Indo-US Joint Centre To Research Link Between IAP And COPD

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) is a major public health problem affecting millions of people in both developed and developing countries. There is no effective treatment for COPD, which is characterised by chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Whilst many millions of people in the developed world suffer from COPD, the problem is particularly severe in rural communities in the developing world. As a report on Healthcanal.com explains, high incidences of environmental lung disease are being caused primarily by indoor cooking using biomass and other solid fuels.

A recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) breaks down the causes of COPD further.

“COPD has opposite patterns according to geographic areas. In high- and middle-income countries, tobacco smoke is the biggest risk factor, while in low-income countries exposure to indoor air pollution, such as the use of biomass fuels for cooking and heating, causes the COPD burden. Almost 3 billion people worldwide use biomass and coal as their main source of energy for cooking, heating, and other household needs. In these communities, indoor air pollution is responsible for a greater fraction of COPD risk than smoking or outdoor air pollution.Biomass fuels used by women for cooking account for the high prevalence of COPD among non-smoking women in parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Indoor air pollution resulting from the burning of wood and other biomass fuels is estimated to kill two million women and children each year.”

Despite research by the WHO into COPD occurrence in non-smokers, the pathobiology and a definitive link between indoor air pollution (caused by burning  solid fuels and cooking over traditional stoves) and the disease is still unclear.

To address this issue, the Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) has awarded funding to The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to establish the first centre to study COPD and other lung diseases in non-smokers living in rural India.

The centre, to be called the Indo-US Center of Excellence for Environmental Lung Diseases, will be led jointly by Shyam Biswal, Professor at the Bloomberg School’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Sundeep Salvi, Director of India’s Chest Research Foundation at Pune and Anurag Agrawal, MD of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in Delhi.

Speaking to Healthcanal.com, Biswal said “We are beginning to appreciate the global problem of non-smoker COPD but our understanding of pathobiology is unclear. This Centre will attempt to bring together experts from both countries to face this public health challenge”.

The Indian investigators will share data with their US counterparts on a number of factors influencing levels of IAP. These include firewood consumption in rural homes, duration of time spent cooking, level of exposure to toxic fumes and gene-environment interaction. Such information will provide a clearer understanding of susceptibility to the disease, leading to the development of new treatments for the affected population.

Read the full story on: Indo-U.S. Center Established to Study Nonsmoking-Related Causes of COPD

Clean Cookstoves Contribute To Reduction In Nigeria's Carbon Emissions

In 2005 the Kyoto Protocol set in place a global schedule for the reduction of greenhouse gases, prompting countries across the world to implement specific emission reduction programmes to help them meet their new obligations. 

Just two years ago, Nigeria had no such programme in place. Yet, as the country’s widely-read Daily Independent reports, the latest statistics from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) show that the country’s carbon emissions reduction performance is now the best in Africa.  The dramatic change is attributed to a range of energy efficiency programmes – including initiatives to introduce cleaner cookstoves to the market – and means that Nigeria currently ranks ninth in anticipated certified emissions reductions across the world. 

According to the report, Nigeria’s average annual savings earned from Carbon Emission Reduction (CER) credits form 1.03% of the world’s total (behind only China, India, Brazil, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, Chile and Argentina), and are largely driven by four registered Carbon Development Mechanisms. Three of these - the Kwale Recovery of Associated Gas Project, the Ovade-Ogharefe Gas Capture and Processing Project and the Asuoku/Umutu Gas Recovery and Marketing Facility – work to create carbon savings in the gas industry. The fourth, Save 80 Fuel Wood Stoves, is a clean cookstove initiative seeking to make improved wood stoves more readily available in Nigeria.

Speaking to the Daily Independent, CDM expert Victor Fodeke says that CDMs in the country have a bright future. He highlights the fact that seven new projects submitted to the UNFCCC for approval have passed the monitoring stage. Among these projects are two further clean cookstoves initiatives. 

This is good news for clean cookstove manufacturers, who hope that these initiatives will help them to offset the costs of production and distribution in Nigeria, and lower the price of the much-needed stoves, making them available to the consumers most impacted by IAP.

Photo Courtesy: Bioenergylists
Read the full story on: Nigeria earns emission credits amid high potential

Envirofit India Selling A 'Smoke-less' Future

Traditional firewood cookstoves are not just appliances for cooking food. They are cultural products that have evolved over centuries to serve the needs of the local community according to local cuisine, average family sizes and availability of fuel. 

Taking on the challenge of redesigning a product so firmly embedded in the community is not easy. In an interview for Smoke in the Kitchen, Harish Anchan, Managing Director of Envirofit India, details the company’s story so far in the improved cookstove space.

Designing the product

“We feel that a cookstove should reflect the voice of the consumer” explains Harish. To hear this voice, Envirofit assessed the needs of 120 families in South India, tracking their cooking habits extensively. This research shaped the design of the first Envirofit stove launched in 2008.

“We did not stop there. Over the years we have constantly made changes and improvements to the stoves. The Envirofit stove that was developed in 2008 is very different from the stove being marketed in 2011.”

Why India?

This local research-based approach to design has been key to the success of Envirofit, and explains why the company has focused operations in the South of India so far.

“120 million households in India cook their daily meals by burning biomass fuel (wood, animal dung or agricultural waste)”Anchan says, outlining Envirofit’s reasons for choosing India as its launch market. 

“Most meals are cooked on open fires or rudimentary, inefficient stoves that release high levels of toxic emissions into people’s homes. The World Health Organisation estimates that this Indoor Air Pollution kills over half a million people in India each year, with 56% of these deaths occurring in children under 5.”

Getting to market

Choosing the launch market and designing the perfect cookstove were only the first pieces of the puzzle for Envirofit. Marketing the cookstoves to an audience unused to investing in such appliances, and ensuring adequate distribution networks were in place, were both vital factors to guaranteeing success.

Envirofit made use of multiple existing networks to reach customers, including “traditional retail distribution networks, Government, NGOs, MFIs, institutions, village entrepreneurs and self-help groups”. Each of these routes offers Envirofit different opportunities. “Distribution networks service customers by providing stoves to their doorsteps at a very low margin, whereas NGOs spread the social message of the company and build awareness of the general issues surrounding IAP.”

Traditional retail networks have proven very effective in getting Envirofit stoves to end users. Anchan identifies utensil shops as being particularly effective retail spaces in this capacity. 

A common misconception is that affordability remains one of the biggest barriers to increased sales of improved cookstoves. Envirofit’s experience does not tally with this: “Affordability has only been perceived as an issue when the product is marketed solely as a solution that deals with health hazards. When people realise the cost savings improved cookstoves offer, as well as their aspirational value, they are less concerned about affordability.”

Success so far

Envirofit stoves reduce harmful emissions by up to 80%, and require up to 60% less fuel. They have an average operational lifespan of 5 years, compared to the six months offered by traditional clay cookstoves. These factors have enabled Envirofit to sell over 200,000 units so far, which Anchan estimates means they have impacted the lives of one million people. He is not content to stop there: “A far larger challenge exists and we are therefore building distribution alliances, micro-finance partnerships and tapping into rural networks to take cookstoves to more customers.”

Looking Ahead

What does the future hold for Envirofit? Anchan identifies carbon finance as a key activity for the company over the coming months, and something that has the potential to drastically increase the reach and social effects of Envirofit’s work. “Envirofit is working with Eco-Securities to provide carbon finance in India. We have submitted documents for registration to the voluntary carbon programme, making us the first domestic stoves carbon trading programme in India. Once we have access to carbon finance, we can offset it against the cost of manufacturing stoves and raising awareness.”

Role of Government 

“The Government has a crucial role in addressing India’s development challenges and we look to support this in every way we can. With regard to clean cookstoves, they can help in three major ways. First, by creating an eco-system for stove manufacturers through awareness campaigns which will enable rapid creation of markets for stoves. Second, the Government can utilize and mobile networks to solve the problem of last mile access by creating better distribution channels. And third, by enabling low interest loans akin to farm loans, the Government can enable the poorest of the poor to buy improved cook stoves. The new Government cookstoves initiative is delivering progress in each area and we want to form deeper partnerships to enable this work to benefit the people most impacted by IAP”.

Exciting times lie ahead for Envirofit India.

Carbon Offsets For Cookstoves Project Making Ugandan Households Healthier

Deforestation in Africa is driving up the cost of firewood, and forcing women to go further afield to gather fuel, putting them at greater risk of attacks and assaults. As a result of this, an increasing number of improved cookstove manufacturers and carbon financing organizations from around the world are entering the market seeking to make a difference.

The latest company to launch a project in Africa is Offsetters, a Canadian carbon management solutions provider co-developing a cookstove offset scheme, as reported by CNW.

The article explains how the Offsetters project aims “to distribute thousands of new, clean-burning cookstoves to Ugandan households over the next five years, which will have the equivalent effect of removing approximately 4000 cars from the road for a year.” This carbon-saving is in addition to health benefits that cleaner cookstoves offer to people who are dying simply trying to cook their daily meals.

The Offsetters project is registered under the Gold Standard, which ensures that carbon savings are genuine and that they make tangible contributions to sustainable development. By selling verifiable carbon credits, stove manufacturers can offset the cost of production and distribution of improved cookstoves, making them more affordable to a greater consumer base.

The cookstoves are based on improved combustion efficiency technology. This extra efficiency cuts cooking times in half, while each stove consumes 50% less fuel than traditional cookstoves, resulting in substantial cost savings for Ugandan families.

Interviewed by CNW, Offsetters Founder and CEO James Tansey said; "The results of co-developing such an internationally valuable project that ties into a basic, daily human need to cook and feed oneself, in relation to climate change, are enormous. From reducing environmental impact and potentially improving physical health to reducing wood collecting and cooking time, these cookstoves will change the way the Ugandan people live their lives.”

Photo Courtesy: Offsetters
Read the full story on: Clean cookstove project in Africa has Canadian ties