IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v13y2009i9p2562-2570.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Prevention of Tibetan eco-environmental degradation caused by traditional use of biomass

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Qiang

Abstract

Tibet is short in fossil energy, but rich in renewable energy sources, such as biomass, hydro, solar, geothermal, and wind power. This potential energy supply in Tibet can be juxtaposed to what drives Tibetan energy consumption its economic motivation and its cultural traditions. Currently, biomass heavily dominates Tibet's energy consumption. In 2003, total energy consumption was about 2 million tce (ton coal equivalent), traditional biomass accounting for nearly 70%. The rarified atmosphere and use of outdated stoves, make for a very low combustion efficiency, utilizing 10-15% of the potential energy of biomass. With population and economic growth, traditional use of biomass has become the principal factor responsible for deforestation, grassland degradation, desertification, and soil erosion. To eradicate the negative impact of the traditional use of biomass on the eco-environment in Tibet, a series of effective countermeasures are investigated. Among these are improved efficiency of stoves, widespread use of solar energy, hydroelectricity as a substitute for traditional biomass, and the development of biogas.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Qiang, 2009. "Prevention of Tibetan eco-environmental degradation caused by traditional use of biomass," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2562-2570, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:13:y:2009:i:9:p:2562-2570
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364-0321(09)00119-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Akella, A.K. & Sharma, M.P. & Saini, R.P., 2007. "Optimum utilization of renewable energy sources in a remote area," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 894-908, June.
    2. Gautam, Rajeeb & Baral, Sumit & Herat, Sunil, 2009. "Biogas as a sustainable energy source in Nepal: Present status and future challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 248-252, January.
    3. Ravindranath, N. H. & Hall, D. O., 1995. "Biomass, Energy, and Environment: A Developing Country Perspective from India," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198564362.
    4. Liu, Gang & Lucas, Mario & Shen, Lei, 2008. "Rural household energy consumption and its impacts on eco-environment in Tibet: Taking Taktse county as an example," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(7), pages 1890-1908, September.
    5. Sagar, Ambuj D., 2005. "Alleviating energy poverty for the world's poor," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1367-1372, July.
    6. Gupta, C. L., 2003. "Role of renewable energy technologies in generating sustainable livelihoods," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 155-174, April.
    7. Chang, J. & Leung, Dennis Y. C. & Wu, C. Z. & Yuan, Z. H., 2003. "A review on the energy production, consumption, and prospect of renewable energy in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 7(5), pages 453-468, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ping, Xiaoge & Jiang, Zhigang & Li, Chunwang, 2012. "Social and ecological effects of biomass utilization and the willingness to use clean energy in the eastern Qinghai–Tibet plateau," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 828-833.
    2. Moses Fayiah & ShiKui Dong & Sphiwe Wezzie Khomera & Syed Aziz Ur Rehman & Mingyue Yang & Jiannan Xiao, 2020. "Status and Challenges of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau’s Grasslands: An Analysis of Causes, Mitigation Measures, and Way Forward," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Zhuang, Minghao & Lu, Xi & Peng, Wei & Wang, Yanfen & Wang, Jianxiao & Nielsen, Chris P. & McElroy, Michael B., 2021. "Opportunities for household energy on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in line with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    4. Shrestha, Anil & Mustafa, Andy Ali & Htike, Myo Myo & You, Vithyea & Kakinaka, Makoto, 2022. "Evolution of energy mix in emerging countries: Modern renewable energy, traditional renewable energy, and non-renewable energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 419-432.
    5. Ding, Wenguang & Xu, Luan & Ye, Weifeng, 2014. "A comparative study of bioenergy consumption and CO2 emissions in Tibetan region of China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 344-350.
    6. Wang, Menghan & Liu, Zhong & Xu, Aiyan & Yang, Dan, 2022. "Fuel choice for rural Tibetan households: Impacts of access to credit," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    7. Pang, Mingyue & Zhang, Lixiao & Bahaj, AbuBakr S. & Xu, Kaipeng & Hao, Yan & Wang, Changbo, 2018. "Small hydropower development in Tibet: Insight from a survey in Nagqu Prefecture," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 3032-3040.
    8. Wang, Qiang & Li, Rongrong, 2016. "Journey to burning half of global coal: Trajectory and drivers of China׳s coal use," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 341-346.
    9. Guta, Dawit Diriba, 2020. "Determinants of household use of energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies in rural Ethiopia," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    10. Wang, Qiang & Chen, Xi & Jha, Awadhesh N. & Rogers, Howard, 2014. "Natural gas from shale formation – The evolution, evidences and challenges of shale gas revolution in United States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 1-28.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Gang & Lucas, Mario & Shen, Lei, 2008. "Rural household energy consumption and its impacts on eco-environment in Tibet: Taking Taktse county as an example," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(7), pages 1890-1908, September.
    2. Zheng, Y.H. & Li, Z.F. & Feng, S.F. & Lucas, M. & Wu, G.L. & Li, Y. & Li, C.H. & Jiang, G.M., 2010. "Biomass energy utilization in rural areas may contribute to alleviating energy crisis and global warming: A case study in a typical agro-village of Shandong, China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 3132-3139, December.
    3. Luo, Guo-liang & Zhang, Xinghua, 2012. "Universalization of access to modern energy services in Tibetan rural households—Renewable energy's exploitation, utilization, and policy analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 2373-2380.
    4. Surendra, K.C. & Takara, Devin & Hashimoto, Andrew G. & Khanal, Samir Kumar, 2014. "Biogas as a sustainable energy source for developing countries: Opportunities and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 846-859.
    5. Domenech, B. & Ferrer-Martí, L. & Pastor, R., 2015. "Hierarchical methodology to optimize the design of stand-alone electrification systems for rural communities considering technical and social criteria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 182-196.
    6. Chauhan, Anurag & Saini, R.P., 2015. "Renewable energy based off-grid rural electrification in Uttarakhand state of India: Technology options, modelling method, barriers and recommendations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 662-681.
    7. Bhutto, Abdul Waheed & Bazmi, Aqeel Ahmed & Zahedi, Gholamreza, 2011. "Greener energy: Issues and challenges for Pakistan--Biomass energy prospective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 3207-3219, August.
    8. Ma, Hengyun & Oxley, Les & Gibson, John & Li, Wen, 2010. "A survey of China's renewable energy economy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 438-445, January.
    9. Maghanaki, M. Mohammadi & Ghobadian, B. & Najafi, G. & Galogah, R. Janzadeh, 2013. "Potential of biogas production in Iran," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 702-714.
    10. Buragohain, Buljit & Mahanta, Pinakeswar & Moholkar, Vijayanand S., 2010. "Biomass gasification for decentralized power generation: The Indian perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 73-92, January.
    11. Ping, Xiaoge & Jiang, Zhigang & Li, Chunwang, 2011. "Status and future perspectives of energy consumption and its ecological impacts in the Qinghai-Tibet region," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 514-523, January.
    12. Bazmi, Aqeel Ahmed & Zahedi, Gholamreza & Hashim, Haslenda, 2011. "Progress and challenges in utilization of palm oil biomass as fuel for decentralized electricity generation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 574-583, January.
    13. Gilberto De Martino Jannuzzi & José Goldemberg, 2012. "Has the situation of the ‘have‐nots’ improved?," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(1), pages 41-50, July.
    14. Suganthi, L. & Samuel, Anand A., 2012. "Energy models for demand forecasting—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 1223-1240.
    15. Bazmi, Aqeel Ahmed & Zahedi, Gholamreza, 2011. "Sustainable energy systems: Role of optimization modeling techniques in power generation and supply—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 3480-3500.
    16. Malik, A.Q., 2011. "Assessment of the potential of renewables for Brunei Darussalam," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 427-437, January.
    17. Rajanna, S. & Saini, R.P., 2016. "Modeling of integrated renewable energy system for electrification of a remote area in India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 175-187.
    18. Domenech, B. & Ferrer-Martí, L. & Pastor, R., 2015. "Including management and security of supply constraints for designing stand-alone electrification systems in developing countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 359-369.
    19. Li, Yongcai & Li, Wuyan & Liu, Zongsheng & Lu, Jun & Zeng, Liyue & Yang, Lulu & Xie, Ling, 2017. "Theoretical and numerical study on performance of the air-source heat pump system in Tibet," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(PB), pages 489-501.
    20. Ni, Ji-Qin, 2024. "A review of household and industrial anaerobic digestion in Asia: Biogas development and safety incidents," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:13:y:2009:i:9:p:2562-2570. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.