Despite this progress, 800 million people in the region remain without access to electricity and almost 2 billion rely on the traditional use of biomass for cooking. In Nepal, for example, only 40 percent of the population has access to electricity due to the mountainous nature of the country. Rural electrification stands at 29 percent, but even urban areas face acute power shortages. Some 88 percent of the population relies on traditional biomass fuels for cooking and heating.The poor often live in subsistence economies that do not generate cash surpluses, limiting their purchasing power and opportunities to shift to modern energy services. As a result, they have to invest more of their income and time in obtaining energy, and tend to use traditional energy services and fuels. Women and children are particularly affected, spending many hours a day collecting fuelwood and preparing meals in the kitchen. Smoke from inefficient stoves in poorly ventilated homes kills 1.6 million people worldwide every year; the majority of victims are women and children younger than five years. Indoor air pollution is the fourth-biggest killer in the developing world.
Asia-Pacific countries have applied many cutting-edge practices in providing energy access to the poor, including innovative financing mechanisms. Apart from satisfying basic needs, energy services can act as an instrument to empower women and disadvantaged communities; as an entry point to mobilize communities to take charge of their own development; and, most importantly, as a means to livelihood enhancement and poverty reduction. However, the scale of expansion of energy access projects has been far from sufficient.
#ImprovingWaterMills
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Publisher:
UNDP
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(2011
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Type / Script:
Progress Report
in English
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Keywords:
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT, EMPOWERMENT, ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY, WATER MILLS, WATER RESOURCES, TECHNOLOGY, ELECTRICITY, ENERGY ACCESS, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
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Thematic Group:
UNDP
:
Social and Institutional Developoment
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Thesaurus:
02.04.00
- Development
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Reference Link:
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