Biogas Framework

The implementation of biogas projects and programs, even on a small-scale level, must take into account the underlying socio-cultural, political, economic and ecological conditions. As an appropriate technology, mainly for rural areas, the realization of economically viable and sociologically and ecologically beneficial biogas projects heavily relies on social and political acceptance. Benefits of biogas as well as major obstacles depend on the specific and complex relationships between social organization, economic premises, environmental problems and political intentions.

Social aspects in the planning process

Participation of the local population is a key issue in the project planning phase. People should be involved as early as possible. The basic facts about biogas technology should be made clear beforehand, so that possible problems of biogas technology are transparent to the actors involved. Obstacles can arise from religious and/or social taboos in the following respects:

• prohibitions in the use of gas primarily for the preparation of food
• prohibitions in the use of the slurry
• social prohibition of work involved in running a biogas unit, either due to the separation of classes, sexes, age groups or due to ethnic or religious affiliation.

In order to deal with these obstacles in a way that considers local conditions as well as requirements of the project, the assistance and attitude of ruling or generally recognized institutions is of major importance. Class structure and barriers have to be taken into account for as well. General features of the society's class structure and comparison with neighboring areas and/or similar projects can serve for a preliminary analysis. The concrete conditions in the project area have to be investigated based on this "general model" focusing on the social position of the target group. For the delegation and organization of tasks during the project, the existing social regulations on the division of labour represent a framework, that is often difficult to determine. Women are often kept out of decision-making processes even though they are usually the primarily affected group regarding household energy issues. Their participation can, for instance, be encouraged by integration into authoritative bodies or by forming special female committees.

Social and political aspects in the dissemination process

For the dissemination of biogas technology certain social and cultural convictions and norms can act as impediments:

Ethical barriers Sociocultural taboos Defense mechanisms, (specifically against the use of human excrements as fertilizer) Lack of regularity in the attendance and maintenance of biogas systems Fertilization

The implementation of biogas programmes is also linked to a number of political and administrative factors that have to be considered.

Specific regional developments

Specific developments in the region can, positively or negatively, impact a biogas dissemination program. They can occur, for example, as the result of:

• Regional (energy) development:

    a dam is built in a region and the population is resettled. 
    In many aspects the resettlement villages
    would be ideally suited for community biogas plants. The villages are to
    be newly constructed and can be designed accordingly. Moreover, social
    mobility is increased by resettlement. On the other hand the dam is being
    erected to produce electricity. Biogas will have to compete with (possibly
    cheap) electric energy. 

• Emergencies:

    a village has had to be resettled because of a
    natural disaster. Similar planning advantages apply as in the first
    example. Care must be taken here to ensure that biogas is not
    misunderstood as an "emergency measure" but as a development
    initiative arising out of an emergency situation. 

• Changes in infrastructure:

    an all weather road is to be constructed to link a previously 
    remote area to the urban center. This will change the prices for 
    building materials, for charcoal and labor. The cost-efficiency 
    of biogas plants may increase as a result. 

• Conservation policies:

    the area in question will soon be part of a large national park. 
    The collection of firewood will belargely restricted, 
    the road infrastructure improved and access to development 
    funds made easier. 

• Other technology innovations:

    in the area which have led to disruptions within the social structure,
    or which have evoked the fear of disruptions. The result can be   
    a negative attitude towards technological innovation. 
    

National energy & fertilizer supply strategies

Chemical fertilizer

For developing countries, the production of biogas and bio-fertilizer holds the promise of substituting increasing amounts of imported fossil fuels and mineral fertilizers. On an economic scale, the importance of digested sludge as a supplementary source of fertilizer is gradually gaining recognition. As populations continue to grow, there is a corresponding increase in the demand for food, fertilizers and energy. Consequently, for example in India, both the production and consumption of chemical fertilizers have been steadily expanding over the past decades.

According to a recent estimate by Indian experts, the national consumption of mineral fertilizers could be reduced by 30-35% through the use of digested biogas sludge as fertilizer.

Fertilizer policies, energy policies

For biogas programs, it is crucial,

• to be familiar with official government policies on fertilizers and fuel;
• to be familiar with the realities of implementation of these policies;
• to have a clear understanding of the possibilities and processes of policy change. This includes an intimate knowledge of persons and institutions involved in possible policy changes.

If national policies have a strong self-reliance character, involving high import taxation on mineral fertilizers and fossil fuel, biogas technology will have an easy start. If world market integration is high on the agenda of national planning, biogas technology will face stiff competition from imported fuels and fertilizers.

According to available economic data, it may be assumed that (at least in remote, sparsely settled areas) biogas programs are usually less costly than comparable energy & fertilizer supply strategies based on fossil resources, like electrification and the production or importation of chemical fertilizers. The latter strategies involve not only high transmission and transportation costs, but are also largely dependent on imports.

In any comparison between biogas technology and traditional approaches to the provision of energy and fertilizer, due consideration should be given to the fact that the continuation or expansion of the latter would surely magnify the ecological damage that has already been done and accelerate the depletion of natural resources.

Environmental aspects

Biogas technology is feasible in principle in most climatic zones under all climatic conditions, where temperature or precipitation are not too low.

Using biogas technology is, besides direct thermal or photovoltaic use and hydropower, a form of using solar energy, mediated through the processes of photosynthesis (for build-up of organic material) and anaerobic decomposition. As such it is a renewable energy source. In many regions of the world, the consumption of firewood exceeds natural regrowth. This leads to deforestation and degradation of forests and woodlands with adverse effects on climate, water budget, soil fertility and natural products supply. Biogas is one of the solutions to this problem, because it substitutes firewood as a fuel and helps sustaining favourable soil conditions. It is also an important contribution to the mitigation of the global greenhouse effect.

The potential contribution of biogas technology to combat deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution and climate change is undisputed. But how much support biogas dissemination will receive from government institutions will depend largely on the role of environmental considerations in government decision making.

The success of biogas technology also depends on the influence of potential allies in the environmental NGO scene. Biogas programs can, if environmental policies are favorable, be perceived as "status projects" for environmental authorities.