Sustainable Solutions for the Cordillera Mountains

Cordillera Conservation Trust

Tignayan para iti Konserbasyon ti Kordilyera

A fire lighting the night in Gumhang, Ifugao

Fuel Efficiency Development

One unifying fact in the different types of forest use exist in the villages that were covered, whether Pine, Dipterocarp, or Mossy it was observed that for a majority of the villages the primary source of fuel for cooking and other activities was wood from adjacent forest areas.

 

Wood is still the fuel of choice for several reasons; wood is cheaper and readily available, preference for food cooked over wood flames, and the use of wood for cooking also serves an additional purpose of maintaining the thatch roofs of traditional homes, preventing the growth of moss and lichen that destroy the roofing material.  We also believe that wood is a sustainable fuel if used in an efficient manner. It is a renewable resource that is locally available, this local availability reduces transport costs and associated pollution from the transport of fuels.  Promoting the sustainable utilization of fuels also provides an incentive for local resource users to conserve and enhance forest resources where fuel is sourced providing for the forest’s conservation and improvement.

 

Unfortunately the use of fuel wood in most areas is far from efficient and although it was observed that most villages practice selective harvesting of fuel wood (harvesting only the branches of grown trees) the method of cooking is still commonly the open fire method. This is inefficient in terms of fuel use, heat output and often, and as most cooking is done indoors for heat and maintenance of the hut, this practice is one of the main causes of respiratory ailments which are associated with the inhalation of particulate matter from the burning of wood. Surveys in the region have shown that Acute respiratory infection is still the leading cause of morbidity in the Cordillera affecting 61152 people in 2004, and although this cannot be attributed solely to fuel wood burning the mere actuality that wood fuel use is prevalent in most areas in the region as well as the fact that 6 out of the top ten causes of morbidity in the region can be attributed to inhalation of particulate matter is a cause for great concern.

 

The progressive deterioration of forest resources in recent years has forced communities to move further from home in search of fuel wood, this is more evident in the Pine Forest areas where tree density and forest moisture is not as high as Dipterocarp and Mossy forests and is prone to annual forest fires that degrade the forest areas and often make it difficult for re-establishment of forest species. The distance individuals have to travel from home for fuel wood has also been one of the causes of another problem, that of peace due to encroachment into adjacent forest areas owned by other villages.

· Reducing the impact of fuel gathering on local forests

· Reduction in CO2 and other emissions

· Saving of fuels and, directly or indirectly, saving of time due to the stoves' higher thermal efficiency.

· Improved health conditions due to lower particulate and gas emissions in environment

Wood Fuel User

E-mail: Cordillera.conservation.trust@gmail.com

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Green Stoves