved at all stages, not so much as participants in a given or imposed programme, but as participants who themselves take responsibility for the project. Donor agencies can supply expert help when needed, but the essence must be that each participatory team assumes responsibility for the proper execution of the activity.
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The Regional Wood Energy Development Programme in Asia (RWEDP) RWEDP is a project executed by FAO and funded by the Government of the Netherlands with a planned duration of five years and a budget of U.S.$ 8.84 million. Fifteen countries participate: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Asian countries face an increasing need for energy services to support their economic and social development. Currently 70 to 80 percent of their overall energy needs are met by woodfuels. Biomass for cooking and heating dominate household energy use in the majority of the participant countries. Wood-fuels are also used in many types of rural industry (sugar palm or cassava processing, brick and lime burning and so on), for commercial applications (street food vending, restaurants, hospitals, military camps and the like) and at social or ceremonial events such as cremations or festivals. Previous versions of RWEDP have contributed to a better understanding of the complex dynamic of woodfuel flow and their interplay with supplies of alternative fuels to meet the energy needs of millions of urban and rural households, rural industries, village applications and commercial sectors. In response to predictions of a "fuelwood crisis", several countries have initiated actions aimed at improved and more competitive wood energy systems. Unfortunately, many of the poorest people of the region live in mountainous, arid and semi-arid areas and refugees camps, so have insufficient access to fuelwood, charcoal and other energy sources to meet daily energy needs. The current project aims to promote wood energy systems that are more sustainable and could become competitive with alternative energy sources. Actions are focused on strengthening policy analysis, energy strategy formulation and wood energy assessment in these technical areas: woodfuel production, woodfuel processing and marketing and woodfuel use. Executives and beneficiaries of the project include, among others, more than 2 000 government staff, NGOs, private voluntary organizations and regional organizations such as UNDP, ADB and ESCAP. |
