Dear: -Ms Hao, Director, Energy and Ecology Division, Ministry of Agriculture; -Dr Li, Director-General of the Biogas

Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture; -Mr Acharya, Senior Climate Change Specialist (Clean Energy), Asian Development Bank; -Mr Li, Secretary-General of China Biogas Society, and Director of Renewable Energy Division of REEA the Rural Energy and Environment Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture; -Mr Xia, Chairman of this Opening Session; -Participants from all countries. Chengdu in known from its spicy food, abundant tea houses and Mahjong playing, but unfortunately it looks as if these are not the reasons why we are here together in this city. Domestic biogas is one of possibilities for households in the developing world to get access to clean and sustainable fuel, especially for cooking, as well as potent organic fertiliser. Rough estimates indicate a technical market potential of about 155 million households globally. Since 1989, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is supporting the set-up and implementation of national programmes for domestic biogas. By the end of this year, around 500,000 biogas plants will have been installed in 17 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. To develop these programmes towards sustainability, a sector-wide will be required. First of all, the capacities of the local organisations in the countries to deliver quality products and services related to installation and financing need to be developed. In addition, it will be required to develop the enabling environment including the policy and regulatory framework to create a level playing field for the service providers in the market. This all is easier said than done, and requires hard work by all actors involved in the biogas sectors. From time to time, it is useful to take a step back, sit down and evaluate what has been done. Such reflection may be well supported by a cup of refreshing tea that Chengdu is able to provide to us. During such reflection, it may be required, though not always easy, to be critical on our own performance in the sector. What went wrong and why? What could be improved and how? In other words, these discussions may need some of the spices so well-known from Chengdu. Another ingredient that we will need in the coming days is pleasure in our encounters and here we could learn from the Mahjong playing of Chengdu. Apart from numerous other smaller networking activities, this event is the fourth international workshop on domestic biogas initiated by SNV in a row. The first one took place in Kathmandu in 2009; the second one in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2010; and the third one in Bandung, Indonesia, in 2011. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to meet so many old and new partners in this biogas workshop in Chengdu. In particular, we like to welcome our participants who had to travel from very far being Mr Xavier Bambara and Mr Jan Lam from Burkina Faso; Mr Innocent Mjema from Tanzania; Mr Lewis Bangwe from Zambia; and Mr Tao Wang from the USA. SNV likes to sincerely thank our partner in China, being the Ministry of Agriculture including its Biogas Institute for all support provided for the organisation of this workshop. We also like to express our gratitude to the Asian Development Bank for the support provided to the Working Group on Domestic Biogas in the framework of the Energy for All Partnership. In addition, we like to acknowledge here the continuous support provided by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the development of the domestic biogas sectors in the developing world. Let me conclude in wishing you all a very useful and inspiring workshop in Chengdu spirited by its tea, spicy food and Mahjong. Thank you. Wim J. van Nes, SNV, Chengdu, 20 November 2012