The Charcoal Project

Jeffrey Sachs—visionary economist, savior of Bolivia, Poland, and other struggling nations, adviser to the U.N. and movie stars—won't settle for less than the global eradication of extreme poverty. And he hasn't got a second to waste. Photograph by Guillaume Bonn. VF

First the good news:

Jeffrey Sachs Charts the Way Forward for MDGs Ahead of UN Summit

World-renowned economist calls on leaders to arrive at the New York meeting next month “with the agreed plans, partnerships, and financing to accelerate our progress.”

Professor Jeffrey Sachs has outlined eight “major gaps” which need to be overcome if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are to be achieved. These unmet objectives are in smallholder agriculture, education, water and sanitation, health, climate financing, empowering girls and women, infrastructure, and strategies and goals at the local level.

His comments come ahead of the MDG summit, taking place in New York next month. “The MDG Summit this year gives us the opportunity to scale up the best thinking and experience,” the world-renowned economist recently wrote in The Commonwealth Ministers Reference Book 2010. “The world has the crucial opportunity to innovate, by creating new institutions and new ways of doing things, in both the public and private spheres.”

[Published by Commonwealth News and Information Service (London) -  August 25th, 2010]

We are, of course, thrilled that Professor Sachs continues to hang on tight to his mandate as the UN’s SG’s Chief MDG Chearleader. He’s done a tremendous job keeping the spotlight shining on this issue than many others have forgotten. His mission is especially relevant to the hundreds of millions of sub-Saharan Africans who have not seen measurable progress on a number of MDGs compared to other parts of the developing world.

Now the not-so-good news:

We are however sadden that Professor Sachs chose not to make energy efficiency a higher priority on this summit’s agenda. This oversight is especially piercing for the more than 90% of SSA population dependent on biomass as their primary source of fuel. 

This is a glaring omission considering that the UNDP states:

“Energy is central to sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts. It affects all aspects of development — social, economic, and environmental — including livelihoods, access to water, agricultural productivity, health, population levels, education, and gender-related issues. None of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be met without major improvement in the quality and quantity of energy services in developing countries.”

The UNDP’s statement above is one important reason why energy poverty alleviation is sometimes called the missing MDG.

In fact, the Opec Fund for International Development has gone so far as to say:

OFID is of the opinion that the alleviation of energy poverty – although not a goal on its own – is central to the achievement of the eight internationally embraced Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Many of us involved in development cooperation are persuaded that the alleviation of energy poverty is a “missing,” ninth MDG.

[We never thought we'd turn to OPEC for support on this, but there you have it.]

We feel this is a great missed opportunity by Mr. Sachs. Luckily there is still time to redress this oversight.

The Editors

The Charcoal Project

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (3 Aug., 2010) — Charcoal producers in Kisarawe and Rufiji districts, (Coast Region of Tanzania) have a reason to smile after Barclays Bank Tanzania Limited earmarked more than 1.5bn Tanzanian Shillings (USD 1,002,875 /  €768,746) to Dar es Salaam Charcoal Project (DCP) to train charcoal producers on how to cut down deforestation.

The bank wants charcoal producers to use efficient kilns for charcoal production.

Moni Msemo, the bank’s Head of Community Relations told The Guardian yesterday that through the funds charcoal producers would be trained on how to prepare tree seedlings and plant them to support the government’s efforts in increasing forest cover, prevent environmental degradation and foster sustainable charcoal production. (Read more)

Source: The Guardian, Tanzania

Photo: Len Abrams

We published last month an interview with Dennis Tessier of ARTI-TZ, a Tanzania-based non-profit working to promote the manufacturing and marketing of briquettes made from the char produced in improved charcoal kilns.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Tanzania’s forests are disappearing at a whopping rate of 4,200 square kilometers (1,620 sq. miles) annually. That’s about four times the size of New York City or  half the size of Virunga National Park in the DRC.

In our Q&A with Dennis he mentioned ARTI-Tanzania’s Waste to Wealth (W2W) project and we wanted to find out more.

Below are highlights taken from the project description.

The fundamentals of the Waste to Wealth (W2W) Project

Since its formation in January 2007, ARTI-TZ has conducted over 20 training sessions in different locations, funded by various organizations and individuals.

Over 150 Tanzanians have been trained so far. This technology, developed by ARTI- India, being promoted has received the Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy in 2002. Some of the trained individuals are using the knowledge to make briquettes using the abundantly available dry biomass around them but others are not able to use the learning due to the lack of funds to procure the equipment.

The experience from the trainings done in the Mkange village and Kerege village clearly demonstrate that existing wood charcoal producers are keen and willing to adopt the ARTI-TZ method of making char powder and briquettes if provided with the initial cost of equipment and an assured market.

They are willing to convert from the forests to the fields for the following reasons:

1 . The ARTI method is less labourious and simpler than the traditional method of making charcoal.

2 . The required raw material (dry biomass) is available abundantly in close vicinity so they do not have to travel long distances into the forests.

3 . By using the ARTI method, they are producing about 100 kg of char powder and 30 – 40 kg of briquettes per day and do not have to go through the 2 -3 weeks long process of making the same quantity of charcoal from trees.

4 . Joint Environmental Techniques Limited, (JET) ARTI-TZ’s commercial partner guarantees to buy every kilogram of char powder and briquettes produced by them at a price of TSh. 100/kg ($0.075) and TSh. 300/kg ($ 0.22) respectively.

5 . Some of them who own large farms but are not able to cultivate on them due to lack of resources for clearing the existing scrubs and bushes have been able to now clear their farms, using the scrubs and bushes to produce char powder and briquettes. Their land use has improved.

6 . Others have started taking contracts from wealthier land owners to clear their farms of scrubs or of agricultural remains after harvest, at very low costs as they utilize the raw materials to make char powder and briquettes.

7 . They have been able to increase their incomes enabling them to improve their living standards as well as saving to increase the number of kilns and charring drums to enhance their production capacity.

Others from their villages are also ready to follow them provided they are supported to start–up.

However, just these two villages are not sufficient to have any impact on the rate of deforestation for charcoal production.

The Waste to Wealth (W2W) project aims to empower rural inhabitants, especially existing charcoal producers with the knowledge and the equipment to divert them from the forests to the fields. The project area will cover villages from the 4 districts surrounding Dar Es Salaam as they are the major suppliers of the charcoal to the city.

No villages have been identified yet but contacts can be established and agreements signed as soon as the funding for the project is in place.

...and then you light a match! Voila!

(WWF) Toliara, Madagascar — Two years of drought and late arrival of the rainy season in south western Madagascar have forced hundreds of farmers into charcoal producing which is devastating forests, according to WWF field staff at Tollara.

“Charcoal production in the South of Madagascar is particularly unsustainable as people cut the natural spiny forest, a unique ecosystem which exists nowhere else” says Bernardin Rasolonandrasana, Spiny Forest Eco-regional Leader for WWF in Toliara. “We are horrified to see the amount of charcoal currently coming out of those forests.” Read more.

30 Jul 2010

By Servaas van den Bosch

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AlertNet) – The area around Otjiwarongo in Namibia’s heartland is a green sea of short, shrubby trees as far as the eye can see.

While beautiful to some, this bush is an invader species and seen by ranchers as a dreaded pest that pushes out nutritious grasses. Since the 1950s, bad grazing practices have led to the bush taking over 26 million hectares of Namibia’s rangeland – an area the size of New Zealand.

That costs the country’s beef farmers $160 million a year in lost earnings, in an industry that farmers say accounts for 3 to 6 percent to Namibia’s gross domestic product. But what if the bush could be fed into a power plant, clearing land for grazing and simultaneously supplying Namibia with clean, renewable electricity in a region that is starved of energy? “

(Burning) wood to make electricity is one of the cheapest renewable energy options available,” said Robert Schultz, head of energy projects for the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN), a think tank. “And it is quick,” he said. “Sixty minutes after powering up the plant, kilowatts are flowing into the grid. This makes it suitable to meet unexpected peaks in demand.”

Read more

via IAP Updates.