Bhutan

Community-based Sustainable Energy from Biomass (Biogas Demonstration) project in Radhi, Trashigang to promote trapping and utilization of sustainable energy from biomass for household cooking purposes as a means to reduce fuel wood consumption.

Problems:
The forest in Radhi geog has virtually disappeared and what remains is the mostly scrub forest.  The environment stress is mainly through anthropogenic activities and overgrazing by cattle.  These stress has resulted in two major landslides in Chundiri and Yudiri areas in the early 1980s.  These environmental problems and issues have invited lot of attention of both research scholars and development agencies in the past and continue to draw their interest and attention. 

For example, the Renewable Natural Resources Research Center, Wengkhar, Mongar has initiated watershed management projects in these major landslide affected areas and invested huge amounts of resources to address the problems.  The results are positive and the landslide areas are now more or less stabilized and threats significantly reduced.  The World Bank implemented large size GEF SLM project selected Radhi geog as one of its first pilot sites in 2005-2006 based on the high level of land degradation in the area. 

However, Radhi still needs further support and guidance.  Though farmers are increasingly using electricity and LPG for meeting their household cooking and lighting, they also continue to depend on fuelwood for other non-household cooking needs like cooking of animal food, brewing of local drinks and during community religious festivals and ceremonies.  Moreover, the cost involved especially for purchase of LPG is beyond the reach of most farmers.  Moreover, the cost of LPG cylinder is expected to only increase in future and therefore, it is not a sustainable option for the farmers in the long run. Majority of farmers continue to depend on fuelwood for cooking.  Every year farmers of Radhi buy truckloads of firewood from Karungla Forest Management Unit, located at about 100 km away from the geog.  They also collect drift wood from Gamri chu (river) and from the surrounding forest areas.

Using a very conservation estimate, even if each household of 571 consumes only a half truck-load of fuelwood every year, it comes to 285 trukload of fuelwood which translates into many hundreds of trees.  Therefore, it is very important to introduce sustainable energy from biomass to reduce fuelwood consumption in Radhi Geog.  This would go a long way in protecting the forest and its biodiversity.  The positive benefits from burning of GHG's from cattle dung will contribute positively towards reducing global warming and climate change. 

Organizational Background and Capacity:
The Natural Resources Management Group includes representatives from all the 18 Chiwogs, mainly formed to address the issues related to land degradation and sustainable land management.  The group has a management committee and comprises of a chairman, treasurer and a secretary.  The group has a written constitution and by-laws.  The group is well informed and trained to plan, implement, and monitor sustainable land management practices and promote sustainable utilization of natural resources and environmental protection. 

Project Objective and Intended Results:
The main objective is to promote trapping and utilization of sustainable energy from biomass (biogas from cattle dung) for household cooking purposes as means to reduce fuelwood consumption thereby protect unnecessary felling of trees from the nearby or other forest areas.  The other specific objectives are:
1. Promote Biogas as a sustainable alternative source of energy and act as an incentive for stall feeding of the cattle. 
2. Overcome winter fodder storage by promoting willow tree as a source of winter fodder and live fencing and fodder conservation technologies like silage making;
3. Reduce overgrazing of the area through promotion of improved pasture development, improved cattle breed, stall feeding and disposal of unproductive cattle;
4. Mainstreaming of sustainable land management practices and environment friendly animal husbandry practices and management regime;
5. Promote organic vegetable kitchen gardening through application of slurry/bio fertilizer from the biogas plant:
6. Initiate community-based repair, maintenance and renovation of afforestation plantation programme implemented i the past in degraded land;
7. Consolidate group saving scheme for ensuring continuity and sustainability and efficient management of the various activities initiated under SGP.

Intended Results:
The proposed activities will directly or indirectly contribute to GEF Strategic objectives related to protection of biodiversity, mitigation of adverse effects due to climate change and prevent land degradation.  By promoting biogas technology, the use of fuelwood is expected to reduce and thereby save many trees from destruction; to safeguard biodiversity of nearby forest, environmental degradation due to overgrazing, stall feeding and reduction of unproductive cattle population.  By promoting and supporting sustainable land management practices, the loss of topsoil through soil erosion, landslip, gully and ravine formation and landslide will be greatly reduced or rehabilitated.  The planting of local species trees and fodder trees as part of maintenance work in the degraded area will increase the tree coverage and enhance carbon stocking ability of the area.  The training of farmers in group concept, sustainable land management, use of biogas and organic vegetable kitchen gardening will enhance their appreciation on the importance of environment conservation and protection as way of ensurinmg sustained economic growth and rural livelihood. 

The other important result area is the strengthening and building of institutional capacity of the local communities mainly in terms of creating awareness on the importance of environment conservation and protection as way of ensuring sustained economic growth and rural livelihood.  Enhanced local capacity and knowledge system to pursue environment friendly and sustainable energy from biomass will contribute to reduction in emission of Green House Gases from cattle dung.  The overall goal is to enhance the economic situation of the community through increasing their income generating capacity and investment opportunities while at the same time protect the environment. 

UNDP Programmes