International Platform Roadside sale of charcoal in Madagascar. Photo: Authors At the wooden cross-road Fuelwood and charcoal continue to be indispensable in cooking the daily meal for most people in sub-Saharan Africa; in addition, wood as a fuel represents an important source of income. Pressure on forest resources as well as health hazards through indoor air pollution have resulted in more calls for switching to alternative energy sources. Our authors suggest another alternative: improving the existing supply chains. Cooking food adequately is a pre- ly contributes to livelihood security cess. In urban areas, institutional and requisite for a healthy life and makes in many rural areas of SSA, often in commercial users of wood energy, up an overwhelming share of people’s times of financial stress. However, sev- such as cafeterias and restaurants, are energy requirements in developing eral challenges are commonly claimed also increasing in numbers. A recent countries. Particularly in sub-Saharan to be associated with this energy use publication even outlines 3.7 million Africa (SSA), the majority of the popu- pattern that are exacerbated by fac- tons of woodfuel demand per day for lation in most countries still rely on so- tors such as population growth, ur- 2009, which equals approximately called traditional bioenergy – mainly banisation and the impact of climate ten per cent of global primary energy fuelwood and charcoal – for cooking. change. consumption. Effects commonly asso- The sector accounts for up to three ciated with this high dependency on per cent of GDP in several countries, traditional biomass are forest degra- also making it an important economic Traditional bioenergy demand dation and even deforestation, nega- activity on the continent. Charcoal and its consequences tive effects on climate change as well production in particular substantial- as indoor air pollution with negative Today, approximately 2.5 to 3.0 impacts on human health. billion people strongly rely on these energy carriers, mainly for cooking Forest degradation and defores- Harry Hoffmann purposes. Projections predict that tation. The combustion of traditional Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschafts- this status will remain in the decades biofuels is not per se harmful for the forschung (ZALF) e.V. to come. The hotspots are SSA, In- environment as they are in principle a Müncheberg, Germany dia, and Indonesia, with dependency source of renewable energy. However, harry.hoffmann@zalf.de rates ranging between 60 and 90 per there is concern that the constantly Michael Brüntrup cent. While substantial parts of the high and often increasing demand for German Development Institute (DIE) rural population rely on collected fu- biomass energy, particularly in devel- Bonn, Germany elwood, charcoal takes the lead in ur- oping countries, could cause wood Klas Sander ban areas. The reasons are transport- extraction rates to exceed regrowth The World Bank ability, reduced smoke emissions and rates. The effects and magnitude of Washington D.C, USA more convenience in the cooking pro- specific energy carriers on the deple- Rural 21 – 03/2016 37 International Platform tion of forest resources are under dis- will in most cases worsen the GHG wise important is the protection of re- cussion, with some sources claiming balance, since most alternative fuels growing areas from livestock. Forests that traditional bioenergy demand is are fossil-based (e.g. kerosene). Elec- are often common pool resources, a major driver of deforestation and tricity is very rarely used for cooking and their management is subjected forest degradation and others arguing in SSA. to formal, and more often, informal that extension of agricultural areas is institutions, to user rights, free-rider the chief factor in this respect, while Indoor air pollution. As woodfuel behaviour, ethnic and power rela- charcoal production is a mere by- and charcoal are often applied in- tions. Encouraging appropriate man- product. The role of trees outside of doors, a disproportionately high share agement systems to foster sustainable forests, e.g. in agroforestry systems, as of women and their children inhale forest use requires flexible national contributors to overall supply remains particle emissions equalling smok- legislation allowing adaptation to lo- another open question. One core ing two packs of cigarettes a day. cal conditions. The incentives to initi- challenge in this discussion is the lack Indoor air pollution also has signifi- ate such processes could be commu- of data on both the supply and the cant harmful effects on unborn chil- nity income or perception of land and demand situation. dren. Moreover, it ranks fourth in the natural degradation as a threat to lo- global burden of disease and causes cal livelihoods. In general, the collection of fuel- up to 1.6 million deaths annually on wood in rural areas does not seem a global scale. Particularly in develop- Another line of more sustainable to harm forested areas substantially ing countries, only malnutrition, un- wood production is tree planting by as the collection of dead and dry safe sex as well as lack of clean water small-scale farmers in wood lots or branches is preferred. The production and adequate sanitation systems con- agroforestry systems. In Uganda for of charcoal is more controversially stitute more devastating health risks. instance, an area of between 0.02 discussed as it is often commercially Compared to fuelwood, charcoal is a and 0.06 ha tree plantation per per- driven and whole trees are used. Fur- relatively clean alternative, which is a son was found to be sufficient for thermore, applied charcoaling tech- major reason for its urban use. sustainable production of traditional niques are characterised by low trans- biomass for cooking and heating pur- formation efficiencies so that far too Two principle options could remedy poses. That area is affordable even for much wood is processed in relation to this situation: switching to alternative smallholders and can be achieved as energy output. In sum, the discussion cooking energy sources or improving mini-woodlots, hedges, tree groups whether and to what extent biomass the existing supply chains. We argue or individual trees. Time reduction for use for energy in developing countries that the second option – improving fuelwood collection by women and is causing deforestation or (tempo- traditional bioenergy supply chains – children is another expected effect. rary) forest degradation “only” is not has been unduly neglected and ought conclusive, and impacts depend on to receive more support. If trees can also provide other bene- site conditions, harvesting technolo- fits such as fodder, fruits, construction gies and forest management. material or timber, this can greatly Improving the fuelwood chain increase but also differentiate the in- Climate change. While the con- towards sustainability centive to plant trees. Obviously, not tribution of forest degradation and all uses are compatible, and tree spe- deforestation is said to contribute To modify the currently prevailing cies differ in their appropriateness for approximately 20 per cent of global system of extractive, often destructive different uses. Higher value uses will greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the and unhealthy traditional bioenergy often override the energetic ones, but consumption of traditional biomass use, changes along the supply chain the latter can still constitute important energy is claimed to be responsible for are required. These include measures positive side-effects. 1.9 to 2.3 per cent of global warming. both on the production and on the The majority of traditional bioenergy consumption side. Tree planting systems also require consumers use either three-stone fires availability of saplings and thus a – mainly for fuelwood combustion – Fuelwood production. To reduce, functioning supply chain based on or traditional charcoal stoves, both mitigate or even reverse the negative appropriate (multi-purpose) species, being equally inefficient. Whether effects of exploitation of wood for en- long-term commitment, sound un- the introduction of improved cook- ergy, various measures are possible. derstanding and adequate manage- ing stoves (ICS) affects the emission One is the extension of selective tree ment capacities. Depending on the of CO2 in particular is under discus- cutting. Regrowth, re-sprouting or spatial planting system, the quantity sion and very likely depends on the seed dissemination could also be fos- of biomass produced and the design design of a specific stove and its ca- tered by leaving patches of old forest of harvest rotations, such systems can pacity to reduce consumption. On the intact, applying certain tree-cutting be used for charcoal production, al- other hand, while replacing bioenergy measures to allow regrowth, ensur- though they are better suited for fuel- through other sources of cooking fuel ing soil cover to prevent erosion and wood extraction. Such factors will also may decrease indoor air pollution, it of course replanting activities. Like- decide whether market production 38 Rural 21 – 03/2016 International Platform cultural complexity of cooking or spe- cific cooking conditions. In recent years, the diffusion of im- proved cooking stoves became par- ticularly important in the context of the Clean Development Mechanism. However, it was believed that these carbon offset projects were probably overstating the climate benefits of the stoves. Furthermore, the few existing long-term monitoring studies indicate that assumed utilisation rates might be too high. In addition, the overall nega- tive image of wood and charcoal cur- rently hinders widespread implemen- The right positioning of the logs can improve the efficiency of charcoal production (left photo). tation. However, if high-quality stoves The sale of charcoal (right) is an important source of income for many people in SSA; however, are carefully designed to respond the sector is a thorn in the side of many governments. Photos: Authors directly to existing users’ needs, and if their application is optimised, par- ticularly in terms of ownership and af- and/or subsistence of fuelwood are in some regions, charcoal production fordability also for poorer households, key targets for participating farmers. is even criminalised, which hinders they can be a promising option for knowledge dissemination regarding combating overexploitation of forest In sum, sustainable tree-based bio- more efficient production techniques resources and indoor air pollution, as energy systems have a high poten- and the establishment of producer has been demonstrated in Kenya. tial to provide incentives for green networks. Politicians aim to overcome growth. However, a holistic under- charcoal consumption to the advan- standing of bioenergy value chains, tage of more “modern” fuels rather The way forward tree production systems and their in- than implementing strategies for sus- teraction with crop farming as well as tainable charcoal production and con- There are several entry points for the farm-household systems is needed sumption. improvements in the prevailing un- to develop and expand sustainable sustainable situation in production, solutions. This requires participatory, Optimised consumption efficien- processing and consumption of tra- long-term, practical research and sub- cy. Efficiency improvements on the ditional bioenergy. These include stantial development efforts. consumption side are important to forestry management practices, en- reduce the overall pressure on wood- hanced property and use rights, tech- Carbonisation. Processing wood fuel use and gain time to implement nology development and adaptation, into charcoal currently offers substan- more sustainable solutions. Here, the effective and enforced regulation, and tial opportunities for improvement. provision and utilisation of improved awareness-raising campaigns. Increas- While in advanced technological cooking stoves is gaining momentum, ing sustainability is of particular im- stages conversion efficiencies of up as these alleviate degradation of for- portance as side-effects are often as- to 50 per cent are reached, low-tech ests and indoor air pollution simul- sociated with it, including substantial options usually applied in SSA (earth taneously. For the users, the reduc- pro-poor development opportunities mound-kilns) achieve only between tion of woodfuel consumption, and especially in rural production areas. 8 and 15 per cent. Efficiency can be thereby living costs, is an important optimised by applying improved kiln benefit. Even though the provision A modernised governance frame- designs. These entail optimised heat of improved stoves has been part of work should be a key area of reform, and air circulation by a preferential development co-operation since the with the objective to increase costs of arrangement of the logs and the use early 1980s, monitoring data on long- environmentally unfriendly practices of a chimney. However, such improve- term performances including reasons and create advantages for improved ments require investment and sound for adaptation and non-adaptation practices and investments. As there is knowledge for operation, which is is rare. One major reason for non- no panacea for any intervention, these currently lacking. In addition, corre- adaptation is that stoves tend to be general recommendations need to be sponding policy regulations are often designed in laboratories, without real tailored to fit specific local or regional unclear or even contradictory – e.g. in involvement of final users – accord- conditions. Improving the availability forestry legislation (regarding the use ing to the UNHCR deputy high com- of sector-specific data will help to sig- of wood from government-owned missioner for refugees, T.A. Aleinikoff, nificantly enhance policy and invest- forests) or in energy legislation, and designers often fail to understand the ment decisions. Rural 21 – 03/2016 39