Indoor Air Pollution (IAP)

March 2008

Most of the rural households in Bangladesh are still depend on fuel source that are inefficient, highly polluting and unhealthy. These fuels include biomass (wood, twigs, animal dung, crop residue) Kerosene and coal. People who use these fuel sources burn them in open fires or simple stoves that release most of the smoke into their home, resulting Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) that threatens the health of household members, especially women and children.

Sources of IAP

Two major sources of IAP in Bangladesh

• Cooking

• House hold

• Institutions

• Small enterprises

• Lighting

• House hold

• Institutions

• Shops / markets

Sources of IAP

• House holds in Bangladesh depends on

» Wood

» Dung

» Crop residue

» Twigs

» Rice husk etc. for cooking purpose

» Some household also use kerosene stove for cooking

• For lighting

» Kerosene lamps

» Diesel generator

Effects of IAP

• Substantial ill-health

• Chronic Obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD)

• Tuberculosis and Cardiovascular diseases particularly for women

• Adverse pregnancy outcomes

• Acute respiratory infections for children

• Cataract among women and children who are exposed to biomass combustion

• Damage to housing materials, affect visibility and causes odor

How serious is the indoor air quality problem for poor families in Bangladesh?

Indoor PM10 concentrations are quite high for many poor families. For all rural families with per capita incomes below $1.00/day, mean PM10 concentration was found 275 ug/m3 for kitchen spaces. This falls somewhat in peri-urban and urban areas (to 226 and 193 ug/m3, respectively), but remains high.

Interventions to reduce IAP

• For cooking

• Replacing traditional stoves by improved cooking stoves

• Introducing biomass gasification technologies

• Biogas technology

• Introducing solar cooker

• For lighting

• Solar photovoltaic

• Micro-hydro

• Wind energy

For cooking

• BCSIR has developed a series of different models of improved cooking stove (ICS) suitable for domestic cooking as well as industrial heating purpose.

• LGED, IDCOL, GS, BRAC has successfully implemented domestic biogas plant.

• LGED and GTZ has implemented commercial biogas units

For lighting

• UNDP, GTZ, IDCOL, GS, RSF, TMSS, BRAC, Rahim Afroz has implemented solar home systems.

• Some of them has introduced innovative LED based small solar home systems.

• LGED has implemented first Micro-hydro power unit at Bashkhali, Chittagong

• LGED has introduced first institutional biomass gasifier at Muslim Mission, Faridpur

For cooking

Before intervention

After intervention; cooking with biogas

Saving 250 tons of fuel wood annually

For cooking

Before intervention

After intervention; cooking with biogas

For lighting

Before intervention

After intervention; reading with LED based solar lantern

For lighting

Working with LED lantern

Impact on change in quality of life

For lighting

Small business running with keroshine lamp

Small business running with LED lamp

IMPACTS OF SSHS

sshss have improved the overall quality of life by providing relatively higher quality illumination with very cost-effective investment
improved lighting conditions have allowed income - generating activities in households and small shops
(handicraft manuf., needle-work & grocery shops)
have promoted income generation through manufacturing/assembling of sshss components and providing maintenance service for customers
charging of mobile phones & wireless (base) phones
is another area where sshss are already gaining popularity
supports studies / home work for students

CLTS

Community-led total sanitation is an approach that empowers and encourages the local community to extensively analyze their own environment, sanitary conditions and initiate collective local action to stop open defecation and move towards improved sanitation and hygiene behavior using their own resources and talents without waiting for external help or directions and prescription.

Year	% Coverage
1971	1
1990	21
2003	33
2004	43

Causes behind the success of TSC

• Moving ahead from top-down to participatory approach

• Breaking the dependence-chain

• Changes to people’s mind-set and traditional practice

• Basic needs approach

• Participation of the users

• Role of women

• Technology options

• Integrated development

• Capacity building

• Environmental integrity

• Holistic approach

• GO-NGO collaboration

Breaking the dependence-chain !

A poor rickshaw puller spends 3 to 4 TK a day for smoking purpose; the accumulation of which is TK120 a month, but he considers TK 200 is too much for him to construct a sanitary latrine all over his life!

Linkages with IAP and TSC

UP to September 2006, total 1211 Unions were covered under 100% sanitation coverage. Indeed it was possible within very short period due to integration of Union Parishad with the total sanitation campaign. Local Government Institutions have played a vital role to fulfill the Government’s target ‘Sanitation for all by 2010’.

However in the same approach IAP interventions could be done to achieve the target ‘Smoke free village’.

Finally it would be worth to start IAP activities in the Unions where 100% sanitation has achieved. Therefore it would be a good synergy between IAP and TSC.

Causes behind the success of TSC

• Moving ahead from top-down to participatory approach

• Breaking the dependence-chain

• Changes to people’s mind-set and traditional practice

• Basic needs approach

• Participation of the users

• Role of women

• Technology options

• Integrated development

• Capacity building

• Environmental integrity

• Holistic approach

• GO-NGO collaboration

Linkages with IAP and TSC

However in the same approach IAP interventions could be done to achieve the target ‘Smoke free village’.

Finally it would be worth to start IAP activities in the Unions where 100% sanitation has achieved. Therefore it would be a good synergy between IAP and TSC.