Wastewater Treatment in Swine Farms to Mitigate Climate Change Effects by Implementing Clean Development Mechanism Projects

The development of CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) projects in swine farms is as an efficient tool to reduce methane emissions (a greenhouse gas regulated by the Kyoto Protocol). Besides the environmental aspect, there are other benefits of CDM projects: they are beneficial for the farm's image, they contribute to the sustainable development of the region or country, and they generate revenues from the sale of CER (Certified Emission Reductions). The economical aspect is many times what leads the decision of developing a CDM project because the emission reduction activity implies performing feasibility studies and engineering works that require a considerable investment. In order to aid the decision-making process, an analysis of current cases is performed, leading to the development of a “decision tool” that helps to evaluate when it is convenient to do a CDM project in a swine farm. The “decision tool” is based on the potential revenue that would be obtained by the sale of emission reductions, the estimated investment and associated costs that the development of a CDM project would have.