“Technological and Socio-economic Solutions to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution in Nepal”

On October 17, the 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 (𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋) of 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐮 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐊𝐔) hosted a workshop on “𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨-𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥” at Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur, in collaboration with the 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐔𝐄𝐅) and 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐡𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐂𝐃𝐄𝐒-𝐓𝐔). The event is part of 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬-𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥 project, funded by the 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 of 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝.

With 𝟒𝟒 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬, the workshop highlighted innovative approaches to mitigating indoor air pollution and promoting cleaner energy for rural households.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢 the lead of 𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋 and one of the 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 of the project, opened the program with official remarks, emphasizing the urgent need for clean air. His insightful presentation, “𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥’𝐬 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” highlighted Nepal’s current situation and the urgent need for a shift to cleaner, sustainable cooking solutions.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐑𝐞𝐣𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐮 discussed the 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥.

𝐃𝐫. 𝐉𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐤𝐨 𝐓𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐢 from UEF gave a virtual presentation on the project’s objectives and target impacts. 𝐉𝐮𝐡𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐢, a PhD candidate, shared insights into emission measurement methods and protocols and the use of SIMO (Residential Wood Combustion Simulator) to capture real-time data from biomass combustion in homes. 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚-𝐊𝐢𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐚, a PhD student at UEF, presented initial results from the first emission measurement campaign for Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS), highlighting emission levels and fuel consumption. 𝐃𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐨 𝐇𝐲𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧, UEF, discussed the health effects of prolonged exposure to pollutants in rural Nepal.

Representatives from 𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋 discussed 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥, emphasizing country’s potential from wind, solar, and biomass sources. Additionally, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐃𝐚𝐬, TU presented on “𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫”, outlining strategies for reducing the sector’s carbon footprint and stressing the necessity for policy interventions and technological innovations.

The workshop fostered engaging discussions and queries from participants about 𝐈𝐂𝐒 emissions, sampling techniques and the 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐎.

The program concluded with 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲’𝐬 closing remarks, thanking 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 and 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 for contributing to a productive dialogue on creating cleaner and healthier environment.