Social and environmental impacts of charcoal production in Liberia: Evidence from the field

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

“…This result is in agreement with the work published by Tabuti et al [20], who conducted their fieldwork in Bulamogi in the eastern part of Uganda ( Figure 2). Indeed, Alfaro and Jones [26] also made the same observation in rural Liberia. A key result of our study is that nomadic charcoal production is an important characteristic of the charcoal supply chain in the investigated Central and Northern regions of Uganda.…”

“…They further explained that there is a high level of autonomy in planning the energy mix of a household, which gives people the flexibility to plan for alternation between solid fuels and modern technologies, depending on a range of factors such as market prices, reliability, and convenience. For instance, in rural areas where more firewood is freely and readily available, charcoal is used less commonly [20], as also reported by Alfaro and Jones 2018 [26] for Liberia. In cities, people use electricity more selectively when its price increases, preferring to apply it mostly to light tasks, such as ironing and watching television rather than cooking [19].…”

“…Charcoal production in Uganda is banned in some districts [20] and transportation requires permits. However, social pressures can be a major barrier to limiting charcoal production [26]. Moreover, remoteness and nomadism make it difficult to track this activity, as also reported for the case of Mozambique [25].…”

“…According to our field observations, tree species, such as the Psidium guajava ("Mupeera", Guava tree), Artocarpus heterophyllus ("Fene", Jackfruit tree), and Mangifera indica ("Muyembe", Mango tree), are sources of food, yet their trunks are commonly used for charcoal production at the discretion of burners and landowners [26,34]. Similarly, the leaves of Vernonia amygdalina ("Mululuza", Bitter Leaf) are used for human consumption and as an herbal medicine in the Central region of Uganda (e.g., against malaria), but their trunks are also used by charcoal burners.…”

“…Charcoal is made by pyrolysis-i.e., heating under low-oxygen conditions-of solid biomass (e.g., tree trunks, branches) to remove moisture and other volatile components (such as methane [26,[37][38][39]. Because many tree species can be used to make charcoal, logging is indiscriminate.…”