In case you missed it, our friends and colleagues at Makala Project/CIRAD have brought to our attention this important paper recently highlighted by CIFOR’s online newsletter, brief.
This important paper adds another arrow in our quiver targeting the need for coordinated political action in Africa around woodful use.
In its conclusion, the paper states: “Given increasing demand for woodfuel and a lack of alternative energies in the short term, the Congolese government needs to immediately improve management of the sector, in collaboration with stakeholders.
The national Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) programme creates momentum for this, as its recently endorsed Forest Investment Programme (FIP) 7 grant an important place to potential production and consumption benefits to be gained in the woodfuel sector.
Future interventions need to consider the dependence of many people on woodfuel production and the importance of sales as a cash-generating activity. These activities are mostly still in the informal sphere and collaboration among different sectors – energy, forest, land-use planning and agriculture – is necessary to professionalise and formalise, without harming the livelihoods of those involved.
New management options that combine agroforestry, plantations and improving energy efficiency at producer and consumer levels can provide opportunities to guarantee sustainable future energy supplies, while maintaining the natural resource base.”
Click here to view the paper.
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