Charcoal as an Energy Resource: Global Trade, Production and Socioeconomic Practices Observed in Uganda

Abstract

Around the world, charcoal has persisted as an energy resource and retained unequivocal dominance in the energy consumption mix of some nations many years on since modern alternatives were invented. Furthermore, it has secured unyielding significance as a commodity on local and international markets and remained an aggressive competitor to electricity and gas for cooking. Here, we analyze the charcoal supply chain and highlight the rudimentary production techniques common within the sub-Saharan region, using Uganda as an example. Top global producers, importers, and exporters are discussed and, based on fieldwork from ten locations in Uganda, we describe common trade practices, economic contributions and the realities of charcoal consumption in areas with concentrated grid and electricity coverage. Indeed, forest degradation and deforestation in the charcoal trade is indiscriminate and the world’s top producers and exporters of charcoal do not necessarily have vast forest resources. Pyrolysis, the process used to produce charcoal from wood, exacerbates risks of wild fires and deteriorates air quality. Our fieldwork indicates that little to no innovation exists to manage waste materials such as ash and polluting gases along the supply chain. Recommendations for the future include better forest conservation practices and more innovation at the cooking level, because effects of localized environmental degradation inevitably lead to negative impacts beyond geographical borders.

Air Pollution and Climate Forcing of the Charcoal Industry in Africa

“…When burned, plastics can contribute to emissions of hydrochloric acid (HCl) (Stockwell et al 2016) which impacts abundance of tropospheric ozone and OH (Sherwen et al 2017;Wang et al 2019), but can also rapidly partition into the aerosol phase if ammonium is present (Pio et al, 1987) or dry deposit efficiently onto surfaces (Fowler et al, 2009). At these end-use locations, the importance of charcoal quality becomes less, reason being, the various tree species harvested to produce charcoal are put through a single pyrolysis process and the charcoal lumps produced are put in to bags from their production sites indiscriminately (Nabukalu et al, 2019). The most common cookstove used to burn charcoal in Africa is the traditional cookstove (Arthur et al, 2010) generally made of metal with a grating at the base as shown in Figure 2.4.…”

Thermal and mechanical characteristics of local firewood species and resulting charcoal produced by slow pyrolysis

“…Firewood and charcoal are a major source of income for households in sub-Saharan Africa [13,14]. The contribution of firewood and charcoal to Uganda's annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is around US$ 48 million and US$ 26.8 million, respectively [10][11][12].…”

Examining the Relationship between Commercial Charcoal Production and Socioeconomic Variables in Nasarawa State, North-Central Nigeria

“…Unfortunately, man's need is insatiable and consistently growing in scale thereby posing danger to available natural resources which includes forest resource. Charcoal is one of the most utilized product of savannah woodland which is a natural resource, studies have shown that charcoal is no longer a source of energy to only rural households but also a demanded commodity in urban areas around the world which has resulted in the commercialization of its production, particularly among poor and rural dwellers of developing countries such as Nigeria [1]. In line with Pedro [2], any intervention that will be made to protect ecological system while also enhancing income through commercial charcoal production must seek to understand the nexus between socioeconomic status of the people and commercial charcoal production activity.…”