Dili, 05 June 2018: Starting today - World Environment Day - communities across Timor-Leste’s 11 municipalities will have a unique opportunity to learn first-hand about the benefits of using energy efficient and environmentally friendly cookstoves by attending a roadshow on their local market day.

Organised by the Government of Timor-Leste and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) the roadshow will highlight key issues such as deforestation, negative impacts on health caused by indoor air pollution and waste management, as well as inefficient energy use, supporting worldwide awareness and action for the protection of the environment.

The roadshow will travel to 28 markets across Timor-Leste during June and July, providing local people with the chance to watch live energy efficient cookstoves, fuelwood and bio-briquette demonstrations. They will also be able to meet local suppliers, as well as enter a prize draw to win a cook stove.

The roadshow will help local communities to better understand the importance of forest conservation for meeting their basic needs and accessing livelihood opportunities and will be supported by UNDP’s partner organizations Mercy Corps and Mesak Training Centre, as well as local cookstove manufacturers.

Most households in Timor-Leste still depend on inefficient three-stone cooking fires which consume a lot of firewood and cause severe indoor air pollution. According to a Mercy Corps survey, urban households in Timor-Leste spend $8.00 per week on firewood and rural households spend around 11 hours per week collecting firewood. Bio-briquettes use coconut or coffee husks, burn longer and cost less.

The survey also indicates that an average Timorese family uses 8.3kg of firewood per day which amounts to 3 tonnes per year. This heavy dependence on firewood leads to deforestation and land degradation. Improved cookstoves not only consume less fuel wood but also cause less indoor air pollution, benefitting the health of women and children who are traditionally in charge of collecting fuel wood and cooking.

The first stop for the roadshow will be Letefoho Market in Ermera tomorrow, Wednesday 06 June, before moving onto Gleno the following day. It will then visit four locations in Maliana and continue to travel around the country, eventually ending in Dili in late July or early August.

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For more information please contact: media.tl@undp.org

The Sustainable Bioenergy Production from Biomass (SBEPB) Project with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Timor-Leste (GoTL), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other funding partners focuses on the promotion and use of biomass energy resources for the provision of energy access and services in rural areas.