Exploring the energy-food-health nexus in India: the role of human excreta in developing sustainable rural futures

探索印度的能源-食品-健康关系：人类排泄物在发展可持续农村未来中的作用

基本信息

批准号：
2115551
负责人：
金额：
--
依托单位：
University of Stirling
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Studentship
财政年份：
2018
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2018 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2115551
关键词：
Exploring energy food health nexus

项目摘要

Despite ongoing efforts to improve access to energy in India, approximately 240 million people remain without access to electricity. Of this, over 90% live in rural areas, where the lack of access to modern energy has significant implications for economic development, rural livelihoods, environmental sustainability in addition to social dignity & health. In many areas of India, providing energy for the most basic of needs such as cooking and lighting is still a major challenge for the rural poor with the majority of rural households depending on traditional biomass fuels (firewood and agro-waste) and kerosene, both of which have serious health and environmental implications. The potential benefits of these small-scale anaerobic digesters (ADs) are three-fold; they provide a clean, cheap alternative fuel; they produce a marketable biofertiliser; they reduce gender divisions of labour by reducing the need for women and children to collect fuel wood. AD technologies that able to convert toilet wastes into methane biogas are in their infancy; however, such toilet systems have the potential to improve sanitation and reduce disease burden in rural communities in the Global South. Despite the potential of this underutilised resource to reduce poverty by improving energy access, reduce the prevalence of diarrhoeal diseases and facilitate more sustainable livelihoods, there are significant social & cultural challenges facing the use of biogas derived from human excreta. The overarching aim of this studentship will be to quantify and enhance the role of domestic toilet AD systems for improving sustainable rural futures in India by, (i) increasing rural household energy security (ii) improving sanitation through the removal of harmful pathogens and (iii) increasing food security and sustainable livelihoods by producing a product that is safe to use as a soil amendment in agronomic systems. Central to this project will be an evaluation of the social & cultural acceptability of handling & processing human excreta in rural India.

尽管正在进行的努力改善印度获得能源的机会，但仍有大约2.4亿人没有获得电力。其中，超过90％的人生活在农村地区，在农村地区缺乏现代能源的机会对经济发展，农村生计，环境可持续性以及社会尊严与健康以及环境可持续性具有重要意义。在印度的许多地区，为烹饪和照明提供最基本的需求提供能源仍然是农村贫困人口的主要挑战，大多数农村家庭取决于传统的生物量燃料（柴火和农业浪费）和煤油，它们都具有严重的健康和环境影响。这些小规模的厌氧消化剂（AD）的潜在好处是三倍。它们提供干净，廉价的替代燃料；他们产生了可销售的生物材料。它们通过减少妇女和儿童收集燃料木材的需求来减少劳动力的性别分裂。能够将厕所废物转化为甲烷沼气的广告技术仍处于起步阶段；但是，这种厕所系统有可能改善卫生设施并减轻全球南部农村社区的疾病负担。尽管这种利用不足的资源有可能通过改善能源获取来减少贫困，减少腹泻疾病的普遍性并促进更可持续的生计，但使用人类排泄物衍生出的沼气面临的社会和文化挑战存在重大的社会和文化挑战。 The overarching aim of this studentship will be to quantify and enhance the role of domestic toilet AD systems for improving sustainable rural futures in India by, (i) increasing rural household energy security (ii) improving sanitation through the removal of harmful pathogens and (iii) increasing food security and sustainable livelihoods by producing a product that is safe to use as a soil amendment in agronomic systems.该项目的核心将是对印度农村地区处理和处理人类排泄物的社会和文化可接受性的评估。