China is the world's fastest growing industrial power-house. But the vast amount of energy needed to drive this economy comes at a price. China has suffered some of the worst environmental disasters in the world, due in part, to the over-exploitation of its natural resources. As demand for energy grows, the government is investing in large-scale energy projects like the Three Gorges Dam. These kinds of projects may be a short-term solution for delivering energy to people in cities, but there are over six hundred million people living in rural areas who all need energy to survive.

But in one rural area, new efforts are underway to provide people with alternative, low-impact forms of energy. Earth Report travels to the remote province of Yunnan to investigate.

Barren Mountains

The mountains of North West Yunnan echo with the thud of axes hitting wood. It's not loggers, but local people collecting firewood. In this remote area of China, trees are the only source of energy for cooking and heating. One of the woodcutters is He Mao Jin. She won't take take a lot today. She only needs some extra logs to prepare the family's lunch and boil fodder for her pigs. But it takes her a long time. The hills around her village are barren these days, and she has to walk hours to reach this site, - the only place where she still finds wood.

It wasn't always like this. Within living memory, the mountains were still covered with forest. But commercial logging in the last few decades, has stripped the mountains of their tree cover and the need for fuel wood is steadily removing the remainder.

Removing the tree cover has wider implications for the environment. When the trees are gone, rainfall quickly washes soil off the mountains into the rivers. And without the trees, more water runs off, rather than soaking into the ground.

This deforestation is not just a local problem. It will have an impact far beyond this region. Four of Asia's main rivers have their upper reaches here in China's Yunnan Province. The Irawady and Salween flow to the Indian Ocean - the Mekong, freshwater source for all of south east Asia - and the Yangtze river irrigating China for over 6000 kilometres. It means the water supply for 500 million people is at risk.

Flood Threat

And along with the trees, a huge range of wild plant and animal species is disappearing. Loss of the forests is the main reason for increasingly severe floods, that bring death and destruction further downstream.

After the heavy floods in 1998, the government banned commercial logging. But local people are still collecting wood for fuel, and this is destroying the remaining forests. In fact, the collection of wood for fuel has now become the major threat to the ecosystem.

Every family in this area uses up to ten cubic metres of wood every year. Each year, 130,000 hectares of forest are lost this way. At this rate, in fifty years, little of the natural forest will be left. Locals like He Mao Jin are aware of the problem. But so far they haven't had any alternative.

He Mao Jin and her family are of the Naxi minority. They live in Haixi, a typical village. Round here, life has always been hard. Commercial logging made it even harder, by removing the natural resources that the local people rely on. The villagers see little of the wealth the timber industry brought to the region. He Mao Jin and her husband, He Rui Jun, the village chief of Haixi, have seen first hand, the damage done to their land.

He Rui Jun: "Twenty years ago there was 70% more forest around the village. Wood enough for our daily needs. And there were pheasants and hares. We would go hunting in the forest on the hills. But now the forest are destroyed and there is hardly any wild animals or game left."

Fuel Efficient Stoves

A 40-minute drive from Haixi is Lijiang, the regional capital. The old town is now a UNESCO world heritage site and a major tourist attraction. But away from the tourists on the outskirts of town, work is going on that will help the villagers in Haixi meet their energy needs. A small enterprise run by Mr He has been developing a very special stove. This simple gadget consumes 60 to 80 percent less wood than a traditional stove or fireplace.

Support comes from outside - from the US organisation TNC or The Nature Conservancy. TNC specialises in working with local authorities and the United Nations Environment Programme. The fuel efficient stove is part of a world-wide initiative to develop alternative energy solutions. TNC also helps the villagers install it. They hope to cut consumption of wood by 75% in the region over the next ten years.

Mr He takes the stoves to Haixi village by and he shows villagers how to use them. The wood has to be chopped smaller than usual. He Mao Jin finds it difficult at first, but thinks, she will get used to it. "After all", she says, "it helps us save wood, and that's really great." After some adjustments the stove works fine. Best of all, it produces far less less smoke than the old fire place, making it much better for their health.

Test Run

It's time for He Mao Jin and family to test run the new stove by cooking a meal on it. Of course Mr He is invited to join the feast. He's delighted to see them using his stove - and to see that it works well.

Off to Market

It's a few month's after Mr He's visit to Haixi, and his stoves are beginning to sell well all over North West Yunnan. Today he's on a marketing drive. Shigu is a Naxi village at the first bend of the Yangtze River. Farmers from all over Lijiang Province come to buy and sell. Shigu's busy market is just the place for Mr He to show off his new stove. His demonstration attracts a lot of attention. Local people used to cooking on open fires are stunned to see how fast the water boils, and how little wood is used.

That's Not All...

Meanwhile in Haixi village, life goes on. He Mao Jin gets up very early every day of the week. She has a lot to do: farm work, looking after the animals, cooking and household chores. But at least she doesn't have to spend so much time searching for wood anymore. The new stove is working well. But that's not all, earlier this year, the family installed a biogas plant. Biogas technology turns waste, not into gold, but something even more precious nowadays - cheap, clean energy. The four-in-one system introduced by The Nature Conservancy does much more than provide energy for cooking and lighting. The unit also includes a greenhouse, a pigpen, and a toilet. The heart of the system is an underground concrete tank, where the waste is 'digested'. It ferments animal and human waste, producing gas. With the help of neighbours, a unit like this can be built in less than a week. They cost about RMB 1500 or US$180, not counting the cost of labour.

Organic System

The greenhouse sited above the biogas digester keeps in the heat, which speeds up the process of fermentation. This is critical during colder months. In turn the greenhouse is warmed, improving the conditions for growing vegetables and raising pigs. The only by-product of the process is a manure, which is an excellent organic fertilizer for the vegetables in the greenhouse. So the whole system is a closed cycle. "The biogas is really convenient", He Mao Jin says, "I only need to press a button, and the fire lights. But our plant does not provide enough gas for cooking three meals a day, so we still need to use some wood. But it's a lot less now."

Time and Money

As a result, He Mao Jin has more time to work in the greenhouse and raise pigs. She sells some of the vegetables and almost all the pigs at the market. With that extra money the family can now afford to send the two youngest children to school. He Mao Jin: "Fees are 90 Yuan every week. That's quite a lot, but my biggest dream is for them to have a better life, so they can make their own choices one day."

Getting Ahead

At the Haixi primary school, the children learn to make the right choices for the environment. Environmental education is compulsory and is taught twice a week. The kids learn about their responsibility for their own future and what they can do to protect nature. And the school practises what it teaches. It was the first site to use the new wood burning stove and the first place in the village to install a greenhouse and biogas unit. The pupils help run it. They collect the animal waste from the households which don't have their own biogas plant. Working in the greenhouse, they learn about the benefits of organic farming and grow vegetables for school lunch. Before fresh greens were a rare item on the school menu.

The school's biogas plant is also a great opportunity to show off the technology to parents. Xia Zuzhang of The Nature Conservancy explains: "When we start a project, we select a school as first demonstration site, to show the people, that the technology works. The villagers income is low and they don't want to invest much money in a new thing, unless they know it is working."

And of course it helps when the village chief decides first to try out the new devices. Since He Rui Jun installed his, 71 of 122 households in Haixi have installed biogas digesters and many have new stoves. And the project is expanding and spreading to other areas...

Sacred Mountain

200 kilometres north of Lijiang, the Mekong river (Lancanjiang) meanders through the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. Deqin Province is home to Mount Kawagebo also known as Meilixueshan, at 6740 metres, the highest peak in Yunnan. Sacred to Tibetans, the mountain is an important place for Buddhist pilgrims. Nobody has ever climbed summit.

The valleys here are home to a wealth of plants including 200 different species of rhododendron, and over 2000 medicinal plants and herbs. There are also rare animals such as the snub-nosed monkey. This treasure house of biodiversity is under pressure from population growth and unsustainable development.

Deqin is one of the poorest areas in China. Before the ban in 1998, eighty percent of the province's revenue came from commercial logging. Today the government promotes reforestation of the mountain slopes and farmland - but for the poor it seems like a huge economic sacrifice.

In the villages along the Mekong valley, the task of environmental protection has fallen to the locals. It's difficult. Traditionally wood has been the most important source of fuel and construction material. Today, there isn't much left. Years after commercial logging has been stopped, an average household here still cuts around 30 cubic metres of fuel wood every year.

Legacy of Logging

In 1984 a new road brought logging companies to the villages. The logging industry also brought modest prosperity for the villagers. Like many others Tang Shuang Lu and his family built a house in the typical Tibetan style; a big house, with room for the animals in the basement and storage for crops upstairs. But the prosperity was shortlived. Today the Tangs see just how many problems the destruction of the forest has caused, not only for their own village.

Tang Shuang Lu: "I know that the deforestation here in our area severely damaged the rivers, especially the Mekong and the Yangtze. And that caused huge floods that destroyed the fields and villages further down stream. I have seen that on television.

So, the forest is very important, we must not destroy it, we must protect it. And for the last few years I have been thinking a lot about how I can help protect the forest. "

Solar Heater

And that's the reason why the Tang family had no hesitation in taking part in a scheme backed by TNC and the Yunan government, to develop alternative energy sources. A solar water heater is being installed on their roof. It only takes a few minutes. It will provide hot water all year round and it's virtually maintenance free. After just a few hours, even on a cloudy day there is warm water from the tap. But this luxury is not a gift. It costs around RMB3000 to 4000 (US$360 - 480)for such a system, and at least half of it has to be paid by the household.

In Xidang Village, the alternative energy project has been an astonishing success. About 50 of the 64 households now have a solar water heater, and almost all of them have installed a biogas unit.

Mini Hydro

Recently the government put a small hydropower plant on a tributary of the Mekong river that now provides electricity for basic services in the villages. But even with the hydroelectricity, biogas and solar heaters, firewood has not yet been completely replaced.

A Forest Reborn?

A Mu Ga's son, Tang Shu Yun is in charge of cutting wood on the mountains. The old oak and pine trees have gone, but young pines are already sprouting. These trees are the beginnings of a new forest. It's future rests in the hands of the local people. Already now the Tangs use only half the wood they used to, and with the new water heater, it will be even less. And that's not only good for the forest, it's good for their lungs.

Smoke Free Zone

The World Health Organisation classes smoke from indoor cooking fires as one of the most serious risks to human health worldwide. Wood smoke can cause chronic respiratory diseases like bronchitis and asthma. It can lead to pneumonia, tuberculosis and even lung cancer. Women and children are especially at risk, because they spend long hours around the fireplace. Clean burning stoves drastically reduce indoor air pollution and the health risks connected.

A Mu Ga thinks that life is much better than it used to be: "When I was a child", she says, "we would only have delicious things once a year at Spring Festival. Now we can have them every day. And we worked so much harder. Today there is gaslighting and the biogas stove, electricity to make flour and to use a rice cooker, and now we even have hot water from the tap."

Downstream Benefits

Decades of unsustainable exploitation have deprived China's rural populations of their natural resources. Introducing alternative fuel sources provides an opportunity to conserve the remaining forests and improve people's lives. And by reducing the consumption of fuel wood, it's hoped the forests can grow back, reducing soil erosion and protecting vital watersheds. But the Chinese aren't the only beneficiaries. Their efforts to protect the forests and rivers will benefit the millions who live downstream in other parts of Asia.