Alternative energy
Saving wood and staying warm
To keep warm and cook their food the local people burn wood harvested from the forests. This has had a significant impact on the forests in the panda's habitat as an average household, living at an altitude of 2,000m can burn up to 10,000 cubic metres of firewood per year just to keep warm.
To reduce the amount of firewood that is consumed and at the same time ensure that families stay warm, WWF has been equipping many households with wood-saving stoves. View video
and biogas.
Many of the locals keep pigs. By collecting the pig’s manure as it falls through the floorboards of the sty, it can be turned into methane gas using a small reactor. The system is odour free and produces enough energy to cook 3 meals a day and keep the home warm for 10 months of the year. WWF has implemented the project in several small villages in the Minshan region and it has been very successful. View video
