Papers by Tika Ram Pokharel
Sustainability
Energy is an important input for socioeconomic development and human well-being. The rationality ... more Energy is an important input for socioeconomic development and human well-being. The rationality of energy transitions toward cleaner energy resources is not only to improve individual living conditions, but also to enhance the economic growth of a nation. Nepal is considered to be one of the countries with a low per-capita electricity use, heavily relying on traditional energy resources such as firewood and agricultural residues. The country is rich in hydropower resources. However, various economic and socioeconomic constraints have left the significant potential for hydroelectricity untapped. This study describes the energy transition patterns in Nepal based on a literature review and field survey of household energy use in the winter. We collected data from 516 households in the Solukhumbu, Panchthar, and Jhapa districts of Nepal. The rate of per-capita electricity consumption was 330 kWh/capita/year, which is significantly lower than that of other contemporary global societies ...
People in rural areas of Nepal have been using firewood for a variety of household purposes. In t... more People in rural areas of Nepal have been using firewood for a variety of household purposes. In this paper we analysed the firewood consumption patterns and their relationship with family size and the number of livestock rearing in the study area of Dhading district of Nepal. A survey on periodic household firewood consumption was carried out for 24 hours in 16 households. The per-capita firewood consumption was found 1.75 kg/capita/day and average household firewood consumption was found 12.1 kg/family/day. We found household firewood consumption increases as family size increases but the per-capita firewood consumption decreases with the increase in family size. Firewood consumption also increases with the increase in the number of livestock reared. The rates of firewood combustion of small and big households were 1.28 kg/hour and 1.34 kg/hours respectively. Average period for firewood burning of either small or big households was found from 8.7 to 9.9 hours per day. Based on the information on the firewood consumption patterns of Dhading district obtained from the measurement survey, it is considered that the improvements on traditional cooking stoves together with improvement of indoor environmental condition that influence very much on the health of the rural people is of vital importance.
PLEA, 2018
People in rural areas of Nepal have been using firewood for a variety of household purposes. In t... more People in rural areas of Nepal have been using firewood for a variety of household purposes. In this paper we analysed the firewood consumption patterns and their relationship with family size and the number of livestock rearing in the study area of Dhading district of Nepal. A survey on periodic household firewood consumption was carried out for 24 hours in 16 households. The per-capita firewood consumption was found 1.75 kg/capita/day and average household firewood consumption was found 12.1 kg/family/day. We found household firewood consumption increases as family size increases but the per-capita firewood consumption decreases with the increase in family size. Firewood consumption also increases with the increase in the number of livestock reared. The rates of firewood combustion of small and big households were 1.28 kg/hour and 1.34 kg/hours respectively. Average period for firewood burning of either small or big households was found from 8.7 to 9.9 hours per day. Based on the information on the firewood consumption patterns of Dhading district obtained from the measurement survey, it is considered that the improvements on traditional cooking stoves together with improvement of indoor environmental condition that influence very much on the health of the rural people is of vital importance.
PLEA_Hong Kong, 2018
People in rural areas of Nepal have been using firewood for a variety of household purposes. In t... more People in rural areas of Nepal have been using firewood for a variety of household purposes. In this paper we analysed the firewood consumption patterns and their relationship with family size and the number of livestock rearing in the study area of Dhading district of Nepal. A survey on periodic household firewood consumption was carried out for 24 hours in 16 households. The per-capita firewood consumption was found 1.75 kg/capita/day and average household firewood consumption was found 12.1 kg/family/day. We found household firewood consumption increases as family size increases but the per-capita firewood consumption decreases with the increase in family size. Firewood consumption also increases with the increase in the number of livestock reared. The rates of firewood combustion of small and big households were 1.28 kg/hour and 1.34 kg/hours respectively. Average period for firewood burning of either small or big households was found from 8.7 to 9.9 hours per day. Based on the information on the firewood consumption patterns of Dhading district obtained from the measurement survey, it is considered that the improvements on traditional cooking stoves together with improvement of indoor environmental condition that influence very much on the health of the rural people is of vital importance.
SBE Tokyo, 2019
Nepal is a mountainous country with low energy use so far and its climatic patterns remarkably di... more Nepal is a mountainous country with low energy use so far and its climatic patterns remarkably differ from one place to another due to its geographical variation. In the north summer is cool and winter severe, while in the south summer is tropical and winter is mild. Indoor thermal environment and household energy use of residential buildings are in general very much associated so that there have been guide a lot of research; however, there has not been sufficient number of such studies focusing on Nepal. In this study, we aim to analyze the current situation of household energy use and indoor thermal environment of residential buildings in three different ecological regions of Nepal. This study was carried out in mountain, hill and terai regions representing cold, temperate and subtropical climate in Nepal from 21 st December, 2017 to 20 th January, 2018. Indoor and outdoor air temperature and humidity were measured by electronic sensors with the help of data logger for every 10-minute interval from 5 households from each region. The mass of firewood used was also measured at those houses. Household energy-use data of 516 houses were collected by the method of questionnaire survey. We found that mean indoor temperature was 3.6℃, 9.4℃ and 19.0℃ in cold, temperate and subtropical regions respectively. Based on this field study, we concluded that firewood is the primary source of household energy for cooking. The present finding suggests that an intensive and extensive improvements of the indoor thermal environment together with rationalization of energy use must be important especially for winter seasons.
AIJ, 2017
Nepal is one of the lowest energy consuming country in the world and use traditional stoves with ... more Nepal is one of the lowest energy consuming country in the world and use traditional stoves with solid biomass fuels as a primary cooking measures (Rijal & Yoshida 2002). More than 85% of its household energy comes from traditional energy sources (firewood, agricultural residues and animal dung). In rural areas of Nepal 84.5% households depend on firewood for cooking (CBS 2003). It is estimated that approximately 80% of households use biomass as the principal source of domestic energy in Nepal (CBS, 2011).
AIJ, 2018
Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world with 83% of the population living in r... more Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world with 83% of the population living in rural area (CBS Nepal 2012). Firewood is the crucial resource for rural livelihoods as it accounts for 87% of total energy use in Nepal (CBS Nepal 2012; WESP 2014). It is used for cooking, heating, and lighting purpose in rural households. Nepal is an agriculturally dominant economy where about 74% of the households rely on the subsistence-based agricultural sector (Joshi et al. 2017). Due to the insufficient supply of electricity (less than 700 MW) coupled with low income, households with access to electricity often consume it for only lighting purposes (Joshi et al. 2017). About 80% of the households are located in rural areas, and about 90% of rural households use traditional fuel as a primary cooking fuel (CBS Nepal 2012).
SCA, 2017
Around 2/3 of the population of developing countries rely on irewood for cooking and heating. App... more Around 2/3 of the population of developing countries rely on irewood for cooking and heating. Approximately 89% of Nepal s total energy is consumed in household. Forest is the most important source of irewood. This paper analyzes irewood consumption pattern, its source and supply in different ecological regions of Nepal based on literature review and ield survey. The literature review was conducted for the irewood consumption pattern in different parts of Nepal. Data used in this paper was collected from various available governmental, nongovernmental organizations and individual research papers. Periodic irewood consumption pattern, land use pattern and sustainable annual fuel wood supply data are employed from reports by Water and Energy Commission Secretariat of Nepal and other reliable sources. Daily irewood consumption of 16 households in winter season were measured in hilly region of Dhading district. High periodic consumption of irewood was seen at 6-8 am. The irewood use pattern is not uniform in different ecological regions. Firewood consumption was found from 235kg/capita/year (Bhaktapur) to 733kg/capita/year (Jhapa) in different ecological regions. It was found that the traditional energy uses are still increasing. Sustainable fuelwood supplies by forest and cultivated land was found to be 80.3% and 9.3% respectively. After reviewing different research on irewood consumption in Nepal, it was concluded that amount of irewood consumption depends upon the climatic condition of the area, season, nearness of forest, availability of commercial fuel, state of urbanization and economic status and thermal behavior of the people and other socio economic factors.
AIJ, 2019
Energy poverty, such as unavailability and affordability of clean commercial fuel has long been a... more Energy poverty, such as unavailability and affordability of clean commercial fuel has long been a serious problem in many developing countries. Access to clean cooking fuels and improved cooking stoves is the important indicator of the people to make well-being of the society; as it enables a variety of improvements for the better quality of life.
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Papers by Tika Ram Pokharel