In the Middle of the Pandemic, a Water Heater Brings Hope for Human and Forest Health
Even as marginalised communities in rural Maharashtra struggled with the challenges presented by Covid-19, a project to safeguard human and forest health by the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) was fructifying in the villages of the Chandrapur district that is famous for its tigers. In the Bramhapuri Forest Division, which is contiguous with the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, and supports a resident population of nearly 50 adult tigers, and as many as 608 villages, an environmentally sustainable, energy efficient and affordable water heating solution (Bumbb) was being promoted and scaled up by WCT. The motivation behind doing this was to address multiple issues faced by the villagers with one solution. If implemented at scale, the Bumbb can reduce the health hazard from the smoke generated by wood burning, drastically reduce the amount of wood needed for daily use, reduce the time spent in collecting fuelwood, arrest forest degradation, and above all, reduce the human-wildlife conflict that has been on the rise in the past decade.
The research team from WCT, comprising economists, psychologists, sociologists and wildlife biologists, has been studying the complex factors that drive the extraction of forest resources, and the use of fuelwood. The team’s work shows that a significant amount of wood collected by villagers is used for water heating, exposing women to the ill-effects of the smoke, as well as the burden of carrying headloads of fuelwood from the forest. Considering these and a host of other factors, this team of interdisciplinary researchers came up with an energy efficient and affordable solution – the Bumbb. Suited perfectly for water heating in Indian villages, where other water heating technologies are either unaffordable or environmentally unsustainable and unhealthy, the Bumbb consumes just one-third of the fuelwood consumed by the traditional wood-based stove (chulha) to heat the same quantity of water. Importantly, it can be easily fuelled by crop residue, dung cakes, dry leaves and used paper, drastically reducing the need to collect fuelwood for domestic purposes. WCT started the on-ground promotion campaign of the water heater in September 2019, and began offering it to households at one-fourth its original cost in December 2019.
With more than 30 percent of the households adopting the Bumbb in the first year itself, the community’s response has been highly encouraging. Based on the overwhelming response, WCT has now planned large-scale distribution of the water heater in Bramhapuri, along with the forest department. The Forest Department has also shown willingness to introduce the Bumbb in the buffer zone of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. The Field Director of the Melghat Tiger Reserve has also ordered a few units to run a pilot programme in buffer zone villages of the reserve. Another NGO has taken WCT’s model to villages around the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, and also plans to install the same in the protection camps of the tiger reserve, in partnership with the Forest Department.
Such a large scale adoption of the Bumbb, across different landscapes, is likely to reduce the use of fuelwood for water heating by as much as 80 per cent, thereby greatly reducing forest degradation; improve the indoor air quality of households, thereby reducing respiratory illnesses; and above all, reduce people’s visits to the forest, thereby reducing both the interaction between people and large carnivores, and the resultant injuries and deaths on both sides. Healthy, biodiverse forests are necessary for the agricultural productivity and the climate- and water-security of our country. Scaling up these efforts is a step towards safeguarding not just forests, but also our shared ecological future.
WCT has been an early adopter of the One Health approach, which recognises the intrinsic interconnectedness between healthy ecosystems and the health of humans. The project also aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was designed to promote climate action (SDG 13) and ensure sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems to improve life on land (SDG15) through access to affordable and clean energy (SDG7) and responsible consumption (SDG12). This can lead to better health and wellbeing (SDG3) through reduced exposure to smoke, and reduced drudgery of women (SDG5).
To tell the story of how this project was conceptualised, implemented and scaled-up, WCT has produced a documentary – Heater of Hope. The film will be premiered on WCT’s YouTube channel on 26/01/2021 at 12 PM, in English, Hindi and Marathi.
Film Premiere (English)
Watch the Premiere in Hindi & Marathi
Ms. Tamanna Ahmad, Development Researcher with WCT said, “The intervention doesn’t solely address the issue of degradation of forests. It addresses multiple problems like the health concerns, especially of women, who walk several kilometers to collect fuelwood, and light the chulhas, getting exposed to the smoke. The response of the people really shows their need for change, for a better life.”
Mr. Aniket Bhatkhande, Economist with WCT said, “This project utilises climate action finance to empower communities to choose better outcomes for themselves and the ecosystem.”
Dr. Anish Andheria, President of WCT said, “In a densely packed nation, conservation of species and forests can happen only if people who share their backyards with wildlife are given convenient, cost-effective and easy-to-access alternatives to existing subsistence activities that are labour intensive, energy inefficient and exposing them to wild animals.”
Watch the Trailer in Marathi
Watch the Trailer in Hindi
Meet the team behind the ‘Heater of Hope’, the water heating solution for human and forest health, and hear them discuss the project with WCT President Dr. Anish Andheria.
Get to know the story behind the ‘Heater of Hope’ (in Hindi) from WCT President Dr. Anish Andheria and WCT’s Development Researcher Tamanna Ahmad.
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