[Tech-forum_FIDAFRIQUE] BBC World documentary features IFAD-supported project in China

["Roxanna Samii" <r.samii@ifad.org>]

Dear colleague,

 

“IT’S A GAS” -- A film you won’t want to miss is being shown this Friday on BBC World’s “Earth Report” at 20:30 GMT.

 

Climate change is one of the most serious threats now facing poor farmers living in developing countries. Yet there are many things that can be done to help poor rural people adapt to climate changes and mitigate its continued escalation.

 

The documentary, titled “It’s a gas,” features an IFAD-supported project in the western highlands of China’s Guangxi province and examines the impact that simple biogas technology is having in reducing poverty and improving local environmental conditions.

 

Since its inception in 2001, the West Guangxi Poverty Alleviation Project has helped farmers in more than 30,000 poor households build biogas digesters, enabling them to produce bio-methane gas from animal and human wastes. Methane is a major greenhouse gas. It is second to carbon dioxide in the amount generated but its global warming potential is 22 times more damaging. Burning bio-methane reduces methane’s more damaging global warming effect.

 

As the documentary points out, with just one cow or two pigs poor farmers can produce enough biogas for cooking meals and lighting homes, eliminating the need for burning wood or coal. As a result of the project’s efforts, it is estimated that 56,600 tons of firewood are saved in the project area each year, equivalent to the recovery of 7,470 hectares of forest.

 

Tune in to the broadcast and email us your thoughts and comments.

 

 

All broadcast times are GMT:

 

Friday, January 18 at 20:30

repeats:

Monday, January 21 at 10:30,

Tuesday January 22 at 15:30

Wednesday January 23 at 02:30 and 08:30