155
Good Practice
Development
Global Compact International Yearbook 2013
of the Himalayas in India, Nepal, and
Bhutan. In this region, many people
still rely on wood as their main fuel. The
pressure on the forests is therefore huge.
But the Terai region also has the world’s
highest density of tigers. It is estimated
that there are around 16 animals per 100
sq km. But because their habitat is being
reduced as a result of deforestation for
agriculture, settlements, and fuel, con-
flicts are inevitable. At least for Khasti,
these are now a thing of the past.
Thanks to the biogas plant, the fam-
ily’s safety and health has improved.
“
The kitchen and all the pans used to be
black with soot, the air in the house was
permanently smoky,” she says. Everyone
used to suffer from tears in their eyes and
chronic coughs. Smoke in living quarters
is one of the most frequent causes of
death in many developing countries –
almost half the world’s population still
cooks on an open fire or with primitive
stoves. According to the organization
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a
person dies from the consequences of
this toxicity every 16 seconds. Today, the
walls in Khasti’s house are bright, and
the air is clean. “And cooking is much
easier,” she says while pouring tea for
her guests. It takes just a few minutes
to heat the water on the new gas stove.
Devi says that it is easy to use the biogas
plant. She places 25 kg of manure and
about the same quantity of water into
the fermenter. Fermentation produces
methane gas in the tank, which can be
used for cooking. The residue is ejected
by pressure in the tank. This is a valu-
able, non-odorous fertilizer. Producing
plants like this so that people no longer
have to deal with dangerous conditions
is one of the goals of the WWF in the
Terai region of India. But it is far from
the only one. “If conflicts between people
and animals can be avoided, nature also
benefits,” says K. D. Kandpal, a repre-
sentative of the WWF in India. One of
the WWF’s goals is to double the tiger
population worldwide in the next 10
years: 100 years ago, the world’s tiger
population was put at around 100,000;
they nownumber around 4,000, of which
1,700
live in India. But tigers need space.
Depending on the availability of prey, a
tiger’s territory can stretch over 30 - 50
sq km. “If fewer people enter the forest,
that’s better for the tiger,” says Kandpal.
For Khasti Devi and her family, the facil-
ity is certainly a blessing. Now that she
no longer needs to enter the forest she
has time for other things. “Now I have
more time to work our land, and look
after the children and the house.” Her
smiling face shows that her life really
has improved.
Coop: Offsetting Projects Are Better
Than Their Image
There are two main points that have to be fulfilled for Coop in order to reach
the maximum level with its CO
2
offsetting projects: Firstly, the projects have
to be recognized development projects and, if possible, related to the supply
chain for Coop’s products – and they should help those people most affected
by climate change. This often means the small-scale farmers who do not have
the resources to deal with the consequences. Specifically, the projects are
developed by the WWF and correspond to the global Gold Standard. In a state-
ment, the WWF explains that this standard imposes strict conditions in terms
of sustainability and sets the highest ethical requirements. Overall, Coop offset
more than 80,000 tons of CO
2
equivalent in accordance with the strictest
standards in 2012. Examples follow:
•
In Madagascar, open fires are being replaced with solar-powered stoves.
This helps to counter deforestation of rainforests and other forests. There are
13,000
solar-powered and low-energy stoves per year that are replacing 7,800
tons of wood. Each stove saves 2-3 tons of CO
2
per year.
•
In Kenya’s Lake Naivasha region, open fires are being replaced with more
efficient stoves. This also works to counter deforestation and also relieves
people of the need to gather wood, which requires them to walk for long
distances. In addition, it reduces the effects of smoke inside their houses.
•
In southern China, new and highly efficient stoves are replacing conventional
cookers. The new stoves result in about half the quantity of wood being saved,
with 1,600 stoves eliminating 16,000 tons of CO
2
.
The quality of air in the
houses also improves.
•
In the Terai region of Nepal, people are relying on biogas plants. The techno-
logy is simple and reliable. Fermentation of manure produces heat for cook-
ing and valuable fertilizer.
•
Biogas facilities are also being built in the Terai region of India. They reduce
pressure on forests, as people no longer need to gather wood for fuel. There
are thus fewer conflicts between people and tigers. The negative effects of
smoke in houses can be virtually eliminated.