Review of Woodfuel Biomass Production and Utilization in Africa a Desk Study © 2019, United Nations Environment Programme
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Review of woodfuel Biomass P Roduction and utilization in afRica A Desk Study Review of Woodfuel Biomass Production and Utilization in Africa A Desk Study © 2019, United Nations Environment Programme This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the United Nations Environment Programme. United Nations Environment Programme PO Box 30552, Nairobi 00100, Kenya Tel: +254 20 7621234 Fax: +254 20 7623943/44 http://www.unep.org For bibliographic and reference purposes this publication should be referred to as: UNEP (2019), “Review of Woodfuel Biomass Production and Utilization in Africa: A Desk Study” United Nations Environment Programme PO Box 30552, Nairobi 00100, Kenya This report was prepared by Environmental Pulse Institute (EPI), USA under contract from UNEP. DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the agencies cooperating in this project. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the cooperating agencies concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area of its authorities, or the delineation of its frontiers or boundaries. Mention of a commercial company or product in this report does not imply endorsement by the organisations involved in the production of this Atlas. The use of information from this publication concerning proprietary products for publicity or advertising is not permitted. Trademark names and symbols are used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement on trademark or copyright laws. We regret any errors or omissions that may have been unwittingly made. Table of Contents Foreword ...............................................................................................................................................i Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................................................................ii Acronyms .............................................................................................................................................iii Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................iv Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................ 1 1.1 Biomass Energy: The Context .............................................................................................1 1.2 Biomass—renewable energy from plants and animals ....................................................3 Biomass energy in the global and regional context ..............................................................4 Chapter 2 : Status and Trends in Woodfuel Production and Consumption in Africa .......................... 9 2.1 The State of Woodfuel in Africa................................................................................................9 Overview of Africa’s energy sources ....................................................................................9 Fuel types used for cooking in Africa .................................................................................10 Biomass resources assessment ............................................................................................13 Household energy use ........................................................................................................15 2.2 Drivers of Woodfuel Consumption .........................................................................................17 Population growth ..............................................................................................................17 Increasing urbanization .....................................................................................................17 Income growth ...................................................................................................................18 Education level ...................................................................................................................20 2.3 Production and Consumption Patterns of Fuelwood and Charcoal .......................................21 Production of fuelwood and charcoal ................................................................................21 Traditional and improved methods of charcoal production ..............................................26 2.4 Biomass Fuel at the Nexus.......................................................................................................27 Charcoal-forest nexus .........................................................................................................27 Charcoal-agriculture nexus ................................................................................................27 The gender-energy nexus ...................................................................................................29 Rural-urban energy nexus .................................................................................................29 Chapter 3 : Woody Biomass: Value-Chain Analysis and Impacts .............................................................. 31 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................31 3.2 Steps in a Woodfuel Value Chain ............................................................................................32 Biomass supply ...................................................................................................................32 Production and consumption of fuelwood and charcoal ...................................................32 Transport ...........................................................................................................................32 Distribution and sale ..........................................................................................................32 3.3 Summary of the Fuelwood (Firewood) Value Chain ...............................................................33 3.4 Summary of the Charcoal Value Chain ..................................................................................34 3.5 Impacts of the Woodfuel Value Chain ....................................................................................36 Climate change, biomass energy and forests — the nexus .................................................37 Impacts on forests ...............................................................................................................37 Impacts on health ...............................................................................................................38 Impact on food security .....................................................................................................39 Impacts on livelihoods ........................................................................................................40 Minimizing economic losses and opportunity cost ............................................................40 Chapter 4 : Biomass Energy and Sustainable Development: Policies and Strategies........................... 43 4.1 Biomass Energy and the Sustainable Development Goals .....................................................43 4. 2 Challenges and Opportunities ...............................................................................................45 The Grand Challenge ........................................................................................................45 General recommendations for creating opportunities .......................................................45 4.3 Policies and strategies for increasing production and reducing demand of woodfuels ............47 4.4 Improving the woodfuels Policy Framework ..........................................................................54 Woodfuel in national energy policies .................................................................................54 Biomass in national energy legislation ...............................................................................54 4.5 Regulating the Charcoal Trade ...............................................................................................56 4.6 Women, Youth and Entrepreneurship Development ..............................................................59 Business Model ...................................................................................................................59 4.7 Accelerating the Transition to a Diversified Cooking Fuel Portfolio ......................................60 4.8 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................61 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................62 Glossary ............................................................................................................................................65 Annex Selected Country Case Studies .....................................................................................................67 Benin ..................................................................................................................................68