Geographical Information Systems (GIS) production and spatial analysis of suitability maps for biofuel feedstocks for Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. Final Report. ICRAF-GTZ Project
The current debate on climate change and rising oil price has g reatly increased the interest in research and development in renewal energy, such as biofuels. A number of industrialized and developing countries are seeking to promote biofuels, as away of reducing fossils fuel consumption and mitigating the adverse effects of climate chang e at the same time. Biofuels are liquids, solids or gaseous energy sources derived from renewabl e biomass (GTZ & GOK, 2008). They are generally emit fewer toxic air pollutants and greenhouse gases than petroleum-based fuels and can be produced wherever sufficient biomass “feedstock” can be grown. Biofuels present valuable opportunity to reduce dependence on volatile g lobal oil market, create local economic opportunities in agriculture and industry, and at the same time improve the environment. As global oil consumption is projected to increase by 36% by 2030 and African countries’ consumption doubled, the scramble for increasingly limited supply of oil, price and availability of fuel will become ever more challenging issues (US Department of Energy, 2007). This has made many countries to resort to biofuel as a part of solution to emerging fuels problems. Like other counties, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have no p roven oil reserve, but boast of suitable climate conditions for growing biofuel crops, which could limit the shock of high oil prices by developing its own supply of domestically, produced b iofuels. The number of private sectors and government agencies involved biofuel investments in these countries indicate potential and goodwill in adopting biofuel production within the eastern Africa region
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Publication year
2023
