According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in some parts of Africa woodfuels account for almost 90 per cent of primary energy consumption.
Scientists believe that deforestation across the Horn of Africa, particularly for firewood harvest, has been a major contributor to the pervasive drought in the region.
This is the trailer to a short documentary on the charcoal sector in Africa portraying the specific example of the city of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania. The film was published jointly by the World Bank and the Government of Tanzania in August 2009.
We featured the longer version of this film in a post back in August.
According to the Uganda National Environment Management Authority, pressure on land, water, forest and biological resources has dramatically increased to meet the needs of a growing population, leading to a loss of 76 percent of the country’s forest cover.
Geoffrey Oryema, the district leader of Nwoya, said poverty and lack of a meaningful livelihood source were the driving factors for environmental destruction.
“What do you expect somebody in the village without money to pay for his needs such as soap, salt, medicine and food to do?” Oryema said. “People are struggling to find alternatives to survive.”
This being the UN-declared Year of Sustainable Energy for All, we hope policy-makers and all those pushing for clean fuels in the developing world will look into the eyes of this little girl and remember that solar and wind are not the only solutions. The world needs clean charcoal, too.
In the latest issue of its bulletin, the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air focuses on the fuel side of the improved cookstove equation with an in depth discussion on charcoal and briquettes.
It provides examples of the use of briquettes as a sustainable alternative to charcoal in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and provides insight into the future of charcoal stoves with inputs from leading stove testers and developers.
The bulletin also looks at the issue of sustainable charcoal production, and new research and development towards more efficient production methods and sustainable charcoal initiatives.
We’d like to thank PCIA Partner Jean Kim Chaix, Director of The Charcoal Project, who served as our guest editor for this edition and provided support and guidance on Bulletin 29′s overall content.