| VP challenges experts to find alternative domestic energy | Send to a friend |
| Sunday, 27 March 2011 23:56 |
 By Zephania UbwaniThe Citizen Bureau Chief Arusha. The Vice President Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal has challenged experts to advise the government on the best alternative for domestic energy for the country. He said continued dependency on firewood and charcoal, as energy sources would plunge the country in problems because they were not sustainable. He cautioned that although Tanzania was still rich in natural resources, rapid population growth would outstrip regeneration capacity of the vegetation. “The increasing population is a threat to continued use of firewood and charcoal since they cannot meet the growth,” he said on Saturday when he officially launched a biogas project in Arusha. Dr Bilal said that renewable sources of energy, including biogas, were the best options for the country and called on experts to assist the government. He noted that studies carried out in many parts of the world have indicated great potential for a wide range of renewable sources, which are viable for investing. He said the government was much concerned on the deforestation rate due to heavy dependency on firewood and charcoal as the principal energy source in many Tanzanian households. “Deliberate measures must be taken to reduce this dependency, otherwise we will be doomed in the long run,” he pointed out when he was inaugurating the Netherlands-supported Tanzania Domestic Biogas Development Programme (TDBP). According to the VP, only about 14 per cent of Tanzanians were using electricity as their main source of energy. Incidentally in the rural areas, where 80 per cent of the country’s population is to be found, only 2.5 per cent of them are connected to electricity. The majority of the rural population as well as low-income urban dwellers rely heavily on firewood and charcoal to the detriment of the country’s forest cover. Twelve thousands biogas plants would be constructed under the first phase of the 16 million euros programme, according its coordinator Mr Lehada Cyprian Shila. The TDBP is hosted in Arusha at the Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation and Rural Technology (Camartec) premises. The state-run body is also a partner in the implementation of the programme. “TDBP aims to construct 12,000 biogas plants in the first phase ending 2013, thereby providing cleaner and safer energy solutions at the household level,” Mr Shilla explained. The programme is a component of the Africa Biogas Partnership Programme (ABPP) funded by the Netherlands’ ministry of Foreign Affairs. The latter continent-wide initiative is part of a broader objective of the Netherlands’ ministry plans, targeting provision of sustainable energy to 10 million people in six African countries, including Tanzania. To date, 1,439 units of biogas have been constructed under the programme in various regions, making Tanzania ahead of eight other countries in the continent covered by the programme. Other countries covered under ABPP are Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Cameroon and Benin. He added that implementation of the programme hinged on the public-private partnerships and local non-governmental organisations. Two Netherlands organisations HIVOS (Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation) and SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation) have partnered with Camartec in the initiative. Last year, Camartec received an award from ABPP for its efforts in promoting the dissemination of domestic biogas in Tanzania. The programme activities have been underway in Arusha, Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Dodoma and Coast regions and could be extended to other regions. TDBP began in 2007 following a feasibility study by a German aid agency, GTZ. Camartec was selected as a national agency to coordinate the programme. The centre was established in the early 1980s to promote appropriate agricultural and rural technologies and is credited for having pioneered promotion of biogas technologies using domestic and animal wastes. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
