Estimating Willingness to Pay for Improved Stoves in Rural China

November 25, 2013 · 0 comments

Estimating Willingness to Pay for Improved Stoves in Rural China Using Averting Behavior Method, 2013. Fei Yu, Asian Development Bank

Indoor air pollution (IAP) is a leading health risk factor for rural households in developing countries (Ezzati, et al, 2002). The combination of heavy reliance on solid fuel (biomass and coal) and low efficiency stoves, together with poor ventilation, results in dangerous levels of pollutants in the form of gases and suspended particulates (Smith, 1999). It accounts for more than 500,000 deaths annually in China, and ranks as the fourth most important cause of loss of a healthy life (DALYs) in developing countries (Ezzati and Baris ed. 2007). Women and children are particularly affected by IAP, as normally they are in the cooking area or home environment much longer than other family members. During 2002-2006, the World Bank and Government of China tested affordable household energy technologies and behavioral interventions designed to substantially reduce IAP and exposure to it and, thereby, to lower the associated health risks (Ezzati and Baris ed, 2007).

This paper uses the household level data collected during the World Bank/Chinese Government project to estimate rural households’ willingness to pay for improved stoves to avoid health risks due to indoor air pollution. The estimates indicate how household demographics, income, education, and health history affect households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for improved stoves using a probit model. Presence of children 5 and younger and participation in health education activities are major factors associated with greater WTP for improved stoves. These estimates appear to be a first for determining WTP for averting IAP related health risks in rural China.

UNICEF – Indoor air pollution and child health in India

November 25, 2013 · 0 comments

Indoor air pollution and child health in India, 2013. UNICEF

In India indoor air pollution is among the most serious threats to the health of children under five years. TERI has actively highlighted the risks associated with indoor air pollution and advocated the adoption of cleaner and sustainable alternatives. Nearly 82% of pregnant women in rural India are exposed to biomass-related indoor air pollution, which increases the risk of low birth weight.

India derives the bulk of its cooking energy needs from biomass solid fuels, such as twigs, wood, shrubs, crop residue or cow dung and utilize crude combustion apparatus cook stoves. The burning of biomass fuels releases various indoor air pollutants, like particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds. According to the 2001 national census, 82.5% of rural Indian households used biomass as cooking fuel, and the National Family Health Survey in 2005-6 provided similar rates.

USAID TRAction – Call for abstracts on household air pollution

November 15, 2013 · 1 comment

USAID TRAction – Call for abstracts on household air pollution

The USAID Translating Research into Action (TRAction) Project, which supports implementation science to identify best practices and ensure that evidence can be applied in practice, is sponsoring a special issue of the Journal of Health Communication. The special issue will focus on behavior change communication (BCC) strategies related to improved cookstove and improved fuels research, and methods for sharing information to inform programs or policies.

Increased uptake and correct, consistent use of clean cookstoves and fuels involves substantial behavior change. Behavior change communication draws on a broad range of frameworks, strategies and tools including but not limited to communication, social marketing, community empowerment, and advocacy. This special issue will feature research that seeks to understand and evaluate the strategies and tools for effective BCC within four critical areas of clean cookstove and fuels research: 1) demand creation, 2) financing, 3) correct and consistent use, and 4) policies to enable scale-up. The issue will highlight what we know about BCC for clean cookstoves and improved fuels, lessons learned, remaining questions and new horizons for research in this area.

TRAction is currently seeking abstracts for commentaries, editorials, field reports, and research articles on the use of BCC approaches for improving the adoption and sustained use of improved cookstoves and/or better fuels. TRAction is specifically interested in research on clean cooking technologies that are proven to substantially reduce emissions and have the potential to result in positive health impacts. We welcome all submissions for consideration at this time.

To Apply: Please email an abstract of the proposed manuscript (200 words or less) to Kendra Williams (kwilliams@urc-chs.com). In the email cover letter, please indicate the type of submission (commentary, editorial, field report, or research article). For this special issue, we intend to select 6-8 research articles, 3-4 commentaries, 3-4 field reports, and 3-4 editorials. Research articles are expected to be 5,000 words or less, and commentaries, field reports, and editorials should be 2,000 words or less, excluding abstracts, charts, tables, and references. All submissions will be reviewed by the special issue editors and will be sent out for peer review if appropriate.

Expected Timeline:

  • Abstract Submission Deadline – January 3, 2014 Selected abstracts will be notified by January 20
  • Manuscript Submission Deadline – April/May 2014 (TBD)
  • Peer Review Deadline (to be initiated by TRAction) – June 2014
  • Revised Article Submission Deadline – July 2014
  • Anticipated Publication Date – December 2014

Factors influencing the large-scale uptake by households of cleaner and more efficient household energy technologies

November 14, 2013 · 0 comments

Factors influencing the large-scale uptake by households of cleaner and more efficient household energy technologies, 2013.

Puzzolo E, Stanistreet D, Pope D, Bruce N, Rehfuess E. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.

Abstract – The main objective of this systematic review was to describe and assess the importance of different enabling and/or limiting factors that have been found to influence the large-scale uptake by households of cleaner and more efficient household energy technologies. These comprise five intervention areas: ICS and four clean fuels, i.e. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biogas, solar cookers and alcohol fuels.

More specifically, the systematic review: (i) provides a framework consisting of seven domains of factors influencing large-scale uptake, distinguishing between short-term adoption and longer-term sustained use; (ii) gives a summary of existing knowledge relating to each of these domains, including interpretation of data with respect to equity; (iii) outlines a proposal for a tool to facilitate implementation of these findings in programme planning, and (iv) sets an agenda for essential primary research to better understand how policies and programmes to promote cleaner and more efficient household energy technologies must be designed in order to be successful.

For all five types of intervention, a broad range of factors were identified across seven domains which include: (i) Fuel and technology characteristics, (ii) Household and setting characteristics, (iii) Knowledge and perceptions, (iv) Financial, tax and subsidy aspects, (v) Market development, (vi) Regulation, legislation and standards, and (vii) Programmatic and policy mechanisms. Rather than presenting these factors as discrete enablers and barriers, the systematic review suggests that these can most usefully be seen as operating on a spectrum, so that when present or satisfactory they are enabling, and vice versa.

In terms of relative importance, while factors such as meeting household needs, fuel savings, higher income levels, effective financing and facilitative government action seem critical and necessary for success, none is sufficient in its own right to guarantee adoption and sustained use, and all those relevant to a given setting need to be assessed. Accordingly, these are described as ‘necessary but not sufficient’. The nature of the available evidence does not support a more formal prioritisation of factors, and the relevance of most will vary according to context (setting, fuel and technology); indeed some are very specific to fuel type, especially for biogas and solar cookers.

Consistency across different types of evidence, countries and settings supports the robustness of the findings and the general relevance of individual factors. Findings from this review draw on experience from some large-scale programmes including the Indian and Chinese national improved stove programmes, the national mega-conversion from kerosene to LPG in Indonesia and the Brazilian LPG experience, but mainly stem from much smaller-scale projects and programmes.

Winrock/EPA webinar – Key Factors Influencing Adoption

November 14, 2013 · 0 comments

November 21, 2013 – Winrock/EPA webinar – Key Factors Influencing Adoption

Do you want to learn more about which characteristics of technologies, fuels and households have been shown to affect adoption of cleaner, more efficient cookstoves and fuels? Have you wondered about the extent to which financing, market development or government regulation and standards affect household energy technology uptake?

If so, register today for the Winrock and U.S. EPA-organized webinar “Key Factors Influencing Adoption” taking place next Thursday, November 21st at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Dr. Elisa Puzzolo from the World Health Organization and Dr. Debbi Stanistreet from The University of Liverpool will present findings from the recently released systematic review “Factors influencing the large-scale uptake by households of cleaner and more efficient household energy technologies

This review describes and assesses the importance of different enabling and limiting factors that have been found to influence the large-scale uptake by households of cleaner and more efficient household energy technologies. These comprise 5 intervention areas: improved solid fuel cookstoves (ICS) and 4 clean fuels, i.e., liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biogas, solar cookers and alcohol fuels. In total the review selected 101 eligible studies across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Findings draw on experience from some large-scale programs including the Indian and Chinese national improved stove programs, the national mega-conversion from kerosene to LPG in Indonesia and the Brazilian LPG experience, but mainly stem from much smaller-scale projects and initiatives.

Webinar participation is free. For the web portion, a high-speed internet connection is required. A dedicated phone line is required to listen to audio (the web portion does not include audio capacity). Additional log-in and call-in information will be provided upon registration.

Indoor exposure to particulate matter and the incidence of ALRIs among children:

November 8, 2013 · 1 comment

Indoor Air. 2013 Oct;23(5):379-86.

Indoor exposure to particulate matter and the incidence of acute lower respiratory infections among children: a birth cohort study in urban Bangladesh.

Gurley ES, Homaira N, Salje H, Ram PK, Haque R, Petri W, Bresee J, Moss WJ, Breysse P, Luby SP, Azziz-Baumgartner E.
icddr,b; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Approximately half of all children under two years of age in Bangladesh suffer from an acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) each year. Exposure to indoor biomass smoke has been consistently associated with an increased risk of ALRI in young children.

Our aim was to estimate the effect of indoor exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5 ) on the incidence of ALRI among children in a low-income, urban community in Bangladesh. We followed 257 children through two years of age to determine their frequency of ALRI and measured the PM2.5 concentrations in their sleeping space. Poisson regression was used to estimate the association between ALRI and the number of hours per day that PM2.5 concentrations exceeded 100 μg/m(3) , adjusting for known confounders.

Each hour that PM2.5 concentrations exceeded 100 μg/m(3) was associated with a 7% increase in incidence of ALRI among children aged 0-11 months (adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.14), but not in children 12-23 months old (adjusted IRR 1.00, 95% CI 0.92-1.09).

Results from this study suggest that reducing indoor PM2.5 exposure could decrease the frequency of ALRI among infants, the children at highest risk of death from these infections.

Characteristics of Particulate Matter and Volatile Organic Compounds in Cow Dung Combustion.

November 8, 2013 · 0 comments

Environ Sci Technol. 2013 Nov 1.

Emission Characteristics of Particulate Matter and Volatile Organic Compounds in Cow Dung Combustion.

Park D, Barabad ML, Lee G, Kwon SB, Cho Y, Lee D, Cho K, Lee K. Eco-Transport Research Division, Korea Railroad Research Institute , Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do 437-757, Republic of Korea.

Biomass fuel is used for cooking and heating, especially in developing countries. Combustion of biomass fuel can generate high levels of indoor air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

This study characterized PM and VOC emissions from cow dung combustion in a controlled experiment. Dung from grass-fed cows was dried and combusted using a dual-cone calorimeter. Heat fluxes of 10, 25, and 50 kW/m2 were applied. The concentrations of PM and VOCs were determined using a dust spectrometer and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, respectively. PM and VOC emission factors were much higher for the lower heat flux, implying a fire ignition stage.

When the heat flux was 50 kW/m2, the CO2 emission factor was highest and the PM and VOC emission factors were lowest. Particle concentrations were highest in the 0.23-0.3 μm size range at heat fluxes of 25 and 50 kW/m2. Various toxic VOCs, including acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, benzene, and toluene, were detected at high concentrations.

Although PM and VOC emission factors at 50 kW/m2 were lower, they were high enough to cause extremely high indoor air pollution. The characteristics of PM and VOC emissions from cow dung combustion indicated potential health effects of indoor air pollution in developing countries.

The effect of biomass fuel exposure on the prevalence of asthma in adults in India

November 8, 2013 · 0 comments

J Asthma. 2013 Oct 28.

The effect of biomass fuel exposure on the prevalence of asthma in adults in India – review of current evidence.

Trevor J, Antony V, Jindal SK. Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, AL , USA and.

Introduction: The combustion of biomass fuels is a major source of respiratory disease among individuals in the developing world. Over two million people world-wide rely on biomass fuels to supply their household energy needs with an estimated 1.6 million deaths annually being attributable to biomass smoke exposure. As a developing country, India relies heavily on the use of solid fuels as a source of energy. These materials supply 75% of the country’s domestic energy need and are attributed as the cause of over 600 000 deaths annually. Diseases such as chronic bronchitis and acute lower respiratory tract infections are strongly correlated to biomass smoke exposure. While not as strongly correlated, accumulating evidence suggests that asthma prevalence may be related to solid fuel smoke.

Methods: This review examines the current literature linking biomass smoke exposure to the reporting of asthma symptoms. A PubMed search was performed using key terms biomass, asthma, India and respiratory disease. Preference was given to recent articles that surveyed the adult population within India.

Results: The reviewed articles showed an increased odds ratio for reporting a diagnosis of asthma or symptoms consistent with asthma following biomass smoke exposure. While the literature supports a strong association between household air pollution and the development of chronic bronchitis and acute lower respiratory tract infections in India, this review establishes a more firm relationship between reported asthma symptoms and biomass smoke exposure.

Conclusion: The exposure to biomass fuel smoke results in respiratory diseases in developing countries. Among these diseases, asthma appears to be a preventable pulmonary pathology that is associated with household air pollution. Measures to reduce exposure may decrease the burden of disease which could help advance social and economic progress in these nations. Further research and out-reach efforts are needed to reduce the total burden of lung diseases, including asthma, across the developing world. This reduction could save millions of dollars annually and lower morbidity and mortality in the affected populations.

Biomass smoke in Burkina Faso: what is the relationship between particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and kitchen characteristics?

November 8, 2013 · 0 comments

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2013 Oct 4.

Biomass smoke in Burkina Faso: what is the relationship between particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and kitchen characteristics?

Yamamoto SS, Louis VR, Sié A, Sauerborn R. Institute of Public Health, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 324, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
Email: shelby.yamamoto@urz.uni-heidelberg.de.

In Burkina Faso where cooking with biomass is very common, little information exists regarding kitchen characteristics and their impact on air pollutant levels. The measurement of air pollutants such as respirable particulate matter (PM10), an important component of biomass smoke that has been linked to adverse health outcomes, can also pose challenges in terms of cost and the type of equipment needed. Carbon monoxide could potentially be a more economical and simpler measure of air pollution.

The focus of this study was to first assess the association of kitchen characteristics with measured PM10 and CO levels and second, the relationship of PM10 with CO concentrations, across these different kitchen characteristics in households in Nouna, Burkina Faso. Twenty-four-hour concentrations of PM10 (area) were measured with portable monitors and CO (area and personal) estimated using color dosimeter tubes. Data on kitchen characteristics were collected through surveys. Most households used both wood and charcoal burned in three-stone and charcoal stoves. Mean outdoor kitchen PM10 levels were relatively high (774 μg/m3, 95 % CI 329-1,218 μg/m3), but lower than indoor concentrations (Satterthwaite t value, -6.14; p < 0.0001). In multivariable analyses, outdoor kitchens were negatively associated with PM10 (OR = 0.06, 95 % CI 0.02-0.16, p value <0.0001) and CO (OR = 0.03, 95 % CI 0.01-0.11, p value <0.0001) concentrations.

Strong area PM10 and area CO correlations were found with indoor kitchens (Spearman’s r = 0.82, p < 0.0001), indoor stove use (Spearman’s r = 0.82, p < 0.0001), and the presence of a smoker in the household (Spearman’s r = 0.83, p < 0.0001). Weak correlations between area PM10 and personal CO levels were observed with three-stone (Spearman’s r = 0.23, p = 0.008) and improved stoves (Spearman’s r = 0.34, p = 0.003). This indicates that the extensive use of biomass fuels and multiple stove types for cooking still produce relatively high levels of exposure, even outdoors, suggesting that both fuel subsidies and stove improvement programs are likely necessary to address this problem. These findings also indicate that area CO color dosimeter tubes could be a useful measure of area PM10 concentrations when levels are influenced by strong emission sources or when used in indoors. The weaker correlation observed between area PM10 and personal CO levels suggests that area exposures are not as useful as proxies for personal exposures, which can vary widely from those recorded by stationary monitors.

Use of remotely reporting electronic sensors

November 8, 2013 · 0 comments

Environ Sci Technol. 2013 Nov 4.

USE OF REMOTELY REPORTING ELECTRONIC SENSORS FOR ASSESSING USE OF WATER FILTERS AND COOKSTOVES IN RWANDA.

Thomas EA, Barstow CK, Abadie Rosa G, Majorin F, Clasen TF.

Remotely reporting electronic sensors offer the potential to reduce bias in monitoring use of environmental health interventions. In the context of a five-month randomized controlled trial of household water filters and improved cookstoves in rural Rwanda, we collected data from intervention households on product compliance using (i) monthly surveys and direct observations by community health workers and environmental health officers, and (ii) sensor-equipped filters and cookstoves deployed for about two weeks in each household. The adoption rate interpreted by the sensors varied from the household reporting. 96.5% of households reported primarily using the intervention stove, while the sensors interpreted 73.2% use. 90.2% of households reported using the intervention filter regularly, while the sensors interpreted no more than 90.2%. The sensor-collected data estimated use to be lower than conventionally-collected data both for water filters (approximately 36% less water volume per day) and cookstoves (approximately 40% fewer uses per week). An evaluation of intra-household consistency in use suggests that households are not using their filters or stoves on an exclusive basis, and may be both drinking untreated water at times and using other stoves (“stove-stacking”). These results provide additional evidence that surveys and direct observation may exaggerate compliance with household-based environmental interventions.

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →