FAO issues report on vital role of bioenergy in alleviating rural poverty in developing nations

In Italy, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), have issued a report, “Small Scale Bioenergy Initiatives: Brief Description and Preliminary Lessons on Livelihood Impacts from Case Studies in Latin America, Asia and Africa.”

The report covers 15 case examples from 12 countries and demonstrates the significant role for biofuels in rural development in poor nations. “The furious debate around bioenergy has largely concerned liquid fuels used for transport,” said Oliver Dubois, a bioenergy expert in FAO’s Natural Resources Department. “Yet more than 80 percent of bioenergy usage in the world involves other sources, mainly wood, which are used for basic household cooking and heating in poor areas of the world.” The FAO says that concern over environmental and water factors has obscured the benefits of bioenergy in alleviating rural poverty. The report can be downloaded here.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

UN report says “sound bioenergy policies” could lift West Africa out of poverty: free download

The United National Nations Foundation and UEMOA (the Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa) released a new report on biofuels production potential in Africa, finding that "sound bioenergy polici...

Today in Biofuels Opinion: “there is an unbelievable opportunity for underdeveloped countries to simultaneously lift people out of poverty and solve their crippling addiction to energy imports.”

Dr. R Rajagopal, jatropha pioneer: "Developing sustainability criteria for feedstocks based on renewable resources is critical for long-term viability of any biofuel project as it would minimize the s...

UN FAO releases new tool to assist governments planning biofuels policy; tests underway in Peru, Thailand and Tanzania

The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a decision-support tool to assist countries in planning their entry into biofuels production. The analytical framework allows government...

Oxfam releases report: “biofuel policies are deepening poverty and accelerating climate change”

Oxfam released a report titled "Another Inconvenient Truth: How biofuel policies are deepening poverty and accelerating climate change," saying the biofuels policies in rich nations have pushed more t...

Top FAO official says biofuels good for environment, energy security; land use competition, water areas for concern

Regan Suzuki of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that while biofuels are better for the environment and promote energy security, the effect of competition for land, and the pote...

UN FAO says wood energy a bad substitute for fossil fuels

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned, in a paper presented at the FAO Conference, against the excessive use of wood energy as an alternative fuel strategy. The report said that fuel...