August 8, 2025
THIMPHU – Despite Bhutan’s commendable strides in clean energy, household air pollution remains a persistent and overlooked threat, accounting for 32.8 percent of the country’s overall air pollution.
While electricity coverage is robust, many Bhutanese households continue to rely on firewood for cooking and heating, posing challenges that require sustainable solutions.
A recent study under the collaborative project “Clean Energy for Better Air: Health Impacts and Inclusivity” sheds light on how indoor air pollution disproportionately affects rural households, particularly women and children.
The study, conducted by the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law (JSW Law) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), surveyed 305 households in Haa in November 2024 and Lingzhi, Thimphu in April this year.
Carried out through the Gender Equality and Socially Inclusive (GESI) clean energy nexus, the study found that while residents are adopting clean energy sources like LPG, induction stoves, and electric cookers, traditional fuels such as firewood and yak dung remain dominant for space heating and livestock feed preparation.
In Haa, firewood is still the primary energy source for heating, while Lingzhi households depend heavily on yak dung.
“The use of firewood and yak dung not only exposes women and young children to severe health risks due to prolonged exposure to pollutants in poorly ventilated homes but also imposes the burden of fuel collection on them,” the study states.
One potential solution is the adoption of improved smokeless mud stoves, which have been shown to reduce fuelwood consumption by up to 50 percent while significantly lowering indoor air pollution exposure.
However, scaling up this solution is proving difficult. In Lingzhi, residents reported that poor soil quality rendered mud stoves ineffective, forcing many to revert to traditional Bukhari stoves.
To address these challenges, a pilot action research initiative was launched in Haa earlier this year, comparing the efficiency of traditional stoves (bukhari) with Himalayan rocket stoves. The project aimed to ease the fuel burden on women, improve indoor air quality, and enhance heating efficiency.
The study found that local government representatives often struggle to address the interconnected issues of air pollution, health equity, and clean energy due to limited access to relevant data, indicators, and tools.
To help bridge this gap, the indoor air pollution-GESI-clean energy project also gathered secondary data from the government, focusing on clean energy, demographics, and health-related indicators to support more informed and responsive decision-making at both national and local levels.
The workshop, titled “Bridging Air Quality, Health Equity, and Clean Energy,” was organised by JSW Law and ICIMOD as part of ongoing efforts to tackle the multifaceted challenges of household air pollution from August 4 to 5 . Participants underscored the urgent need for affordable clean energy solutions that are tailored to Bhutan’s unique socio-economic and geographic realities.
Sangay Dorjee, Dean of JSW Law School, said the impacts of indoor air pollution on rural households particularly women and children raise critical questions of environmental justice, gender equity, and social inclusion.
“These are the very questions law schools must engage with—not only through scholarship, but through meaningful partnerships with communities and institutions like ICIMOD that lead with science, innovation, and vision,” he said.
He added that the ongoing project with ICIMOD reflects a shared understanding that air pollution, energy poverty, and health inequities are not merely technical or environmental issues, but fundamentally social and legal challenges that demand inclusive, evidence-informed, and cross-sectoral solutions.
Officials from ICIMOD highlighted the paradox facing Bhutan. Despite its carbon-neutral status, maintaining good air quality remains a challenge due to transboundary pollution, urbanisation, and the widespread use of biomass fuels in rural areas. They called for greater efforts to expand access to clean energy while reducing reliance on firewood.
Tshering Choden, officiating director of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, said the issue of air pollution is becoming increasingly relevant due to urbanisation, industrial development, and seasonal transboundary pollution.
“There is a need to enhance technical infrastructure, data management systems, and institutional capacities to better understand and manage air quality,” she said.
Residents of Haa who participated in the workshop stressed the need for affordable Himalayan rocket stoves, as most people are unable to afford them due to their high cost. They said that firewood use in Haa is essential, especially in winter, and that improved stoves could significantly reduce household air pollution.