The advent of a marsh gas generating system in Chinese villages has turned human and domestic animal excrement into a fueling material to solve cooking fuel and sanitation problems.

An official with the Ministry of Agriculture said China's countryside is susceptible to flies and mosquitoes because there no effective dejecta cleaning and treatment services offered.

The incidence of infectious diseases has dropped by 80 percent in Tiantang Village in Gongcheng County, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China, since a marsh gas fueling system was installed to 140 households in the village in 1993. Bacteria and the eggs of insects can be eliminated through anaerobic zymolysis, said local technicians.

The natural environment around the village has been much improved as people do not need to use timber as kindling. An estimated 2,133 hectares of timber is protected every year because of this new form of energy. 420,000 households in Guangxi have installed the methane-generating system, which has helped save 290, 000 hectares of forest.

In Hubei Province, central China, the energy has replaced coal as the main source of fuel in rural areas.

"The reform in energy leads the way for sustainable development in China's vast rural areas," said Gu Shuhua, a professor with Qinghua University.

Statistics provided by the Ministry of Agriculture show that a 6-8 cubic meter methane-generating gas pit can produce enough gas to last a household for a year and is equal to the energy of burning 2.5 tons of straw and tree branches.

In Gongcheng County, the farmers who use the gas save 1,994 yuan, compared with those who still employ traditional forms of fuel. This gives a strong incentive to using this new form of energy.

Women are the most ardent supporters for this new form of energy because they do the cooking. In many Chinese villages, cooking occupies most of the daily chores of women. However, with marsh gas, cooking becomes as easy and convenient as in urban areas which use coal or natural gas. (Xinhua)