Kathmandu - As a part of preparing a draft of the Biomass Energy Strategy (BEST) for Nepal, action plans for sustainable utilization of biomass energy have been discussed during a BEST Action Planning Workshop held today. During the workshop, experts and representatives of various institutions related to biomass energy discussed on possible activities for a sustainable management of biomass energy resources in the country addressing both supply and demand side. During the workshop, the participants also discussed the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders and necessary resources for the implementation of the action plans.

Biomass energy is the most important source of energy in Nepal. While the country still possesses large biomass resources, for decades concerns have been raised that their current use is unsustainable. This situation has not yet been adequately addressed in the field of energy strategy formulation. In this regard, under Nepal Energy Efficiency Programme (NEEP), the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) together with the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) and support from GIZ started the formulation of a Biomass Energy Strategy (BEST) – as part of the National Energy Strategy (NES). NEEP, is a Nepali-German Programme, executed by WECS and supported by the German Development Cooperation – GIZ on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

On the last BEST workshop in January 2014, different scenarios for the future development of biomass energy in the national energy mix have been presented by a team of local and international consultants. With the information from 15 case studies which were carried out in 2013 and the analysis of existing datasets, assumptions have been made and trends for biomass energy production and consumption have been calculated to develop future scenarios. These scenarios allow the decision makers to decide on the best way to achieve the political targets related to the sustainable development of biomass energy. The analysis shows that already in 2011 the demand for fuelwood exceeded the sustainable production by around 10%.

Although the consumption of LPG as a substitute is strongly increasing, the growth of population and the economic development will increase the demand for energy and will put even more pressure on the biomass resources. Without additional interventions from Government and other stakeholders (business-as-usual scenario), already in 2030 around 18 % of the residential energy demand would be non-renewable fuelwood. This would lead to a vicious cycle of increased depletion of biomass resources. The most favourable scenario proposes a path of increased sustainable fuelwood production and a more efficient use of fuelwood. Possible interventions are the support of improved forest management (as applied already in some communal forests), the encouragement of planting trees on private land and the development of markets for sustainable fuelwood. Other measures are the further dissemination of improved cook stoves, with minimum efficiency standards, i.e. consuming only 40 % of the fuelwood compared to traditional stoves, and the awareness building of consumers to use dried wood only. Besides this, the use of modern biomass technologies such as biogas plants or bio-briquettes will contribute to satisfy the energy demand of the growing population. In areas where biomass is scarce, a modest substitution by LPG or electricity is a complementary strategy which was additionally proposed by the stakeholders.

The elaboration of the BEST is based on an inclusive stakeholder consultation process in which major results shall be approved as a base for the advancement of the process. Based on the results of the process, a draft strategy document will be drafted to complement the NES in the field of biomass energy.

Further information:

Click here for more information on NEEP Component 1

Click here for information on earlier event on BEST   

Click here for more information about BEST