Energy-Efficient Cookstove and Carbon Reduction Project
Safeguarding the habitat of the giant panda in the Meigu Dafengding National Nature Reserve and the livelihoods of local people.
Project overview
Since 2010, WWF has worked through its Energy-Efficient Cookstove and Carbon Reduction Project in Meigu County, safeguarding both the habitat of the giant panda in the Meigu Dafengding National Nature Reserve and the livelihoods of the nearby villagers.
Each stove is estimated to save 9.48 tons of firewood and reduces CO₂ emissions by 18.08 tons annually. With their external chimneys, they are also much healthier to use, reducing air pollution within the home.
By introducing cleaner, more efficient household stoves, WWF aims to ease the community’s dependence on the forest, gradually restoring the buffer zones around the habitat. In doing so, we hope to reduce carbon emissions and cut down on firewood use, carve out more undisturbed space for pandas while also offering local communities access to sustainable energy and better livelihoods.
Why we are doing it
In the Meigu Dafengding National Nature Reserve, habitat fragmentation remains one of the biggest obstacles to the recovery of the giant panda population. The local communities have historically needed to gather firewood from the forest on a daily basis, as their primary fuel source. This has gradually worn down this fragile ecosystem. Overharvesting has damaged forests and further fragmented panda habitats, affecting the 22 wild giant pandas that live here.
Project impact
Over the past decade, about 1,400 energy efficient cookstoves have been built in Meigu County. They require less fuel, saving 13,272 tons of firewood annually, reducing CO₂ emissions by 25,312 tons, and protecting 2,94 hectares of forest each year. According to Shama Erqu, head of Yiwu Village, the time saved has allowed villagers to take up beekeeping, increasing their household income by more than 3,000 yuan per year on average.
In Meigu Dafengding Nature Reserve, the forest is quietly healing. Last year, WWF-China’s team noticed old tree stumps - once left behind after logging - beginning to sprout fresh shoots. This year, those same stumps are greener, with more and more young branches reaching toward the sky. We believe that perseverance — stove by stove, tree by tree, home by home — can ripple outward like the rings of a growing tree, quietly compounding into a force strong enough to protect an entire ecosystem.