Wood-Based Energy Systems for Rural Industries and Village Applications

Wood-Based Energy Systems for Rural Industries and Village Applications

Descripción

The report describes the organization and the results of the national workshop organized by the Pakistan Council for Appropriate Technology. Issues such as the importance of small scale industries to the local economy through the provision of employment, the use of local raw materials, etc. were brought to the attention of national policy makers and planners. Emphasis was placed on the problems these small scale industries are facing e.g. using outdated processing technologies, a lack of skills both at the management and employee level, lack of access to working capital and organizations which can provide support in this, etc. During the workshop 9 papers were presented dealing with various issues including rural development in relation to small-scale industries, and problems associated with woodfuel and biomass energy supplies. Extensive discussions were held with regard to the production and supply strategies for fuelwood as well as policies with regard to the sustainable supply of biomass fuels. Conclusions and recommendations focus mainly on the need to improve the understanding of national policy makers of the importance of the rural based industries in the national economy and the need to improve the statistical database for this important sector.