Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis addresses the topic of carbon finance in the context of reforestation and avoided deforestation. The research is based on the Nhambita Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) and Agro-forestry carbon offset project in North West Mozambique. The thesis raises important questions in terms of the relevance of carbon offset projects to human and biophysical realities in Africa. The research was conducted through the lens of ethnographic development and explores how carbon offset projects are received by recipient communities. What issues do such projects attempt to address? Are the targeted issues the „real‟ issues, as they are perceived by local populations in developing countries? Who do such projects benefit and who do they benefit the most? The thesis comprises two academic papers. The first paper is a synthesis article presenting a review of key issues with regards to the roll-out of improved cooking stoves (ICS) in the context of carbon offset projects, combined with a pre-feasibility study on the introduction of ICS in the Nhambita village. It shows how biomass will continue to play a dominant role in addressing Southern African energy needs and how a large scale dissemination of ICS could play a seminal role in alleviating pressure on threatened ecosystems. The paper, however, recognizes that ICS programmes are not a panacea and discusses the pitfalls of paradigms underlying stove-provision programmes to date. Based on a review of the pertinent literature and on the field work conducted in Mozambique, conclusions are drawn that environmental and health considerations do not constitute a sufficient „pull‟ factor from the end user‟s perspective. It appears that best channels to engage with the targeted users are economic and social rationales. This debate is of particular relevance to climate change policy but it also offers insights in terms of the acceptance of such programmes by the target communities. The second paper is related to the first in that it discusses the opportunities and challenges associated with the developmental ambitions of carbon offset projects. By virtue of the market systems that regulate them, such carbon offset projects imply an innovative developmental praxis, whereby project recipients become the owners and the sellers of a tangible good in the form of carbon credits. This innovative dimension is, however, thwarted by the fact that such projects stir welfare expectations from project participants. Such livelihood improvement expectations become the fertile ground for difficulties reminiscent of the weakness of traditional aid. The intricacies underpinning this new mechanism that combines land use changes with environmental conservation and livelihood benefits are debated in the context of private entrepreneurship and global markets. The analysis is anchored in a socioanthropological interpretation of climate change science and lays the emphasis on the risks and constraints of such projects, from the perspective of the target communities. The paper concludes by discussing the policy implications of these findings. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis behandel die onderwerp van koolstoffinansies binne die konteks van herbebossing en vermyde ontbossing. Die navorsing is gebaseer op die Nhambita Veminderde Emissies van Ontbossing en Degradasie (REDD) en die agrobosbou koolstofkompensasieprojek in Noord-Wes Mosambiek Die tesis opper belangrike vrae ingevolge die relevansie van koolstofverminderingsprojekte vir die menslike en biofisiese realiteite van Afrika. Watter kwessies probeer sulke projekte aanspreek? Is die geteikende kwessies die „ware‟ kwessies, soos hulle gesien word deur plaaslike bevolkings in ontwikkelende lande? Wie trek voordeel uit sulke projekte en wie trek die meeste voordeel daaruit? Die tesis behels twee akademiese verhandelings. Die eerste verhandeling is „n sinteseartikel wat „n oorsig bied van sleutelkwessies ten opsigte van die uitrol van verbeterde kookstowe (VKS) binne die konteks van koolstofverminderingsprojekte, gekombineer met „n vooruitvoerbaarheidstudie oor die bekendstelling van VKS in die Nhambita-dorpie. Dit dui aan hoe biomassa sal voortgaan om „n dominante rol te vervul in die aanspreek van energiebehoeftes in Afrika en hoe die onderliggende paradigmas van vorige stoofvoorsieningsprogramme heroorweeg moet word om tot die debat by te dra. Hierdie benadering erken die belangrikheid van hierdie hernubare energiebron, terwyl dit die ekologiese implikasies van die swaar steun op biomassa besef, veral in Suider Afrika. Gebaseer op 'n oorsig van gepaste literatuur sowel as die veldwerk gedoen in Mosambiek, word die gevolgtrekking gemaak dat omgewings- en gesondheidsoorwegings nie genoeg stukrag verleen vanuit die eindgebruiker se perspektief nie. Die beste kanale om by die teikengebruikers betrokke te raak, is ekonomiese en sosiale rasionale. Hierdie debat is van besondere betekenis vir die klimaatsveranderingsbeleid maar word ook fyn bestudeer ten opsigte van die aanvaarding van sodanige programme deur die teikengemeenskappe. Die tweede verhandeling is verwant aan die eerste in die opsig dat dit die geleenthede en uitdagings bespreek wat verband hou met die ontwikkelingsbehoeftes van koolstofverminderingsprojekte. Uit hoofde van die markstelsel wat hulle reguleer, impliseer sulke koolstofverminderingsprojekte „n innoverende ontwikkelingspraktyk, waarvolgens projekontvangers die verkopers word van „n tasbare voordeel in die vorm van koolstofkrediete. Hierdie innoverende dimensie word gedwarsboom deur „n tradisionele benadering tot ontwikkeling wat ontstaan uit die welvaartverwagtings van projekdeelnemers. Sodanige bestaansverbeteringverwagtings word die teelaarde van probleme kenmerkend van die swakheid van tradisionele bystand. Die ingewikkeldhede van hierdie nuwe meganisme, wat landgebruikveranderings kombineer met omgewingsbewaring, asook die bestaansvoordele word gedebatteer binne die konteks van privaat entrepreneurskap en wêreldmarkte. Die ontleding is geanker in „n sosio-antropologiese interpretasie van klimaatsveranderingwetenskap en benadruk die risiko‟s en beperkings van sulke projekte, vanuit die perspektief van die teikengemeenskappe.

[ES] Resumen Casi la mitad de la población mundial no tiene acceso a energías como la electricidad o el gas y tienen que utilizar forzosamente biomasa para cocinar, principalmente leña y carbón. Lo que en países desarrollados parece un lujo, en otros muchos es una obligación, ya que no hay otra alternativa. Con un pequeño ahorro en el combustible que utilizan estas estufas de los países sin acceso a otro tipo de energía, el resultado global es extraordinario. En el caso de la República Democrática del Congo más del 80% de la población realiza sus actividades culinarias utilizando biomasa sólida (leña, carbón vegetal, etc.) Para cocinar en las zonas rurales y los extrarradios de las grandes ciudades se utiliza la tradicional estufa de tres piedras TCS-3P y en las zonas urbanas la tradicional estufa de carbón vegetal TCS-C. La principal desventaja de esta práctica es una combustión de baja eficiencia energética, con la consecuencia directa de un consumo excesivo de materias primas como carbón y leña y la correspondiente deforestación. Estos equipos de cocina tradicionales emiten muchos contaminantes perjudiciales para la salud (CO y PM), así como y emisiones que contribuyen al calentamiento global y al cambio climático (CO2 y BC). En este trabajo proponemos modelos para mejorar la eficiencia energética utilizando el modelo tradicional como punto de partida, tal como lo utiliza la comunidad local. Para las poblaciones que viven en condiciones muy críticas y precarias, se han propuesto "insertos de cerámica" que pueden fabricarse y añadirse a las estufas que utilizan en la actualidad. Estos insertos pueden actuar sobre el rendimiento con mejoras del 15%. Se ha propuesto y analizado una segunda mejora basada en la combustión natural de la estufa de carbón ICS-C. El modelo más prometedor es la estufa que utiliza el principio de micro gasificación de la biomasa. Se han diseñado dos modelos de esta estufa, el modelo ICS-G1 con un solo reactor de combustión y el modelo ICS-G2 con dos reactores de combustión, y se han realizado análisis de sostenibilidad con aplicación directa a las comunidades locales. El modelo de micro gasificación propuesto funciona con un suministro de aire forzado con una gran flexibilidad de variación de la potencia de fuego según el tipo de comida a cocinar. El sistema de suministro de aire es provisto por un pequeño motor alimentado por energía solar con autonomía proporcionada por una pequeña batería de litio recargable. Los modelos de gasificación muestran importantes ventajas en comparación con el sistema tradicional, mejor eficiencia energética, al necesitar menos de la mitad de leña que con la tradicional, reducciones drásticas de las emisiones contaminantes y atmosféricas, con un ahorro de emisiones de CO2 en la ciudad de Kinshasa estimadas en 3405 kton/año y una reducción de casi la mitad del tiempo dedicado a la preparación de alimentos. Estas estufas pueden utilizar todo tipo de combustibles sólidos, además del carbón, se realizaron ensayos con combustibles alternativos que provienen de residuos agrícolas (BSW3) de esta forma se limita la presión ejercida sobre los bosques debido al uso de leña para cocinar. Los métodos de prueba utilizados son la prueba de ebullición del agua y la prueba de cocción controlada, con esta última se realiza una preparación de alimentos en un ambiente controlado. Los resultados de estas mejoras se han aplicado a casos reales en Kinshasa y Bandundu. / [CA] Quasi la meitat de la població mundial no té accés a energies com l'electricitat o el gas i han d'utilitzar forçosament biomassa per a cuinar, principalment llenya i carbó. El que en països desenvolupats sembla un luxe, en molts altres és una obligació, ja que no hi ha una altra alternativa. Amb un xicotet estalvi en el combustible que utilitzen aquestes estufes dels països sense accés a una altra mena d'energia, el resultat global és extraordinari. En el cas de la República Democràtica del Congo més del 80% de la població realitza les seues activitats culinàries utilitzant biomassa sòlida (llenya, carbó vegetal, etc.) Per a cuinar en les zones rurals i els extraradis de les grans ciutats s'utilitza la tradicional estufa de tres pedres (TCS-3P) i en les zones urbanes la tradicional estufa de carbó vegetal (TCS-C). El principal desavantatge d'aquesta pràctica és una combustió de baixa eficiència energètica, amb la conseqüència directa d'un consum excessiu de matèries primeres com a carbó i llenya i la corresponent desforestació. Aquests equips de cuina tradicionals emeten molts contaminants perjudicials per a la salut (CO i PM), així com i emissions que contribueixen al calfament global i al canvi climàtic (CO₂ i BC). En aquest treball proposem models per a millorar l'eficiència energètica utilitzant el model tradicional com a punt de partida, tal com ho utilitza la comunitat local. Per a les poblacions que viuen en condicions molt crítiques i precàries, s'han proposat "inserits de ceràmica" que poden fabricar-se i afegir-se a les estufes que utilitzen en l'actualitat. Aquests inserits poden actuar sobre el rendiment amb millores del 15%. S'ha proposat i analitzat una segona millora basada en la combustió natural de l'estufa de carbó ICS-C. El model més prometedor és l'estufa que utilitza el principi de micro gasificació de la biomassa. S'han dissenyat dos models d'aquesta estufa, el model (ICS-G1) amb un sol reactor de combustió i el model (ICS-G2) amb dos reactors de combustió, i s'han realitzat anàlisi de sostenibilitat amb aplicació directa a les comunitats locals. El model de micro gasificació proposat funciona amb un subministrament d'aire forçat amb una gran flexibilitat de variació de la potència de foc segons la mena de menjar a cuinar. El sistema de subministrament d'aire és proveït per un xicotet motor alimentat per energia solar amb autonomia proporcionada per una xicoteta bateria de liti recarregable. Els models de gasificació mostren importants avantatges en comparació amb el sistema tradicional, millor eficiència energètica, en necessitar menys de la meitat de llenya que amb la tradicional, reduccions dràstiques de les emissions contaminants i atmosfèriques, amb un estalvi d'emissions de CO₂ a la ciutat de Kinshasa estimades en 3405 kton/any i una reducció de quasi la meitat del temps dedicat a la preparació d'aliments. Aquestes estufes poden utilitzar tot tipus de combustibles sòlids, a més del carbó, es van realitzar assajos amb combustibles alternatius que provenen de residus agrícoles (BSW3) d'aquesta forma es limita la pressió exercida sobre els boscos a causa de l'ús de llenya per a cuinar. Els mètodes de prova utilitzats són la prova d'ebullició de l'aigua i la prova de cocció controlada, amb aquesta última es realitza una preparació d'aliments en un ambient controlat. Els resultats d'aquestes millores s'han aplicat a casos reals a Kinshasa i Bandundu. / [EN] Abstract Almost half of the world's population does not have access to energy such as electricity or gas and they have to use biomass for cooking, mainly firewood and charcoal. What in developed countries seems a luxury, in many others is an obligation, since there is no other alternative. With a small saving in the fuel used by these stoves in countries without access to other types of energy, the overall result is extraordinary. In the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, more than 80% of the population carries out their culinary activities using solid biomass (firewood, charcoal, etc.). The traditional stove is used to cook in rural areas and on the outskirts of large cities. three-stone TCS-3P and in urban areas the traditional TCS-C charcoal stove. The main disadvantage of this practice is low energy efficiency combustion, with the direct consequence of excessive consumption of raw materials such as coal and firewood and the corresponding deforestation. These traditional kitchen equipment emits many harmful pollutants for health (CO and PM), as well as emissions that contribute to global warming and climate change (CO2 and BC). In this work we propose models to improve energy efficiency using the traditional model as a starting point, as used by the local community. For populations living in very critical and precarious conditions, "ceramic inserts" have been proposed that can be manufactured and added to the stoves they use today. These inserts can act on performance with improvements of 15%. A second improvement based on the natural combustion of the ICS-C coal stove has been proposed and analyzed. The most promising model is the stove that uses the principle of microgasification of biomass. Two models of this stove have been designed, the ICS-G1 model with a single combustion reactor and the ICS-G2 model with two combustion reactors, and sustainability analyzes have been carried out with direct application to local communities. The proposed micro gasification model works with a forced air supply with great flexibility of variation of the fire power according to the type of food to be cooked. The air supply system is provided by a small motor powered by solar energy with autonomy provided by a small rechargeable lithium battery. The gasification models show important advantages compared to the traditional system, better energy efficiency, since it requires less than half as much firewood than with the traditional system, drastic reductions in pollutant and atmospheric emissions, with savings in CO2 emissions in the city of Kinshasa estimated at 3405 kton / year and a reduction of almost half the time spent on food preparation. These stoves can use all types of solid fuels, in addition to coal, tests were carried out with alternative fuels that come from agricultural residues (BSW3) in this way the pressure exerted on the forests due to the use of firewood for cooking is limited. The test methods used are the water boiling test and the controlled cooking test, with the latter a food preparation is performed in a controlled environment. The results of these improvements have been applied to real cases in Kinshasa and Bandundu. / Mulumba Ilunga, Ó. (2021). Estudio de la optimización de estufas de cocción tradicionales empleadas en países en desarrollo utilizando biomasa leña gasificada (aplicado a la R.D.Congo) [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/163655 / TESIS

This thesis comprises three chapters on topics in development economics. The first chapter studies access to maternal healthcare in markets with vertically differentiated public and private providers. The second chapter studies the efficacy of induction stoves in reducing indoor air pollution in rural households when faced with erratic power supply. Finally, the third chapter studies the role of financial incentives in correcting disparities in sex ratios. All three chapters study the context of India but are representative of important development issues in low-income countries. The first chapter titled "Equilibrium Effects of Subsidizing Public Services" studies one of India's largest welfare schemes Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) that incentivized pregnant women in India to access institutional maternal care at public hospitals. We argue that governments can make complementary investments to improve welfare gains from large scale policies. JSY did not improve health outcomes despite a substantial increase in the take-up of institutional care. We document three equilibrium responses that explain this policy failure. First, JSY led to a mismatch of risk across health facilities -- high-risk mothers sorted out of highest quality care at private facilities. Second, in line with the literature, public sector quality deteriorated as a result of congestion. This resulted in lower quality care for both marginal as well as infra-marginal patients at public hospitals. We show that only mothers with high socio-economic status adapted to the worsening quality of care at public hospitals by sorting into more expensive private hospitals. Third, despite increased competition, private hospitals maintained high prices, crowding out riskier and poorer mothers. We do not find evidence that private hospitals improved healthcare quality to justify higher prices. The second chapter titled "Electric Stoves as a Solution for Household Air Pollution" is an interdisciplinary field-based research study that studies the role of reliable electricity in inducing rural Indian households to switch away from dirty cooking fuels towards a clean cooking technology, induction cookstoves, thereby reducing the exposure to high levels of indoor air pollution. We collected minute-by-minute data on electricity availability, electric induction stove use, and kitchen and outdoor particulate pollution in a sample of rural Indian households for one year. Using within household-month variation generated by unpredictable outages, we estimate the effects of electricity availability and electric induction stove use on kitchen PM2.5 concentration at each hour of the day. Electricity availability reduces kitchen PM2.5 by up to 50 ??/?3, which is between 10 and 20 percent of peak concentrations during cooking hours. Induction stove use instrumented by electricity availability reduces PM2.5 in kitchens by 200-450 ??/?3 during cooking hours. The final chapter titled "Can Large-Scale Conditional Cash Transfers Resolve the Fertility-Sex Ratio Trade-off? Evidence from India" studies a large-scale conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme Ladli Laxmi Yojana that offered cash incentives to households upon the birth of girl children. The policy also offered substantial incentive for investing in girls' education. In my evaluation of the Ladli Laxmi Yojana in Madhya Pradesh, India. I find that financial incentives aimed at the girl child increased average fertility by about 0.15 children per household (on baseline average of 0.93 children) children per household and improved sex-ratio by 3%. This points to the well known fertility-sex ratio trade-off. Moreover, these effects are quite opposite to a similar CCT scheme in Haryana (Anukriti, 2018) suggesting context dependence of such policies.

Background: This dissertation comprises research conducted on two distinct projects. Project I focuses on the connection between household air pollution (HAP) from cooking with biomass fuels and blood pressure (BP); this research is situated in the context of a large randomized trial of a cookstove intervention in Ghana, West Africa. The setting of Project II, meanwhile, is the residential environment of New York City, where we explore temperature and humidity conditions in homes and relate these conditions to summertime heat wave risk and to the survival and transmission of respiratory viruses in the winter. Although these projects are quite distinct, each relates to the complex relationship between climate change and health. Reducing HAP to improve health (the focus of Project I) will simultaneously reduce climate change through a reduction in emissions of short-lived climate pollutants into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, furthering our understanding of heat and humidity levels inside urban residences (the focus of Project II) is crucial to our ability to protect health in light of projections for a changing climate. Domestic activities associated with heating, cooling, and cooking are thus very relevant both to human health and to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Objectives and Methods: Our overall objective for Project I was to investigate exposure- response relationships between HAP and BP in a cohort of pregnant women taking part in the Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS). We first explored this association in a cross-sectional study (Chapter 1), in which we used 72-hour personal monitoring to ascertain levels of exposure among the GRAPHS women to carbon monoxide (CO), one of the pollutants emitted by traditional wood-fed cooking fires. These exposure data were collected at enrollment into the GRAPHS study, prior to the initiation of cooking with improved cookstoves. We investigated the association between these “baseline” CO exposure levels and the women’s blood pressure at enrollment into GRAPHS. A limitation of this study was that BP was only measured once. We followed this with a second study of 44 women drawn from the same cohort (Chapter 2), for whom we designed BP protocols using 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), the current gold standard for clinical diagnosis of hypertension. As we were not aware of any prior research in Africa that had employed ABPM, we also designed a parallel BP protocol using home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) equipment for comparison with ABPM. The use of ABPM with concurrent personal CO monitoring enabled us to investigate hourly associations between CO exposure and changes in BP. We also evaluated BP in these women both before and after the cookstove intervention; this allowed us to investigate whether any changes in BP were associated with switching to an improved cookstove. Our objectives for Project II were to understand the distribution of temperature and humidity conditions in a range of New York City homes during the summer and winter seasons, to evaluate the impact of structural and behavioral factors (e.g. building size, use of air conditioning, and use of humidifiers) on these conditions, and to build models that could help predict indoor conditions from more readily available outdoor measurements. We conducted this research in two ways. We first analyzed a set of indoor temperature and humidity measurements that were collected in 285 New York City apartments during portions of summers 2003-2011 and used these data to simulate indoor conditions during two heat wave scenarios, one of which was more moderate and the other of which was more extreme (Chapter 3). Second, we designed and conducted a new study in which temperature and humidity were monitored in a set of 40 NYC apartments between 2013 and 2015 (Chapters 4-6). This second study enabled us extend our research into the winter season, and also to explore how factors such as air conditioning and humidifier use impacted indoor temperature and humidity. We also investigated relationships between the monitored conditions, self-reported perceptions of the indoor environment, and symptoms that were experienced among household members. Results: In the cross-sectional analysis of CO and BP in the GRAPHS cohort (Chapter 1), we found a significant positive association between CO exposure and diastolic blood pressure (DBP): on average, each 1 ppm increase in exposure to CO was associated with 0.43 mmHg higher DBP [0.01, 0.86]. A non-significant positive trend was also observed for systolic blood pressure (SBP). In our study of the acute relationship between CO exposure and BP (Chapter 2), we determined that peak CO exposure (defined as above the 90th percentile of the exposure distribution, or an average of 4.1ppm) in the two hours prior to BP measurement was associated with elevations in hourly systolic BP (4.3 mmHg [95% CI: 1.1, 7.4]) and diastolic BP (4.5 mmHg [95% CI: 1.9, 7.2]), as compared to BP following lower CO exposures. We also observed a non-significant trend toward lower BP following initiation of cooking with an improved cookstove. Lastly, we demonstrated that ABPM was a feasible and well-tolerated tool for BP assessment in a rural West African setting. For Project II in New York City, we first determined that there was a great deal of variability in indoor summer heat index (HI) between homes in association with similar outdoor conditions, and that this variability increased with increasing outdoor heat (Chapter 3). Our simulation of a moderate heat wave led us to conclude that the hottest 5% of the homes would reach peak indoor heat index (HI) values of 39°C. In a more extreme heat wave simulation, HI in the hottest 5% of homes reached a peak of 41oC and did not drop below 34oC for the entire nine- day simulated heat wave period. Our second indoor monitoring study yielded the following findings: in the summer season (Chapter 4), we found significant differences in indoor temperature and heat index according to the type of air conditioning (AC) in the home. Homes with central AC were the coolest, followed by homes with ductless AC, window AC, and no AC. Apartments on the top floor of a building were significantly hotter than other apartments regardless of the presence of AC. During the winter season (Chapter 5), median vapor pressure in our sample of apartments was 6.5mb. Comparing humidity levels in the apartments to a threshold of 10mb vapor pressure that has been proposed as protective against influenza virus transmission, levels of absolute humidity in the homes remained below this threshold for 86% of the winter: a total of over three months. Residential use of humidifiers was not associated with higher indoor humidity levels. Larger building size (above 100 units) was significantly associated with lower humidity, while the presence of a radiator heating system was non-significantly associated with higher humidity. Lastly, perceptions of indoor temperature and measured temperature were significantly associated in both the summer and the winter (Chapter 6), while sleep quality was inversely related to measured indoor temperature in the summer season only. Reports of heat- stress symptoms were associated with perceived, but not measured, temperature in the summer season. Conclusions: The work presented in this dissertation adds to a growing body of evidence on the importance of exposures in the domestic environment to health and well-being. The research reported here on household air pollution in Ghana documents an exposure-response relationship between air pollution from cookstoves and elevations in blood pressure, on both a chronic and an acute basis. As elevated BP is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), our research provides support for a plausible factor linking HAP exposure to CVD. Meanwhile, our research on temperature and humidity in New York City residences provides concrete data to supplement the very slim literature to date documenting these conditions in the home environment, where Americans spend over half their time. We conclude, first, that AC may not be fully protective against summertime heat risk, and second, that the levels of humidity we observed in residential environments are consistent with levels that have been shown to promote enhanced survival and transmission of respiratory viruses in experimental settings. We suggest that interventions that can reduce exposure to household air pollution and excess indoor heat can also mitigate climate change, and that with thoughtful planning we can improve health at the same time as we foster resiliency in the face of a changing climate.

Persistent poverty, social and economic inequalities are some of the challenges in the process of national development efforts targeted in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Yet in South Africa, poverty, hunger, social and economic inequalities are still on the increase especially among poor rural to urban migrants. Because of severe poverty in rural areas, large populations of rural poor migrate to urban areas in search of better life. However, the growing energy needs in the urban areas where these people settle and their use of inefficient energy technologies negatively impact on the balance of environmental resources on which their socio-economic development depends. Efficient, affordable and environmental friendly technologies are therefore vital for improving the livelihood conditions and protecting the much needed environmental resources of the country. On the contrary, current practices presently dominating energy provision issues in South Africa are insufficient to solve the problems of socio-economic inequalities, especially for the increasing urban poor population. In addition, they are also failing to protect the environment and natural resources. Electrification of poor urban and peri-urban areas by both grid and off-grid systems through the top-down development practice is doing very little to change the socio-economic conditions of the poor section of the population in the country. Likewise, the provision of modern energy through public sector agencies such as Eskom is inadequate and inappropriate for the rapidly expanding urban and peri-urban poor areas in the country. One major reason that hinders provision of such services to the overcrowded consumer population in these areas is the massive capital investment required and inability to pay electricity bills by urban poor households. Against the above background, this study examined the use of improved wood stoves in two peri-urban areas (Umsilinga and Isnathing) in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa as an alternative modern energy technology on how they would socio-economically benefit the peri-urban poor. It looked at the following: The efficiency of four improved wood stoves (Yamampera, Simunye, Household Rocket and Vesto) in comparison with the three stone open fire, The impact of the efficient burning of the four improved stoves, Factors influencing consumers in choosing a specific energy technology to use, The effectiveness of the improved wood stoves placed in 24 peri-urban households and observed for the specified period, and Additional potentials of such stoves to other prospective users. The key finding of this research is that the use of these improved wood stoves could play a pivital role in household economic growth and improving livelihoods. Participants ranked smokeless burning, low selling price, fuelwood saving and light weight of the stoves as priority preferences for using these stoves. Speed of cooking and less constant attention to the fire were also ranked as important preferences. From women participants view point, the low selling price of the stoves and their considerable fuel saving would reduce strain on the household investment capital, household indoor pollution and tedious work of women’s fuelwood collection. Low investment costs in acquiring the stoves would encourage women’s participation as entrepreneurs in modern energy technologies. However, results from focused group discussions and observations of usage of stoves that were placed in 24 homes showed that the incorporation of consumer preferences in the design of improved wood stoves would be key. This would enable stoves to adequately meet the energy needs of targeted users and be used frequently as an alternative energy solution by both urban and peri-urban poor who are currently lacking electricity and suffering from energy poverty. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermarizburg, 2009.