A recent paper calls for immediate policy intervention around the Congo’s woodfuel demand.
Published in Cifor’s brief, it says, “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.”
Nigeria has lost over N1 billion (USD 6,156,880) (Euro 4,629,360) to illegal export of charcoal and logs from states in the South West and North Central to the Middle East and Europe in the last four years.
An investigation by Daily Trust revealed that charcoal and wood export were the major factors responsible for the massive deforestation in the country.
The illegal export is booming despite the existence of federal laws that prohibits the export of logs from Nigeria.
In researching the fuel briquette solutions, we discovered there were multiple options available and no decision tree on how to choose between them. The Charcoal Project team spent the first six months researching and talking to developers, implementers, manufacturers and others with experience in the field.
Our research eventually led us to Isaac Owor, founder of EnviroCoal, a fuel-briquette manufacturer based in the capital, Kampala.
Absent in the majority of the speeches we heard at last week’s summit of African Energy Ministers in Johannesburg were references to biomass, either as a renewable fuel with the potential to deliver significant energy for economic growth, or for its contribution to sub-Saharan Africa’s energy balance.
We’re in Johannesburg this week to present a vision of hope to Africa’s Energy Minister, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa with populations that depend heavily on unsustainable charcoal production and consumption.