Want an extra US$250 a year? Adopt fuel-efficient stoves

28 July 2009, The East African
URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200907271409.html

Nairobi:   The carbon credit trade -- a by-product of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change -- is gaining credibility in the developing world, by using the double-pronged approach of making money for rural communities while at the same time conserving the environment.  For instance, Carbon Manna Africa, a Kenyan-registered company is working on reducing greenhouse gases by promoting the use of fuel-efficient stoves that use less firewood, thereby reducing the amount of trees felled by rural communities.

The stoves cost $5 for the families that can afford them, and $2 for families getting them at subsidised rate.  The households that adopt the stoves can earn up to $250 per year. On joining the Carbon Manna project, a household is supplied with a special stove and is required to own a mobile phone to which profits from the carbon credit will be transferred.  Project officials keep records of all stove users and make sure that the household uses only the required firewood as fuel, to minimise deforestation.

Carbon Manna Africa chief executive officer Geoffrey Kiringa said that a household of between four and six people emits about 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year, and the traditional use of firewood by the majority of Kenyans in the rural areas is the main culprit.  Carbon Manna is currently running a pilot project in Mbeere district. "W e are currently carrying out a survey to establish the domestic fuel used in households in the region and the amount used annually.  Rural communities might not understand the complexities of global warming, but they have seen rivers drying up and experience water scarcity," he said.

According to the UN, Kenya could earn millions of dollars for reducing its deforestation rate through a carbon trading mechanism. The global carbon market currently stands at $140 billion.

Mr Kiringa said that the project will benefit households financially, while also reducing nationwide rates of deforestation and desertification.  Carbon Manna Africa is targeting about one million households and has plans to start a similar project in Rwanda.  Carbon credit relies on the concept of "avoided deforestation," whereby developing countries are paid to prevent deforestation.

This is based on the carbon storage capabilities of tropical forests, since about 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions are produced by deforestation.