Ecofootprint of Charcoal Production and Its Economic Contribution Towards Rural Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sumba, Chabu; Owiny, Arnold Arthur; Ouma, Kennedy; Matakala, Nalukui; Monde, Concillia; Chirwa, Paxie W.; Syampungani, Stephen

doi:10.1007/978-981-15-9496-0_15

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 71 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Given these changes in demand, the magnitude of land-use emissions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from biomass extraction for charcoal is projected to increase (Dam, 2017;Scholes et al, 2011;van 't Veen et al, 2021). This growing demand for charcoal threatens carbon storage in forests and other ecosystems through deforestation and degradation (Sedano et al, 2016;Sumba et al, 2021), as well as increasing carbon emissions as the poor combustion of charcoal results in relatively higher carbon emissions than those from fossil fuels (Bailis et al, 2010;Pennise et al, 2001;Syampungani et al, 2017). Estimates indicate that charcoal production contributes up to 7% of total deforestation in tropical ecosystems yearly, with carbon emissions corresponding to 71.2 million tonnes of CO 2 and 1.3 million tonnes of CH 4 (Chidumayo & Gumbo, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of charcoal production on carbon cycling in African biomes

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using biomass for charcoal production in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) may change carbon stock dynamics and lead to irreversible changes in the carbon balance, yet we have little understanding of whether these dynamics vary by biome in this region. Currently, charcoal production contributes up to 7% of yearly deforestation in tropical regions, with carbon emissions corresponding to 71.2 million tonnes of CO2 and 1.3 million tonnes of CH4. With a projected increased demand for charcoal in the coming decades, even low harvest rates may throw the carbon budget off‐balance due to legacy effects. Here, we parameterized the dynamic global vegetation model LPJ‐GUESS for six SSA biomes and examined the effect of charcoal production on net ecosystem exchange (NEE), carbon stock sizes and recovery time for tropical rain forest, montane forest, moist savanna, dry savanna, temperate grassland and semi‐desert. Under historical charcoal regimes, tropical rain forests and montane forests transitioned from net carbon sinks to net sources, that is, mean cumulative NEE from −3.56 ± 2.59 kg C/m2 to 2.46 ± 3.43 kg C/m2 and −2.73 ± 2.80 kg C/m2 to 1.87 ± 4.94 kg C/m2 respectively. Varying charcoal production intensities resulted in tropical rain forests showing at least two times higher carbon losses than the other biomes. Biome recovery time varied by carbon stock, with tropical and montane forests taking about 10 times longer than the fast recovery observed for semi‐desert and temperate grasslands. Our findings show that high biomass biomes are disproportionately affected by biomass harvesting for charcoal, and even low harvesting rates strongly affect vegetation and litter carbon and their contribution to the carbon budget. Therefore, the prolonged biome recoveries imply that current charcoal production practices in SSA are not sustainable, especially in tropical rain forests and montane forests, where we observe longer recovery for vegetation and litter carbon stocks.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of charcoal production on carbon cycling in African biomes

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies show that around 97% of Malawian households depend on charcoal as their energy source for cooking and heating, despite various alternatives that have been introduced in the country [14,15,16]. The market for charcoal is thus, high in Malawi due to the increased demand resulting into deforestation, and consequently, weakening of agricultural productivity, food security and hydroelectric power generation [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind Energy Potential by the Weibull Distribution at High-Altitude Peruvian Highlands

2021

ijSmartGrid

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Alternative sources of energy are highly recommended in most parts of the world including Malawi. The purpose of this study was to assess the alternative sources of energy to charcoal in Mphate area of Ntcheu district (central Malawi). Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used and purposive and random sampling techniques were applied in two different stages respectively. The first phase was selection of the village where residents produce and use charcoal, and the second phase was the selection of charcoal producers. Data was analysed in SPSS version 21 and MS Excel. About three quarters of forest cover has been depleted due to charcoal production. Results also revealed that only 32% of the respondents use alternative sources of energy such as briquettes (8%), biogas (2%), solar (1%), electricity (20%) and coal (1%). In addition, 42% of the respondents produce charcoal as main source of income while 58% have other sources of income generation. The main alternative source of energy include energy produced from farm waste and biogas in addition to hydro-electricity which is expensive. It is concluded that increased charcoal production constitutes a serious setback to transitioning to alternative sources of energy. There is need to intensify afforestation programs in the area targeting the charcoal producers such as providing tree seedlings. There is also need to provide soft loans to charcoal producers to engage in other income generating activities and promoting existing small businesses to wean people from dependency on charcoal.

show abstract