News 2012

The world is facing immerse challenges arising from rapid population growth and intense urbanisation. In Asia, more than half of the population now live in towns and cities, and by 2030 it is estimated that this will reach 70%. Population densities in Asian cities are much higher than other parts of the world, and the predominance of poverty in urban slums is ubiquitous throughout the region.

As a result of this crisis, demand for affordable but effective wastewater management systems is increasing and there is a growing body of science and practice which demonstrates the opportunities for implementing wastewater management systems based on a decentralised approach. The decentralised approach – referred to as DEWATS - has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective and efficient way of wastewater treatment to improve environmental health conditions as well as providing opportunities for re-use and resource recovery. Decentralised approaches also offer increased opportunities for local stakeholder participation in planning and decision-making.

Co-organised with the Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA), the Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination Society (CDD), the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute of India (NEERI), the Indian Water Works Association (IWWA) and the Indian Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD); the fourth of the IWA’s Conference on DEWATS in Asia series aims to continue the key discussions raised at the previous conferences to build capacity and awareness of DEWATS as a viable sanitation option for countries in Asia.

The conference will be held on 20 - 23 November 2012 at Nagpur, India It will examine the decentralised approaches, from a technical and engineering perspective, but also taking into consideration the social, institutional and financial aspects that determine the success of these technologies.

LIRE is pleased to announce a new pico-hydropower electricity project with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), which will see the installation of a small pico-hydropower electricity system in Long District, Luang Namtha Province. This extremely remote region contains villages of the Akha tribe that rely on subsistence farming and gathering in the forest for income. NCA has been supporting Akha tribe for the last 15 years, and LIRE hopes to bring new opportunities for these villagers by proving energy source.

The system will be operated by a village technician and managed by a village energy committee. Villagers will then be able to use electricity in their homes in exchange for a small monthly fee, which will cover the salary of the village technician and maintenance of the system. This model ensures sustainable operation through villager responsibility.

The project will be split into two phases. The first phase is already underway, and of the twenty three villages visited in the target area, nine have been identified as suitable for a pico-hydropower electricity system. The next step is to return to a few selected villages and conduct a detailed survey of their water source, followed by the design of potential systems.

In the second phase, an appropriate village will be selected for the installation of a pilot system. Villagers will also be trained on its proper use. Six months after installation, a monitoring and evaluation visit will be conducted to check the system is functioning correctly and being properly used.

We will share more information about this project progress via our website.

LIRE after several years of research on agriculture and specifically jatropha crop, is excited to be able to showcase our new biodiesel production and test site in Vientiane capital as well as samples from our first batches of biodiesel made from feedstock grown locally here in Lao PDR.

Our biofuels team are working to assess the viability decentralised small scale biodiesel production in Lao PDR including the first pilot implementation at district level. In partnership FACT and EEP Mekong, the project, which has been live since mid 2011, has evaluated the wide variety of available feedstocks as well as the potential districts in which the decentralised production may commence.

The reactor, sourced from neighbouring Thailand, uses a process called ‘transesterification’ to convert straight vegetable oil into biodiesel. Transesterification is cited as the most appropriate low-tech option for use in Lao PDR, where technical understanding of the chemical process is at a young age and a simple, easily maintained solution is most valuable.

LIRE is now improving the quality control and streamlining the production process before launching the pilot project at district level later this year. This small scale pilot production will determine the main barriers and factors to be tackled in order to realise a nationwide biofuels programme. The project is seen as a key piece of research that will aid the Government of Lao develop their national renewable energy strategy over the coming years and is the first of its kind for Lao PDR.

LIRE is pleased to inform readers about the start of a new project that brings modern ecological development to Vientiane. CITYBLUES++ proposes to have a new look at the problem of water quality and sanitation in Vientiane capital. The new model integrates the Energy-Food-Water security Nexus and builds the drainage systems into a broader set of climate-change adaptation measures.

CITYBLUES++ is a follow up programme of the previously successful CityBlues program (2004-2007) which aims to implement a large scale demonstration and evidence-based assessment of an integrated approach to urban drainage management in direct support to both decision making and policy making. The 6-months project will see Lao stakeholders getting together to agree on the most suitable sanitation options they want to proceed with for Vientiane capital. In order to achieve this, LIRE as the local partner of Kristianstad University, Sweden, will deliver 3 workshops to promote and support discussions among policymakers and practitioners responsible for Vientiane’s development. CITYBLUES++ received the generous support of The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) to find a comprehensive solution in which drainage networks are an integrated part of its attractiveness and a key component of an affordable strategy to simultaneously support its green public transport, protect its aquatic resources and contribute to national long-term food-security.

The aquatic plants in the channels are actually a huge energy resource, with between 0.6 and 1.3 MWhr of power possible to be made by each ton of material harvested and processed into biogas. The biogas process concentrates the nutrients, turning the waste aquatic plants into valuable and viable natural fertiliser. And to reduce the seepage from septic tanks, LIRE plans to build DEWATS systems in later stages to turn the septic tanks into clean water suitable for emission to the environment. In addition, the use of biogas makes the project potentially suitable for carbon financing (CDM).

By taking waste, and turning it into energy, and taking sewage and making it clean, LIRE together with its partner will be bringing sustainable urbanisation to Vientiane, therefore delivering an ecological, viable, and climate adapted development to benefit sustainably to population.

For more information, please visit www.cityblues.la.

LIRE was invited on January 27th 2012 to the Faculty of Engineering National University of Laos (NUoL) to present its successful experience with Pico-hydropower. The presentation was part of a renewable energy workshop with a focus in small scale hydropower and was organized by Community Development and Environment Association (CDEA).

The workshop aimed at increasing students’ awareness of alternative sources of energy. The full day workshop encouraged exchange between professionals of the sector in Lao PDR and the students. The discussions were based on 4 presentations giving general information about small-scale hydropower to biogas experience in Lao PDR.