Wood Energy and Health

Indoor air pollution - Woodfuel production - RWEDP activities - Further reading - Other issues in wood energy

The use, production and collection of wood energy can have serious health impacts, which mostly affect women and children. So far, health problems related to wood energy have received little attention from governments and international agencies, even though millions of people are affected.

Indoor Air Pollution

Cooking with poorly or improperly designed stoves emits several serious pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH₄), particulates and other products of incomplete combustion (PIC). While at a global scale these can contribute to global warming, at local scale they cause direct health problems. Women are generally the ones taking care of cooking, so they and their young children can be exposed to smoke for many hours.

Health effects often associated with indoor pollution from biomass fuels are headaches, respiratory diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes (e.g. stillbirth, low birth weight), cancer and eye problems. Several studies indicate that the level of indoor air pollution is significantly correlated with incidences of these effects. Generally, women are not sufficiently aware of the hazards and the need for ventilation, and do not relate smoke with health problems they or their children may have.

Emissions of pollutants are mainly the result of incomplete combustion of wood, which can be improved with better cookstoves designs, e.g. increasing air-inlet. Other improvements can help to reduce the exposure to pollutants, e.g. by adding chimneys and improving ventilation. However, it cannot be taken for granted that improved cookstoves will reduce emissions, so a specific effort should be made for that. For example, enclosing the fire to reduce heat losses can result in higher overall efficiency levels, but it may turn out to lead to higher level of pollutants emitted, because wood combustion may be less complete.

Other major health hazards related to cooking are fires in kitchens, and poor ergonomics of cookstoves so women have to spend hours in uncomfortable positions. All of this means that, besides improving efficiency, improved cookstove programmes should focus on health aspects as well.

Woodfuel Production

Apart from cooking, other woodfuel related activities impose health hazards on people. In fact, the whole cycle of activities from production to harvesting or collection, processing, transportation and combustion of wood and other biomass fuels involves health hazards.

For woodfuel collection, back- or headloads of up to 20 to 40 kg are carried over long distances, often by women and children. This can cause severe backaches and, over time, may even lead to damaged reproductive organs. Cutting fuelwood is often done with inappropriate tools and without protection like gloves and boots. Charcoal production emits pollutants, and loading and unloading of kilns exposes producers to high concentrations of dust and heat.

Any industrial or energy-related activity may have health impacts, but it doesn't mean that these are acceptable. Woodfuels are the main source of energy for a large number of people and large-scale substitutions are not feasible in the foreseeable future. Therefore, improved wood energy technologies and practices are urgently needed to reduce health hazards.

RWEDP activities

RWEDP published a special issue of Wood Energy News on Wood Energy, Women and Health. In November 1996, RWEDP organized a training workshop on wood energy, women and health for Southeast Asia. In mid 1999, RWEDP will organize a regional expert consultation on wood energy, health and environment.

Further reading:

	Wood Energy, Women and Health, Wood Energy News 12.1
	Report of the sub-regional training workshop on Wood Energy, Women and Health (forthcoming)
	Report of the Sub-Regional Training Course on Women in Wood Energy Development, RM 24

Other Issues in Wood Energy

Back to the top