EcoVille

Gasification of private houses of vulnerable populations to improve air quality in the city of Almaty.

To help address the issue of air pollution, EcoVille, in partnership with AirVision - a social fund dedicated to coping with air pollution in Almaty - wants to connect gas supply to vulnerable populations in the city and suburbs. AirVision has helped more than 20 low-income households to transfer to gas, which is much more environmentally friendly than coal. As I've recently become AirVision's Youth Ambassador, in partnership with the organization, I want to achieve the goal of gasifying 200+ houses in 2022.

The process of gasification is completed through several ways: 1) connection to the central gas supply chain; 2) gas tank installation; 3) installation of gas generation or biogas equipment. 

The solution is related to the problem of air pollution in Almaty. 

Air quality depends on the concentration of PM2.5 particles in the air. PM2.5 is the most dangerous pollutant, since, due to its small size, it can penetrate into the bloodstream and further settle in the organs. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set an air quality standard of 10 mg/m3 per year and 25 mg/m3 per day. In Almaty, the average annual concentrations are 2.7-8.1 times, and the average daily concentrations during the heating season are up to 42 times higher. In addition, excesses are recorded 87% of days a year

While there are several contributors to such phenomena like non-renovated thermal power plants, non-gasified private houses also contribute significantly to the pollution. It's not cheap to connect gas supply to homes (costs from 400,000 to 1,000,000 Kazakhstani Tenge), which is why many low-income households cannot afford it. They, accordingly, heat their houses by firing coal/litter, which results in the emission of 3959.94 tons of greenhouse gases per year. 

The solution seeks to serve socially vulnerable populations of the polluted city and its suburbs. According to statistics, around 300 houses per region (there are 8 regions in Almaty) are in need of gasification. 

By decreasing the carbon emissions, the project will also benefit 2 million citizens residing in Almaty by preventing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and enhancing the standard of living. People living in Almaty are currently at the highest risk of developing diseases such as asthma, stroke, bronchitis, etc. Through realizing this project, EcoVille wants to help the citizens live in a safe environment and breathe clean air. 

- researched the problem since the age of 8. Developed 2 complete studies, one of which won the National Science Project competition in 2020. 

- selected to become a Youth Ambassador of an organization that's currently working on the problem;

- studied the main contributors to the increased rate of air pollution in Almaty by researching and gaining access to academic resources (previous studies, scientific books and websites, etc.);

- studied the ways by which the rate of air pollution can be decreased or the issue completely resolved through investigating cases of Chinese cities such as Beijing and US cities such as New York, where Clean Air Action Plan 2013-2017 and the Clean Air Act lead to a major success;

- studied the area of air filtration, different systems that are currently used and their effectiveness; searched air filtration systems that could potentially be implemented at thermoelectric power stations and private houses not connected to gas supply, which are proven to be the main air polluters as of now;

The solution is currently being tested by the social fund AirVision. The organization has helped 20+ low-income households to connect to gas supply in 2021. Overall, they're planning to assist 200 households. However, our organization wants to help expand that number. 

Along with my gender identity and age, I qualify for the HP Girls Save the World Prize because the solution I am working on is focused on solving the problem associated with climate change - air pollution. My team would use the prize to build more sustainable heating systems for houses that currently run on coal and gasify more households from socially-vulnerable populations. The grant would also help us expand our impact geographically since there are many people in need living in other polluted cities such as Temirtau, Burunday, Shymkent, etc.