SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE WOOD BIOMASS USE IN CYPRUS HOUSEHOLDS

摘要

In many island communities of Europe, wood biomass is considered one of the most important sourcesof energy for heating and cooking, especially for the mountainous and rural ones. The aim of this paper is todetermine comprehensively the wood biomass quantities consumed in the mountain areas of Cyprus; additionally theorigin of biomass, the implications of the uncontrolled use and overexploitation of wood biomass as well as theevaluation of the social and economic impacts. The planned actions involve the identification of the quantities and theorigin of wood biomass consumed in the mountainous communities of Cyprus (more than 40) with the analysis ofdata collected through a structured questionnaire and a dedicated field research. Also, measurements of the variationof air quality (CO_2, CO, NO_x, PM_(2.5), PM_(10), TPM) was carried out, between winter and summer months for bothindoor and outdoor air quality in mountain households. Comparable measurements were performed in houses that useenergy efficient fireplaces in order to record any changes/improvement in air quality. This study is financed by theCyprus Research Promotion Foundation.