What to do About Charcoal?

Charcoal's Role in African Energy

Charcoal production and trade employs millions of people across Africa. It is the primary cooking fuel in many African cities, with demand rising due to population growth and rural-to-urban migration.

In rural Sub-Saharan Africa, where 80% of residential energy is used for cooking, over 90% of people use firewood, while less than 5% use charcoal. In urban areas, only 25% rely on firewood, while nearly 50% depend on charcoal.

Energizing Development (EnDev) is an international program that works to provide sustainable energy access to support social, economic, and environmental improvements. According to EnDev, 6 million Mozambicans use charcoal as their primary fuel, mostly in urban areas that are connected to the electrical grid.

Unlike firewood, which people collect for free, charcoal is almost always purchased. Despite Mozambique having relatively inexpensive electricity that could cost less for cooking than charcoal (even with inefficient appliances), many people still prefer charcoal because:

• Electrical cooking appliances have high upfront costs and limited availability.
• Charcoal can be purchased in small quantities as needed.
• Electricity supply is unreliable.
• Many people are unaware of the health and safety benefits of using electricity.
• Cultural traditions and preferences favor charcoal.

For these reasons, charcoal is an integral part of Mozambique's economy despite its environmental impact.

Understanding Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services are benefits that humans get from natural environments:

1. Provisioning services: Direct materials like food, water, timber, and medicines.
2. Regulating services: Benefits from natural processes like climate regulation, water purification, and flood control.
3. Cultural services: Non-material benefits like recreation, tourism, and spiritual enrichment.
4. Supporting services: Fundamental processes like soil formation and nutrient cycling.

Charcoal is an essential woodland-based provisioning service for African rural communities. However, it can also drive deforestation through intensive wood harvesting.

Land use changes from charcoal production significantly affect future ecosystem services and human well-being.

Research on Charcoal Production in Mozambique

Pedro Zorrilla-Miras and colleagues' study, Environmental Conservation and Social Benefits of Charcoal Production in Mozambique, examined the relationships between charcoal production, forest degradation, ecosystem services, and rural well-being in Mabalane District, Mozambique.

Mozambique was selected for this case study because despite experiencing high forest degradation (0.2–1.7% annually) and deforestation rates (2–3% annually), the country still has abundant woodland covering 70% of its land (55 million hectares), and progressive land use policies. This means Mozambique can still choose a sustainable path before widespread deforestation occurs.

Charcoal's Economic Importance in Mozambique

In Mozambique:

• 15% of the population participates in the charcoal market.
• The industry is worth about $250 million annually.
• 70–80% of urban residents use charcoal as their primary energy source.
• Demand is increasing due to rapid urban growth.
• As forests close to large urban centers are depleted, production moves to more remote areas.

Unfortunately, much of the income from charcoal goes to non-local individuals because local communities lack the technical skills, institutional support, and financial resources needed to manage successful community projects.

Research Methods and Findings

The researchers developed a novel methodology using Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) to analyze how woodland ecosystem services contribute to rural well-being and poverty alleviation while considering access issues, trade-offs, and human responses.

Key findings include:

1. In heavily forested areas, woodland degradation from charcoal production doesn't significantly impact local use of essential resources (charcoal, firewood, and grass)
2. Social factors influence charcoal production more than ecological limitations:
   • Female-headed households face the greatest barriers to accessing charcoal production.
   • Participating in forest associations and having diverse income sources leads to greater charcoal production.
   • Gender is the strongest barrier to ecosystem service use.
3. Charcoal production improves some aspects of well-being (household assets and food security) but doesn't significantly reduce overall poverty.
4. The charcoal industry in Mabalane has two main systems:
   • One operated by local producers
   • One run by large-scale operators (responsible for most wood harvesting, with only 8% of benefits staying in local communities)

Future Scenarios

The researchers developed different scenarios for the future:

Large Private Investments Scenario: Without government interventions and with significantly increased urban charcoal demand due to migration. The government promotes large investments, but rural participation in charcoal production changes little.

Smallholder Promotion: All proposed interventions succeed as the government improves local rural capacities and environmental protection. Urban charcoal demand remains steady due to low rural-urban migration and increased use of alternative energy.

Balanced Scenario: Charcoal demand increases moderately, and three interventions are implemented: easier access to licenses, community forest management plans, and improved forest oversight.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The study found that large operators cause most forest degradation, while villagers receive lower revenues and deal with the consequences of deforestation. However, because charcoal producers selectively harvest specific tree species (particularly mopane and Combretum) and forest cover remains relatively high, current woodland degradation has a limited impact on local well-being.

Given the government's limited capacity and rising charcoal demand expected in coming decades, improving local capacities is important for making charcoal production more sustainable, alleviating poverty, and ensuring reliable supply.

The researchers recommend:

• Supporting local technical and institutional capacity-building.
• Making it easier for locals to obtain licenses.
• Improving control of illegal charcoal production (which has proven effective in reducing production).
• Improving land ownership so villagers can secure their woodlands and invest in forest recovery.
• Promoting more transparent relationships between large operators and locals.

The charcoal production and use issue cannot be wished away; practical solutions to manage the impact must be sought.