Back to success stories

Pivoting to clean cooking

Rongkun Liu & Yi Shaoliang

70% Complete

Energy-efficient stoves replace open fire cooking in 115 households in Yunnan

At home in the Far Eastern Himalaya

Households in Yunnan, southwest China, predominantly depend on firewood-based open fire cooking, which contributes to air pollution and deforestation. This traditional cooking method poses threats to public health and the rich diversity of endemic flora and fauna in Yunnan.

But a shift to cleaner cooking technology will require economic and cultural considerations, because cooking spaces are the traditional centres of household life in the China–Myanmar border area of the Far Eastern Himalayan Landscape.

We therefore led a collaborative effort to manufacture energy-efficient stoves designed with the local Lisu people’s cultural preferences and cooking habits in mind. These stoves reduce firewood consumption and improve indoor air quality.

Using these stoves can help each beneficiary household save around 9 m3 of firewood annually. This translates to an overall CO2 reduction of around 1,222 metric tons annually, besides gains in other ecosystem services.

Community members, local government bodies, non-government organizations, and private-sector enterprises were involved in this campaign, which was part of a larger project (funded by the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme) implemented by the Global Environmental Institute (in collaboration with ICIMOD) around the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas.

Use of these stoves by the beneficiaries is estimated to reduce around 1,222 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, besides gains in other ecosystem services.

Chapter 1

Mountain innovations and community practices

South–south learning in participatory forest management

Nepal’s experiences with community forestry could help Myanmar address deforestation and forest degradation

8 Jul 2021 HI-LIFE
The status of primates

Addressing information gaps and promoting joint research and conservation in the Far Eastern Himalaya

Protecting humans and wildlife

To strengthen efforts at mitigating human–wildlife conflict (HWC) in the Kangchenjunga Landscape (KL), we have trained ...

Supporting best practices in environmental journalism

Harnessing the power to amplify understanding and promote climate action

How are we doing on Aichi Target 11?

Nine countries of the South Asia sub-region assess progress against key biodiversity conservation targets

Gender and social inclusion in natural resource management

Rural municipalities in far-western Nepal develop action plans integrating GESI in natural resource management

6 Jul 2021 KSL
Enjoying homebased unique experiences in the majesty of the HKH mountains

Going from individual to regional approaches for ecotourism homestay development promises to benefit tourism operators and communities across ...

Immense outstanding universal value within the HKH

Visionary leaders in 1972 established the World Heritage Convention through a General Conference of UNESCO where ...