Posted on August, 15 2008

Ani and her family migrated from Solu, a village to the south of the Everest region, to Phakding village at Chaurikharka Village Development Committee (VDC), a village en-route to the Mount Everest, in search of better livelihood opportunities. No buffer zone had been declared around Sagarmatha National Park when she migrated with her husband and three children at Phakding.

The enormous energy needs
The inflow of tourists was very high and to meet energy demands for lighting, cooking and heating purposes, the locals heavily relied on kerosene and the forests in an unsustainable manner – some 6,473 tons of fuel wood was annually consumed by 465 households around the Chaurikharka area. On migrating, Ani bought a restaurant cum lodge – “Beer Garden”. She too relied on the forests and kerosene to meet the cooking, heating and lighting demands. Her consumption of fuel wood was about 20 tons per year and had to pay Nepali Rupees 60,000.00 (around US$ 900). Her expenses on energy escalated as she used about 2,880 litres of kerosene paying NRs. 100 per litre.

Tourism at a high price
People flock from all over the world to this area of scenic beauty. They definitely get opportunity to see the highest peak of the world, but at an environmental price. With high tourist arrival, the increasing waste problem in this region in the late 1980s attracted concerns at national and international level. To add to this, global warming is also contributing to the fast retreating of the glaciers which are the water towers of Asia and sources of fresh water. A local NGO- Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee was finally established in 1991 with the support of WWF Nepal to address this problem.

Ani recalls there were no rules and regulations regarding the use of natural resources. The forests were being chopped to meet the energy needs and the greenery was getting thinner and thinner. In 1996 with the areas around the Sagarmatha National Park declared as a buffer zone, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and WWF Nepal initiated Sagarmatha Community Agro- Forestry Project (SCAFP) with the goal to achieve sustainable management of the natural resources by strengthening capacity of local communities in Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone. The project showed positive impacts with the initiation of agro forestry projects and teaching people the importance of conserving natural resources and using them sustainably. Ultimately the greenery started to re-grow.

Switching from fuel wood to hydro power
It was under this project that a number of micro hydro electrification surveys were done around the buffer zone areas so that the locals could benefit from alternative energy, and the pressure on the forests and use of expensive kerosene could be reduced. Using biomass was not feasible due to cold climatic conditions, thus, the only solution was bringing in micro hydro projects to have an energy switch from fuel wood to hydro power.

Among the surveyed micro hydro projects, the 70 kW Ghatte Micro hydro Project (GMHP) was finally implemented in March 2006 and completed in June 2007, benefiting 108 households from six villages namely Tok-Tok, Nemboteng, Jhamphutte, Rangding, Sano Gumila and Phakding from Chaurikharka VDC. The project uses water diverted from the Ghatte stream which runs a turbine coupled to a generator in the powerhouse, thus, generating electricity. The water then flows back to the stream. The environmental impact is negligible.

Turnaround in Ani’s lifestyle
Ani subscribed to the electricity in addition to having a 2kW rated peltric set which was used for lighting the restaurant and lodge but was insufficient to use electrical appliances. Post subscribing the electricity generated from the GMHP which was implemented by WWF Nepal under the Climate Change and Energy Program with the financial and technical support of the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association- BGN, Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone Management Committee, WWF - UK, and active local participation, there has been a substantial change in Ani’s kitchen. She has stopped using her locally made fuel wood stove and switched to using hot plates, micro wave, mixers, rice cookers, refrigerator and electric room heaters. She occasionally uses a small stove which burns wood scraps and a “Bayu-pankhi” (a hand propelled fan) to enhance the flames and burn the wood scrap efficiently, without smoke. With an approximate 1.5 to 2 tons of fuel wood consumed annually, Ani claims that over the three months from July to September 2007, consumption of fuel wood scraps reduced to maximum of 0.1 tons a month and now she does not have to buy a lot of expensive kerosene. Her monthly electricity bill fetches upto NRs 3,500.00 per month. She claims that the micro hydro project has significantly reduced her expenses on energy and she will pay her bills on time to ensure the sustainability of the micro hydro scheme which has been handed over to the Ghatte Khola Micro Hydro Management Committee for further management.

Source of inspiration
Likewise, Ani has not only made the energy switch. Other lodges and restaurants in the villages electrified by the Ghatte Micro Hydro Project too have joined the bandwagon. Households too have started using small cooking heaters. This initiative by WWF Nepal in developing the micro hydro project will definitely be instrumental in reducing the pressure in one of the buffer zone VDCs (Chaurikharka) of the Everest region.

For further information:
Ugan Manandhar, Alternative Energy Officer, WWF Nepal
T: 977 1 443 4820
E : ugan.manandhar@wwfnepal.org