Orientation

There is a great need for alternative fuel sources amongst the rural peoples of western China.

Graphical Summary

Scheme 1. Current Fuel Use Scenario. Impacts on income and education are indicated by red circles. Impacts to health and the environment are indicated by blue circles.

Sanitation & Women's Education

The rural population of western China relies heavily on dung and wood for fuel. Women spend many hours out in the cold gathering wood and dung, often along dangerous mountain slopes. This causes fatigue and injury as well as preventing women from pursuing: education, alternative income, and their many other chores. The resulting under-education and low income generation potential of women reduces women’s status in society and hinders their engagement in business, which gives their male counterparts exclusive control over the family finances.

Once they have collected enough fuel, women return to their homes and cook meals without washing their hands due to the scarcity of water. Because they have collected dung with their bare hands, the food becomes contaminated by cysts and bacteria which cause stomachaches, diarrhea, and other intestinal health problems.

Indoor Air Pollution & Climate Change

The three most common fuels are: dung, straw, and wood. These fuel sources emit more greenhouse gases (GHG) per energy extracted than any other common fuel sources (e.g., dung combustion emits more than 500g CO2 eq /MJ, the largest quantity of GHGs per unit energy compared to other biomas fuels).

These fuels are also responsible for releasing the highest particulate load and carbon monoxide per unit of energy extracted. In 2002, the western pacific region (which includes China) had the highest number of adult deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to indoor air pollution in the world. Three quarters of them were women.

Although few health statistics are available about western China, it is conceivable that the cold weather, poor ventilation, and high availability of particulate-rich fuels would place people of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at particular risk. In addition, daily routines contribute to health concern. Women and children spend the majority of the time at the kitchen stove and thus are exposed to high levels of particulates and carbon monoxide. Men commonly smoke and thus suffer compounding effects between the cigarettes and fuel emissions.

Land Degradation & Conflict

The negative effects of deforestation are problematic both at national and international levels. Wood harvesting for fuel causes the loss of the carbon sink provided by trees.

The felling of trees also increases soil erosion, which contributes to the high levels of siltation threatening water systems across China. In addition, erosion in the Himalayas is indicated as the likely source of arsenic-bearing pyrite responsible for the elevated arsenic concentrations in Bangladeshi groundwater.

The Chinese government holds the fuel use patterns of rural western populations partially accountable for land degradation. As a result, conflicts ensue between the government and rural minority populations over tree felling rights.

Lack of Fuel Options

The nomads who have been resettled by the Chinese government face a different set of fuel related problems. These families are often relocated to urban areas where they lack the means to collect fuel and are deprived of their traditional occupations. With limited skills and tight economic constraints, many find themselves faced with the dilemma of either buying food or the fuel with which to cook it.