Woodfuel is the main source of energy for cooking for over 60% of households in Sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to the food security and nutritional needs of millions of people. Due to the lack of alternative energy sources and growing charcoal demand from urban centers, woodfuel production is expected to increase in the coming decades. The sector provides income to millions of people, including small-scale producers and collectors, traders, transporters and sellers, who rely on woodfuel revenues for their livelihoods. Despite its socioeconomic importance, woodfuel production and trade is still a mostly informal sector. It is not organized, it has weak or inadequate legal frameworks, and it contributes little to government revenues. The lack of woodfuel governance, in combination with increasing demand, results in unsustainable wood harvesting that causes forest degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, sustainable woodfuel value chains can positively contribute to livelihoods, by household income from trade and a secure supply of cooking fuel, while mitigating negative environmental impacts.
There is a need for an integrated approach to woodfuel value chain dynamics that consider multiple functions of forest-agricultural landscapes and outcomes for livelihoods and forest governance. CIFOR aims to contribute to knowledge, options and networks for more sustainable woodfuel value chains across Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on Cameroon and the Congo Basin region, Zambia, and Kenya, with extensions into neighboring countries regarding cross-border trade.
News
How charcoal producers are restoring Zambia’s Miombo woodlands
COVID-19 makes it harder for charcoal producers and traders to make ends meet
La ville de Kisangani doit augmenter la disponibilité de foyers améliorés et d’options d’énergie de cuisson durables, selon un nouveau rapport
Lessons from Zambia on promoting sustainable wood fuel management
Women entrepreneurs in DRC recover waste wood to produce clean cooking fuel
Supporting charcoal makers to protect the Congo Basin forests
Five things to know about briquettes and sustainable bioenergy in Africa
La radio : Un outil pour sensibiliser à l’importance de l’utilisation des foyers améliorés à l’Est du Cameroun
Why almost half the global population lacks clean and sustainable energy for cooking
Event – Sustainable woodfuel value chains in Africa: Governance, social, economic and ecological dimensions
Seeking solutions for sustainable charcoal production in Kenya’s Mau forest
Humanitarian and environmental organizations call for …
Kenya has been trying to regulate the charcoal sector: why it’s not working
Event – Displaced people in multifunctional landscapes in Central Africa: Challenges …
International Day of Women & Girls in Science 2021 – Beyond the Borders: Equality in Science for Society
Empowering refugees and host communities to protect Cameroon’s forests
Firewood collection a heavier burden for women in refugee settings
Linking restoration with sustainable wood fuel initiatives in the Sahelian Far North Region of Cameroon
Circular economy is the future of wood fuel production in Cameroon
Securing the future of mangroves through sustainable wood fuel management
Under fire: Five facts about wood fuel in sub-Saharan Africa
Unlocking the power of entrepreneurship to promote local …
The heat is on: Managing wood fuel sustainably in sub-Saharan Africa
Event: Sustainable wood-fuel value chains for food security in Sub …
How can clean stoves contribute to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Transforming Kenya’s invasive ‘mathenge’ bushes into charcoal farms
How tree growing can mitigate the environmental impact of displacement
Domestic policies alone can’t tackle wood fuel challenges
Drought fuels charcoal boom in Zambia
Forestry delegates call for a regional approach to charcoal governance
Gestion des déchets : les entreprises de Douala sensibilisées
CIFOR to host regional workshop on woodfuel policies
Women’s place in Africa’s growing charcoal sector
Realizing the potential of sustainable wood fuel value chains
It takes a village to restore Africa’s degraded land
GML to participate at Global Landscapes Forum in Accra
Awareness-raising materials
Flyer – carbonization training (DRC)
Calendar 2020 – Plantations (DRC)
Calendar 2020 – Improved cookstoves (Cameroon)
Calendar 2020 – Improved cookstoves’ health benefits (Cameroon)
Calendar 2020 – Sustainable charcoal (Cameroon)
Poster – Tree nursery (DRC)
Poster – Charcoal production from sawmill waste (DRC)
Postcard – Regional challenges
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Resources
Map
Interventions with refugee communities in Cameroon’s East Region
Map
Intervention site in Manoka Island, Cameroon
Flyer
Developing options for more sustainable woodfuel value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa
Flyer
Knowledge, options and engagement for more sustainable woodfuel value chains
Poster
Training of Trainers (ToT) on Sustainable Prosopis Juliflora Woodfuel Production and Utilization in Baringo County, Kenya
Podcast
The burning questions about Africa’s wood fuel
Presentation
Regional overview of cross border
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