Environmental and socio-economic Impact of improved Stoves - The Case of the Tsotso Stove in Northern Namibia

Chapter 1 Introduction About 2 billion people in the world rely on non-modern fuels to fulfil their cooking needs (UNDP, UNDESA, WEC, [46]2000). These people make use of biomass such as wood, crop residues and dung. In Namibia, 80% of the rural population rely on fuelwood (Wamukonya, [51]1997), p.3), and a switch to processed fuels like kerosene or even electricity is in general difficult for rural households, since people are poor and the dissemination of modern fuels is difficult (Worldbank, [53]1996). It has been found that the stove determines to a great deal the socio-economic and environmental impact of biomass use. These impacts are either internal or external to the households using the stove (Barnes et al., [4]1993, p.120). Within the households, the stove determines e.g. how much time is needed for cooking, how much wood is being used and the level of emissions that the household members are exposed to. External impacts are the stove’s effect on deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Realising the great potential benefits of improved stoves, several stove programmes have been conducted in the past, initially focusing on energy-efficiency, while nowadays the focus has shifted towards development concerns (Joseph et al., [21]1990, p.4; Nystro¨m, [35]1994, p.26). 1.1 Thesis Aim Compared to the huge number of different stove programmes that have been launched throughout the developing World, monitoring and evaluation efforts have been insufficient (Gill, [17]1987, p.140; Wallmo, Jacobson, [50]1998, p.100). Although there are efforts to achieve uniformity in the way stove programmes are monitored (see, for example S. Joseph, [22]1990), there is a definite need for detailed analysis to understand the relationships between stoves and their users (Nystro¨m, [35]1994, p.33) which ultimately determines the stove’s impact on the environment. Taking the example of the Oshana and Omusati region in northern Namibia, the aim of this thesis is therefore to evaluate the socio-economic and environmental impact of the Tsotso Stove. In order to do this, five thesis questions were established: ˆ What is the stove’s impact on deforestation? ˆ Does the stove help families to save time and if yes, how much? ˆ What is the stove’s impact on the household members’ health? ˆ What is the stove’s impact on the households’ bugdet? ˆ What is the stove’s impact on cooking satisfaction? What distinguishes this thesis from a stove programme evaluation is that it further tries to increase the understanding of the system comprised of stoves, households and the environment by applying a system dynamics approach. 3