Sustainability Assessment of Improved Household Cookstove Dissemination

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Sustainability Assessment of Improved Cookstove Dissemination

The Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD-DAC) defines sustainability as “The continuation of benefits from a development intervention after major assistance has been completed. The probability of continued long term benefits. The resilience to risks of the net benefit flows over time.” Thus, sustainability of development projects means that its achievements will continue in the long term. Project’s outcomes will continue to be generated as well as impacts. Assessing the sustainability of an ongoing project is restricted to the estimation of the probability of its lasting effects.

Experiences on dissemination or promotion of improved cooking stoves are numerous as stove projects have been carried out since the late 70ies all over the world. Many of them have been evaluated by the implementing agency or by donors. One comprehensive evaluation of successes and failures has been done by the World Bank in 1994.
Over the last 30 years GIZ has gained a lot of experiences in supporting the dissemination of efficient stoves. Based on own lessons learnt and with reference to the World Bank review, GIZ’s programme on Poverty-oriented Basic Energy Services (HERA) has now developed a detailed list with indicators for assessing sustainability.

GIZ HERA differentiates between two categories:

a) Sustainability criteria which assess whether the changes induced by the project are sustainable or not;

b) Sustainability factors which influence the probability of achieving sustainable results.

a) Sustainability criteria

Four elements have been retained as measurable sustainability criteria for improved cookstove programs: penetration rate, usage rate, maintenance rate, and replacement rate. The importance of building up markets for improved cooking stoves (ICS) is one of the lessons learnt during the last decade. However, not only the production and sale of a big number of improved stoves, but their usage and, ultimately, their replacement when they are broken characterise a sustainable stove market.

b) Sustainability factors

There are many factors influencing positively or negatively the penetration, usage, maintenance and replacement rates of improved stoves. GIZ HERA thus differentiates between factors which influence producers to continue producing and selling ICS; factors which promote continued high demand for ICS; factors which encourage ICS users to use, maintain and replace their stoves; and factors which enhance a supportive political framework for ICS markets. It is difficult to determine the relevance and influence of each single factor on the continuation of the project’s benefits after its end. They also might reinforce each other both in a positive but also in a negative way. Thus, the emphasis given to each one of the factors is highly contextual and may also vary from one project to another according to the various approaches used.

This framework for sustainability assessment mainly refers to local artisanal or semi-industrial stove production. Many of the factors might also apply for imported stoves. However, the import of products raises further questions that are not fully considered here as GIZ’s focus has been on supporting the development and promotion of local production and demand.