Innovation technologies and biomass processing to facilatate the energy access in rural communities. Analysis of Kenyan municipalities

The traditional concept of development concerns the human actions that have modified the environment to create a space in which live adequately according to his needs. This development paradigm has begun to waver namely for the negative implications and damages for the environment and for the ecosystem, such as serious phenomena of global pollution and scarcity of resources available for future generations. The result is a more awareness on the importance of a correct management of natural resources and a review of production and consumption patterns, elements that represent the starting point for a correct economic and social development. In the last decades, human activities have led to negative output in many areas, for instance irrational use of renewable and non-renewable resources, climatic alterations, imbalances in natural ecosystems, air pollution, soil and water resources caused by chemical agents and organic residues. The consequences of these actions are harmful for different subjects, not only human beings but also environment and ecosystems. The negative effects of this economic model affect indifferently developed and developing countries. If we focus our attention on developing countries, we note that despite being very rich in natural resources and depending on these resources for the internal economy and growth, at local level, multiple environmental and social problems are registered. In fact, the irrational use of natural resources determines an environmental degradation that frequently involves an intertwining of other factors of underdevelopment such as poverty, rapid demographic growth, and social inequalities. An accelerated development not suitable and unsustainable causes itself a rapid degradation of the environment and the dramatic destruction of the same natural resources with negative consequences both for the well-being and for the health of the population. At the end of the Second World War, industrial development was rapid and overwhelming, but also full of imbalances and limits. Innovation of technology and processes have been fundamental for the process of development and growth, heading the maximum level never registered before (Leaning, 1993). From the other side, the investment on fields and agriculture registered a decrease and the abandonment of countryside lead to phenomena of urban drift with consequences of underdevelopment and concentration of population in urban neighbourhood. The imbalances pilot to significant increase in private consumption, with consequent stagnation in public consumption; imbalance between the progress of some sectors or economic activities with respect to the congenital backwardness in others; inability to bridge the gap between North and South. In the 1960s started to be manifested the first cases of pollution, deriving precisely from the huge and unruly technological progress. The spread and blind confidence that market and growth were limitless allowed to conduct investments without taking into account any environmental aspect and the unlimited exploitation of natural resources was normally accepted as a price to be paid to nourish economic development and provide employment. At this time of the history, environment had only an instrumental value and exploitation of natural resources was conducted without limits. With the emergence of the first economic crises linked to the problems of scarcity of natural resources, confidence in unlimited growth began to be unreal and defined the first political crisis at international levels. Almost immediately, was realized from international community that a common policy was needed for a new model of development to reconcile economic growth and fair distribution of resources. This new philosophy of conceiving the economy has begun to take hold since the end of the sixties thanks to the initiative of international conferences on the topic of development, linked to reduce and consider the natural systems to collapse. Economic growth in itself is not enough to create development: development is real only if it improves the quality of life in a lasting way.