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Pitch

The NEMA, 2012 report revealed that at with a rate of deforestation at 13%, Uganda will not be having trees by 2050 if no intervention.


Description

Summary

the rate of defforestation in uganda is estimated at 13 percent and this is among the highest in the world. Deforestation in the country is caused due to the growing populations with people cutting down trees for settlement and for charcoal and firewood.

The 2012/13 UNHS results show that three quarters of households in Uganda used firewood for cooking while one in every five households (21%) used charcoal. Combined, biomass fuels constitute the main fuel for cooking for 96 percent of the households in Uganda. Cooking takes a lot of round wood and the need to cook with cheap smarter charcoal in urban areas has led the rural people to engage in charcoal production for sale to the urban population. Majority of households in urban areas used charcoal for cooking (54%) compared to households in rural areas (8%). 2012/13 UNHS also looked at the trend in cooking fuel use across the three survey periods that is 2005/6, 2009/10 and 2012/13 and results indicated that the use of biomass fuels (firewood and charcoal combined) continued to be high with the overall percentage of households that used biomass fuels across the three surveys consistently high at about 95 percent.

Use of firewood for cooking has a negative impact on the environment as tree cover is destroyed to provide firewood. 72 percent of households in Uganda that use firewood for cooking get it from the Bush/Forest (UNHS 2012/13). The current balance between supply and demand for biomass, however, is very fragile and Economic assessment of the impacts of climate change in Uganda, 2015 predicted a large deficit in biomass in the 2020s and beyond.  According to George otim, et al biomass future demand is proportional to the population growth implying that not only will demand for fuel increase, but climate change itself will almost certainly reduce the availability of biomass.

At the current overall national rate of deforestation  of about 2%, Uganda will have no forests left in 40 years (NEMA 2012).

 


What actions do you propose?

Our plan is set up community scale biogas digesters which will be feed with the rotting organic waste from the market in urban areas to produce clean, renewable fuel. The biogas fuel will be offered at a low cost. The digester model is taken from a proven rural model and we will employ 13 cubic meter batch detester located at Buzinga, Kankamba Parish, Lwengo district that will provide people with cylinders of biogas. Our plan will build climate resilience environment as well as providing the people with a much needed alternative (cheaper) source of fuel. What’s more, our digester's byproduct is an ultra-rich fertilizer that we can sell to the farmers.


Who will take these actions?


Where will these actions be taken?


How much will emissions be reduced or sequestered vs. business as usual levels?

Additionally livestock sector contributes 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. This methane from cow dung will be captured and when burned as fuel, the gas released into the atmosphere is in the form of carbon dioxide which is over 20 times less potent of a greenhouse gas, compared to methane.


What are other key benefits?

The activities of Biogas Technology International are intended to mitigate the world’s most challenging problem of climate change and solve food insecurity in Uganda and the East African region at large.

women travel long distances to collect firewood

 

 help the country adapt to climate change by producing biogas which is a renewable and sustainable energy that replaces traditional fossil fuel energy sources. This will reduce the rate of deforestation.

 high nutrient biofertilizer. This biofertilizer enhances water holding capacity and soil aeration, accelerates root growth and inhibits weed seed germination. Not only does this fertilizer contain significant nutrient levels, but it also is very sustainable. Alternative chemical fertilizers actually deplete the quality of the soil over time and their manufacturing process is energy intensive. As a result, our distribution of bio-fertilizer back to the farmers further increases the social value of the business plan.


What are the proposal’s costs?


Time line


Related proposals


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