Energy-efficient stoves distributed in Kallar Sayedan

Zartaj Gul says they will cut use of wood as fuel, and thus air pollution

ISLAMABAD:

To reduce the use of firewood for cooking and heating and hence reduce air pollution while preserving forests, the federal climate change ministry on Thursday handed out energy-saving stoves in the forest communities on the outskirts of Rawalpindi.

“Empowering forest communities with alternative and efficient energy sources and energy-saving cooking stoves for meeting daily cooking and heating needs can significantly help cut soaring pressure on the country’s forest resources,” said State Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul Wazir on Thursday while distributing the stoves among deserving families.

Around 500 energy-efficient cooking stoves were distributed among deserving families in the Chawan forest area of the Karore valley, around 40 kilometres from the federal capital. Later, she distributed some 100 stoves amongst the poor and deserving households from Kallar Syedan and Kahuta forest areas of Rawalpindi under the UN Development Programme’s Sustainable Forest Management Project and Global Environmental Facility.

Wazir said that the energy-efficient stoves have been proven to burn around 50% less firewood and help mitigate indoor air pollution and related health hazards.

“The distribution of energy-saving and efficient cooking stoves amongst the forest communities will not only reduce firewood collection burden on households but also lead to an improvement in their health and cut forest loss,” the state minister said.

Climate Change Secretary Naheed Durrani that the new energy-efficient stoves will help transform the environment and lives of forest communities.

UN-supported Sustainable Forest Management Project National Manager Ayaz Khan said that there are some 73,530 households located in the forests of Kallar Sayedan and Kahuta who heavily rely on firewood obtained from the adjoining forests, which has resulted in the loss of forest areas.

These households consume up to 14,616 metric tonnes of firewood for cooking and heating purposes annually, creating up to 22,216 metric tonnes of climate-altering carbon emission in the local atmosphere.

However, the energy-saving stoves burn far less firewood and generate more accumulated heat for faster cooking, saving around 5,011 to 5,846 metric tonnes of firewood annually.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2020.