SOCIAL IMPACTS OF BIOGAS PLANTS ON RURAL COMMUNITIES OF SINDH, PAKISTAN
Asif Sajjad, Liaqat Ali Khan, Arif Hamid Makhdum, Asad Imran
Sustainable Agriculture Program, WWF-Pakistan
ABSTRACT
Biogas is a very important alternate renewable energy source for the Pakistan where more than 60% population lives in rural areas having no access to natural gas. Government aims to exploit the maximum potential of biogas plants within next 10 years. In conjunction with the efforts, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has installed 2,000 biogas plants in areas along Indus River which were affected by heavy flood during monsoon of 2010. Measuring social impacts of any development project is an important tool to understand its adaptability in any community. The social benefits of biogas plants have widely been accepted in different parts of the world but these may vary across the communities and geographical areas. Current study is a first empirical contribution towards understanding the social impacts of biogas plants on rural communities of Sindh, Pakistan. Besides improving kitchen environment and reducing the disease incidences, biogas plants also significantly reduced fuel wood consumption and its cost (ca. 48%) without consuming extra working hours.
Keywords: biogas plants, renewable, energy, social impacts, Pakistan.
