Nominated for Global Energy Award for biogas program

Among more than 700 proposed projects from around the world, "Biogas Program for Vietnam's Livestock Industry" was nominated for the 2006 Global Energy Award - the highest award in global energy and environmental fields of the United Nations (UN).

Mr. Hoang Kim Giao, Deputy Director of Department of Livestock Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said, along with two other projects, the biogas program project was nominated under the " Gas " project group.

The award ceremony will be held at the European Parliament House, Brussels (Belgium) on April 11.

Vietnamese delegation by TS. Nguyen Thanh Son, Deputy Director of the Livestock Department and Director of the Biogas Program, together with the Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium, will attend the awards ceremony.

The Biogas Program started in 2003, in cooperation between the governments of Vietnam and the Netherlands. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development implements this program through the Biogas Project Office, with technical support from SNV Netherlands Development Organization. Funding is contributed by households, with the reciprocal capital of the provinces and the support of the Dutch Ministry of Cooperation and Development.

To date, 27,000 biogas plants have been built in 24 provinces in Vietnam. It is expected that by 2010, the project will reach the target of about 167,000 works in 50 provinces. However, Mr. Hoang Kim Giao commented that building biogas reactors is only one aspect of the whole program. If the project is successful, it will offer a new approach: biogas industry - a sustainable source of energy for households.

As a result, millions of households have access to clean, renewable energy sources for cooking and lighting.

So far, Vietnam has built 27,000 biogas plants
(Photo igadrhep.energyprojects.net, VNN)

According to Mr. Giao, any household with 2 cows, buffaloes or 4 pigs can build biogas plants. Investment cost is about 200-350 Euro, households can return within 3 years. Even in Hanoi - where the project has not reached, some families have also applied this model to save electricity.

It is important, with the closed structure and thorough use of waste in livestock, living, biogas works have contributed to solving one of the pressing issues in the rural areas is environmental pollution. school

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Anna commented: "The Global Energy Award shows that there are clean and modern forms of energy available for sustainable development and minimizing impacts on the environment. Instead of replacing change the environment, let us create an environment for change, and for a more safe and sustainable development direction ". This is also the result of Vietnam's Biogas Program Project.

Hà Yên