Emerging Opportunities in Cooking Fuels & in Changing Cooking Habits - Workshop 3 Recommendations Bonn 2013

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► Back to Thursday, 27 June 2013

Workshop 3: Emerging Opportunities in Cooking Fuels & in Changing Cooking Habits

This workshop gave an introduction to solid biomass energy and its improved usage. Presentations included best practices of sustainable wood energy production and processing, and best practices with regard to usage patterns and changing users' cooking habits. Participants debated the scaling up of fuel production and distribution opportunities and how to evaluate user behavior and user acceptance. Ways of informing programs and entrepreneurs about best and standardized practices were also discussed.

►	Facilitators/Chair: Ranyee Chiang, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves & Christa Roth, Food and Fuel
►	Rapporteur: Fiona Lambe

Objectives

• Discussing the latest developments in solid biomass energy and user behavior
• Identifying research and support needs for further developments in solid fuels and changing cooking habits
• Elaborating recommendations with regards to research needs and the support required to move from emerging to scalable opportunities

Presentations

►	Emerging Opportunities in Cooking Fuels and Changing Cooking Habits - Christa Roth, GIZ-HERA
►	Wood Energy Production and Processing to Charcoal in Madagascar and Senegal - Steve Sepp, ECO   - Consult
►	Production & Marketing of Pellets in Zambia, Creating Healthy Material Flows & Maximising Positive Impact through Business, Sonta Kauti, Emerging Cooking Solutions
►	Putting People at the Centre of the Design Process - Aaron Atteridge, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
►	Indoor Air Pollution in India - User acceptance of improved stoves in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West-Bengal - Gaurav Mehta & Vinay Jaju, Project Dharma
►	Impact Evaluation of Improved Stove Usage – The Role of Behavior Experiences and Outlook - Jörg Peters, RWI

Key Areas Discussed

1. Key challenges (policy,technical, financial) in fuel production and processing
2. Research needs/data gaps to be addressed to enhance the entire fuels value chain
3. Approaches to understanding user behavior and the broader socio-cultural context and how this feeds into the design of appropriate household energy interventions.
   

Recommendations

1. Need to integrate data on fuels (feedstock, processing, appliance options, etc.) as the basis for a future decision support tool for practitioners and policy makers

2. Break down vested interests in fuel supply to enhance value across the value chain by:

• Ensuring that all types of biomass fuels (solid, liquid, gaseous) are a priority in national planning and programming
• Strengthening civil society and community networks to ensure that producers of fuels have a voice
• Bringing women and the whole household into the value chain

3. There is an urgent need for the development of methods and tools for understanding user behavior and broader socio-cultural contexts.

Specific Actions Proposed (Including Responsibilities)

1. Create a plan for data collection and collation among partners as a first step toward compiling a comprehensive database (Responsible: GACC/GIZ?)
2. Commission the development of a “universal methods toolkit” which can be used to support stove designers, entrepreneurs and policy makers in various contexts to understand and incorporate user behavior in the design of appropriate household energy interventions. (Responsible: GACC, supported by research partners?)
3. Initiate a discussion among relevant partners on how national policy and programming can best be supported to prioritize biomass fuels in planning and programming (???)