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Three Udornthani villages reduce their fossil fuel dependence with help GEF grant

15 July 2010 - Three villages in Udornthani Province are developing their own sources of renewable energy. Nonsomboon, Chiangkrom and Nong Loom Pook villages, which depend on the nearby wetland for energy, are reducing their dependence on fossil fuels with the help of eco-friendly cooking stoves.

With the support of a Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) award, these communities are reducing their overall dependence on fossil fuels and improving the quality of their environment. Along the paved roads that connect the villages, are forests--some public, others private—hold in the humidity and water that serve as a source of food for these communities. A sign posted on a tree tells a visitor that this forest is “raising ants” of whose eggs are a native recipe. This land is now barely a forest, and very nearly depleted.

Along paved roads connecting villages in the location, there are forests, some public other private, to hold humidity and water and serving as a source of food for communities. The sign posted on the tree in the picture tells a visitor that this forest is "raising ants" whose eggs is a native recipe.

Located in the Lower Mekong Basin, the rural Thai provincial population mainly lives on rice and fish.  While many are connected to the local electric grid, some farmers are not. Instead, they rely on firewood and charcoal for their daily cooking needs, with gas and local electricity as alternative sources of energy.

With the help of a $41,000 GEF grant, UNDP hopes to reduce their dependence on the depleted forest and revive an ecosystem in the process. To date, families have actively begun building biogas facilities, with 10 in completion. The construction of the remaining 20 facilities is scheduled to start after the rainy season. The project currently has over 50 core leaders providing understanding to these communities about alternative energy, while gaining new insights on biogas technologies. The UNDP project aims to build a total of 30 biogas pits (reducing 30 cans per month of cooking gas), 100 biomass cooking stoves (reducing a ton of firewood, 500kg  of charcoal and 100 cans of cooking gas), and 50 manual water pumps, which would reduce electricity costs in the villages by 10,000 THB.

The response by the farmers in the province has been significant. When the project launched a weekly radio programme, community members called the station asking for more information. While the project is reducing fossil fuel dependence, there’s a long way to go. Foreign Eucalyptus trees are seen nearly everywhere. These “alien” trees which are a main source of charcoal, provide a main source of income for many community members, but are also a cause of air pollution. With a presence in 122 countries (including Thailand) and more than 12,000 grants awarded worldwide, SGP supports projects of non-governmental and community-based organizations in developing countries demonstrating that community action can maintain the fine balance between human needs and environmental imperatives. The programme is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as a corporate programme, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the GEF partnership, and executed by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). To date the program funding from the GEF is approximately US$401 million. In addition, the program has raised US$407 million from other partners in cash or in-kind equivalents.