2.1 Sostenibilità delle tecnologie appropriate per l’ambiente nei Paesi del Sud del Mondo

VALORISATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF CRUDE EARTH AS BUILDING MATERIAL IN CHAD AND CAMEROON

Angelo Mazzù - Università di Brescia (Francesco Vitali - Università di Brescia, CeTAmb; Jean Pierre Nguetnkam, Jean PIerre Temga, Robert Ndjouenkeu - Università di Ngaoundéré – Camerun)

La deforestazione è una delle minacce più drammatiche per l’equilibrio ambientale e la sicurezza alimentare in molte regioni del mondo, particolarmente nell’Africa sub – sahariana. Essa è accelerata dalle attività umane, fra le quali la cottura di mattoni in terra, che richiede grandi quantità di legna per le elevate temperature necessarie. In questo contesto, è stata sviluppata una partnership fra l’Università di Brescia e l’Università di Ngaoundéré (Camerun) finalizzata a studiare le potenzialità della terra cruda come materiale da costruzione, nell’ambito della lotta alla deforestazione nella valle del Logone, zona di frontiera fra Ciad e Camerun. L’università di Ngaoundéré ha contribuito particolarmente alla caratterizzazione geotecnica e morfologica dei suoli, ed alla scelta del sito per l’installazione di un impianto pilota. L’università di Brescia ha condotto una ricerca sulle tecniche attualmente in uso nella zona, ed ha sviluppato un nuovo macchinario finalizzato ad ottimizzare la produzione di mattoni in terra cruda. La macchina è stata poi costruita presso una scuola tecnica locale, in modo da trasferire le competenze per la sua gestione e per la produzione di nuovi esemplari; successivamente, essa è stata affidata ad un produttore locale. Una simulazione della gestione dell’impianto sul lungo periodo ha permesso di valutare positivamente sia la sostenibilità economica del progetto, sia i benefici ambientali, in termini di risparmio energetico e di riduzione delle emissioni di gas serra.

SOSTENIBILITÀ DELLE TECNOLOGIE APPROPRIATE PER L’AMBIENTE NEI PAESI DEL SUD DEL MONDO

Carlo Collivignarelli – CeTAmb, Università di Brescia (Sabrina Sorlini, Francesco Vitali - CeTAmb, Università di Brescia)

Il CeTAmb, Centro di Ricerca dell’Università di Brescia, si occupa di promuovere la ricerca e lo sviluppo di tecnologie appropriate come strumento per il miglioramento della qualità dell’ambiente nei Paesi del sud del mondo. Le tecnologie appropriate possono rappresentare un utile strumento per risolvere problemi quali la carenza di risorse idriche, la scarsa qualità dell’acqua per il consumo umano, la depurazione delle acque reflue, la gestione dei rifiuti, la produzione di energia. Quando si parla di tecnologie appropriate si fa riferimento a soluzioni che devono rispondere ai seguenti requisiti: risolvere esigenze e problemi reali; avere bassi costi di realizzazione e di funzionamento; usare  materiali e  manodopera locali; usare razionalmente le risorse naturali; essere semplice (nella fabbricazione, nel funzionamento, nella manutenzione ordinaria, nelle riparazioni e nell’organizzazione); essere riproducibile; ridurre l’impatto ambientale. L’obiettivo del CeTAmb nei progetti di cooperazione è quello di mettere a punto tecnologie appropriate e sostenibili, finalizzate alla soluzione di specifiche problematiche ambientali nei PVS. Per sperare di conseguire questo obiettivo, è fondamentale (anche se non sufficiente)  che l’attività del CeTAmb sia supportata da una corretta metodologia di lavoro, a partire dalla impostazione iniziale, per proseguire con lo sviluppo vero e proprio, per concludersi con la validazione finale dei progetti:

• una corretta impostazione, infatti, è fondamentale per conoscere nel modo più completo possibile il contesto in cui si opera e per permettere di inquadrare la problematica e di definire gli obiettivi da raggiungere; 
• lo sviluppo del progetto deve mirare a individuare, progettare  e realizzare le soluzioni tecnologiche più appropriate al contesto analizzato; 
• infine, la  validazione del progetto è una importante fasi di verificare della loro effettiva sostenibilità (sociale, culturale, economica e tecnologica).

APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGIES FOR HOUSEHOLD COOKING WITH SOLID FUELS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Francesco Vitali – CeTAmb, Università di Brescia (Mentore Vaccari – Università di Brescia)

The use of traditional solid fuels leads to a number of dramatic impacts not only on the users but also for the environment. Often national household energy policies do not have the capacity to effectively target an adequate diffused energy access, chasing the hope to switch to more modern and clean fuels, like LPG, and missing meeting the financial capacities and the needs of the population. Thus, especially for the weakest income classes, energy poverty seems to be a no-way-out situation. Appropriate technologies play a key role in breaking this vicious circle, providing with the intermediate solutions to escape from this limiting condition. Actually there are many technology options to use traditional fuels more efficiently. The suitability of the existing improved technologies depends on factors such as availability, applicability, acceptability and affordability, including access to finance to cover initial investments. The adoption of improved technologies, which allow to use even poor fuels, but in a convenient, cleaner and more efficient manner, appears to be a viable way to walk to reach the goal of minimum energy access for the poor. The approach adopted in this work is strongly influenced by the considerations done here above. A specific context, the Logone Valley at the border between Chad and Cameroun, was the one were field observations and activities were implemented. The introduction of improved stove models were studied in order to provide the local population with alternative fuel stove to cover their daily energy needs. Not only technical aspects such as the material availability or the local artisan skills were considered, but aspects such as the adaptability to local cooking practices, the sustainability and the acceptance by users were addressed.  

SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS: CONSIDERATIONS FROM TWO CASE STUDIES

Sabrina Sorlini - CeTAmb, Università di Brescia (Luca Rondi – Università di Brescia)

In Developing countries, drinking water supply is still an open issue: in sub-Saharan Africa, coverage of improved water supply gains only the 63% (JMP, 2013). Some regions are affected by geogenic contaminants (e.g. fluorides and arsenic) and the lack of access to sanitation facilities and hygiene practices causes a high microbiological contamination of water in the supply chain. The responses to these problems are the several projects on drinking water supply that aim to improve the water availability and quality all over the world. But, how cooperation projects on water supply can be really sustainable? Can implemented technologies still work after the end of the projects? These are questions that every NGO/Association should answer during project elaboration and implementation. The main factors that can be a source of failure for water supply projects are: complexity or costs of technologies (even if implemented at domestic scale), technical management, level of acceptance by the beneficiary community (that, if does not clearly recognize the technology benefits, can make hardly sustainable the entire project) and level of support by the local and/or national Institutions. In order to gain the project sustainability, the activities should be clearly focused after a rigorous assessment in the study area regarding the local availability of human and material resources for the technology implementation, the awareness level of the community in terms of technology need and acceptance, etc. CeTAmb research center (Brescia University) has surveyed two projects on drinking water management in Senegal and Burkina Faso, which have confirmed the importance of these aspects. The sustainability level was evaluated after the project implementation: in the first case study, several deficiencies were arisen in terms of material availability and technology costs, whereas the second case study highlighted successful results in regard to water management system sustainability.

HEALTHCARE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH. A TALE OF TWO STORIES

Marco Morandotti – Università di Pavia (Daniele Besana – Università di Pavia)

The paper presents the results of a didactic experience and of a research developed at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Pavia in the field of the cooperation, focused on the sustainable design approach in the global south. All the different experiences are based upon a multidisciplinary and holistic design concept as a possible strategy to control both the technical feasibility and the environmental and social sustainability of the intervention. The paper is focused on two different experiences both regarding the health planning sustainable design in Kenya, Africa. The first one is the results of an International Winter School BSuR-Building Sustainable (Re)Construction. Innovative design approach for developing countries, developed on February 2012. The school had been attended by engineers, architects and PhD students of different universities, such as Pavia, Milan, Turin. The project activities consist in frontal and multidisciplinary lectures and in workshop focused on different design topics held by professors and designers with direct experience in collaboration with NGOs and international organizations. Students had to work on real needs, regarding the formulation of workable solutions for the Maternity Unit at the Malindi General Hospital, dealing with realistic data of context, materials and costs.  The second case study concerns the design of a medical dispensary in Chakama, near Tzavo Park. The need to design a first medical support health was expressed by the local diocese and the Hospital San Matteo of Pavia and it’s developing under the technical support of the Laboratory STEP, University of Pavia. The main idea is to design and implement a modular, sustainable and expandable unit that could be used as a prototype to be implemented in different territorial contexts, as a possible answer to the needs of the community, settled in an area without care facilities and characterized by an extremely critical of the socio-general health.

STUDY AND DESIGN OF A LOW ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT LANDFILLING IN TOGO

Alessandra Bonoli – Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica, Ambientale e dei Materiali, Università di Bologna (Sara Bellaviata – CODE^3)

Waste disposal in landfilling, in association with a separate collection of organic and non-organic waste, seems to be the easiest and cheapest method, compared to others, for a developing country,  as Togo,  poor in economic and technological resources. Obviously, a landfill construction requires an accurate environment and economic assessment in order to minimize the impact on the local population. It means to consider local population conditions and behaviors, municipal solid waste fluxes and their characteristics in terms of quality and quantity,  climatic conditions, geotechnical and hydrological characteristics of the site and many other  environmental and social factors in order to perform an optimal design. But first of all it must be considered the evaluation of economic and technological resources available and the level of information to the population about environmental impacts and health risks related to waste landfilling.  The landfill  in the village of Assahoun, Togo, conceived by Soutien Planète and developed by CODE^3  has been designed in such a way to reduce the negative environmental impacts using an appropriate technologies approach with simple solutions by the point of view of construction, management and cooperation between inhabitants and stakeholders. The project has been thought and designed to make waste management and disposal as compatible as possible with environmental and local population requirements, to ensure that it is not just a project, but to make actually possible to its construction. It would be also necessary a recycling perspective of some fractions as paper and cardboard, glass and plastic, organic waste  but for the moment it isn’t possible for the local population to start up a  separate collection and an appropriate managing  of these materials: that needs a few more years of strong awareness by not only the environmental and humanitarian associations, but also, and especially, by government bodies.