Revelations from Africa:
On June 15th, representatives from new energy companies, climate finance, governments, development agencies, multi-lateral banks, and NGOs will meet in Arusha, Tanzania, to begin discussions on a blueprint that will make woodfuels, charcoal, and other solid biomass fuels a truly renewable energy choice for developing countries.
Researchers warn that East African plants that could cure malaria could disappear before scientists have a chance to study them.
A new book by scientists at the World Agroforestry Centre, “Common Antimalarial Trees and Shrubs of East Africa,” identifies 22 tree and shrub species that traditional healers in East Africa use to fight the disease.
But, the researchers say, they are being cut down for cooking fuel and other uses and could disappear before scientists have a chance to study them.
The Tanzania office of Switzerland’s international development agency (SDC) gave Tuesday a shot in the arm to a proposed International Conference on Charcoal to be held in Africa in 2012. The SDC made a significant financial commitment to support the organization of the conference.
The SDC representatives in Tanzania have identified the country’s current level of production and consumption of charcoal as a priority area.
About 90 percent of the country’s energy needs are met by woodfuels. These figures are in keeping with average biomass consumption in sub-Saharan Africa. The annual consumption of more than 1 million tons of charcoal results in a loss of 130,000 to 150,000 hectares of forests and the emission of about 9 million tons of CO2. In Tanzania, on average, only one hectare of forest is replanted for every three hectares destroyed.
The recent spike in oil is sure to increase woodfuel and charcoal consumption above the current 10 percent growth rate, experts say, a situation that could potentially tip the country into a charcoal crisis.
The prices of kerosene, cooking gas, and electricity have gone up by 6, 20, and 18.5 per cent respectively. Experts say this leaves most households in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and other urban centres with little choice but to shift to charcoal.