ADB to Help GMS Boost Biomass Use for Clean Energy

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) scale up the use of biomass waste in the agricultural sector to meet its growing need for clean energy and food security for poor rural households.

 

The ADB Board of Directors has approved a regional technical assistance project that will be funded by a US$4 million grant from the Nordic Development Fund along with counterpart financing of US$600,000 from the governments of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. ADB will administer the grant and carry out the project in the three countries. Biomass waste, such as rice husks and animal manure, is abundant in GMS countries but is not efficiently used as a source of clean energy or as fertiliser. At the same time, the growing practice of planting large-scale crop for bio-fuel poses a threat to food security by reducing food production and forest land.

 

The project will fund pilot investment projects to scale up biomass technologies such as household biogas systems, biochar kilns, and improved cooking stoves. The project will also conduct studies, build human and institutional capacity on biomass investment, and promote regional exchange among the GMS countries.

The project begins in July 2011 and will be completed by December 2014.