This multi-award winning Gold Standard project provides rural Vietnamese farmers with a way of producing clean, renewable fuel from animal manure.

Biogas digesters are installed that capture the potent greenhouse gas methane from organic materials such as crop waste, animal manure, and human excreta. The collection of this organic waste leads to improved sanitary conditions on the farms and a reduction in environmental pollution of water sources; while the methane gas produced provides fuel for cooking, power and basic lighting.

The residue from the bio-digester, called bio-slurry, can also be used as a powerful organic fertilizer, bringing down the cost of agriculture, significantly improving crop yields and substituting more environmentally damaging synthetic fertilizers.

The installed biogas units therefore contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas in three ways: avoidance of methane emissions from the manure by capturing and destroying methane to produce energy; fuel switch from non-sustainable energy sources for cooking and lighting, to renewable biogas; and a replacement of chemical fertilizers with bio-slurry. There are now 158,500 digesters installed, which on average each save 5.9 tonnes of CO₂ annually.

As well as environmental benefits, this project also provides social and economic benefits to local communities. The construction and maintenance of biogas digester systems in rural areas creates employment opportunities, and their activity leads to a reduction in costs for domestic thermal energy and for synthetic fertilizers. The project activity also reduces the domestic workload of women and children by reducing demand for wood, which takes time to collect, and by providing cooking fuel that burns faster and cleaner than solid fuels. There is also a prevention of respiratory illnesses resulting from indoor air pollution and gastro-enteric diseases from contaminated water sources.

Check out this short film on how it is transforming both planetary and human health:

Since its inception in 2003, this programme has transformed the lives of so many people in Vietnam that the Government has extended the project to run until 2021. During its lifetime, the Vietnam Biogas Programme has been recognised internationally:

Won Energy Globe Award 2006
Won Ashden Award 2010
Won ‘Humanitarian Award’ of World Energy Forum 2012
Nominee, Zayed Future Energy Prize 2016

Beatrice Bayliss

Beatrice Bayliss

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