This working paper is intended to help countries in West Africa, and local communities and farmers to adopt climate-smart land management practices that enhance carbon sequestration. Abating greenhouse gas emission from land use should not, in the African context, limit a community’s development. Hence, promoting a High Value Biocarbon community of practice should first address the livelihoods of inhabitants through increased socioeconomic development opportunities. The document highlights the importance of interventions like agroforestry in attaining good quality and quantity of products by highlighting the significance of growing fruit and vegetable trees, nitrogen-fixing trees against heavy fertilizer usage, protection of standing biomass, utilization of improved wood energy stoves and land restoration. The substantial amount of information and data required to execute each of the projects are given in detail in this working paper, together with the socioeconomic and environmental benefits, costs incurred, monitoring requirements, proposed management schemes and capacity building. The rates of success of the projects can be measured by conducting carbon inventories, estimating the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released, and carrying out surveys among locals to ascertain the quality and quantity of produce and market values. The challenges and barriers experienced in implementing biocarbon development projects can be addressed by increasing the number of training workshops offered on conducting carbon inventories, bridging the gaps in research and development, increasing access to capital and improving infrastructure development. It is fundamental to ensure progress in these statures to encourage further sustainable farming techniques for the benefit of the environment, society and the economy.
Tag: air pollution
A scoping review on the health effects of smoke haze from vegetation and peatland fires in Southeast Asia: Issues with study approaches and interpretation
Smoke haze due to vegetation and peatland fires in Southeast Asia is a serious public health concern. Several approaches have been applied in previous studies; however, the concepts and interpretations of these approaches are poorly understood. In this scoping review, we addressed issues related to the application of epidemiology (EPI), health burden estimation (HBE), and health risk assessment (HRA) approaches, and discussed the interpretation of findings, and current research gaps. Most studies reported an air quality index exceeding the ‘unhealthy’ level, especially during smoke haze periods. Although smoke haze is a regional issue in Southeast Asia, studies on its related health effects have only been reported from several countries in the region. Each approach revealed increased health effects in a distinct manner: EPI studies reported excess mortality and morbidity during smoke haze compared to non-smoke haze periods; HBE studies estimated approximately 100,000 deaths attributable to smoke haze in the entire Southeast Asia considering all-cause mortality and all age groups, which ranged from 1,064–260,000 for specified mortality cause, age group, study area, and study period; HRA studies quantified potential lifetime cancer and non-cancer risks due to exposure to smoke-related chemicals. Currently, there is a lack of interconnection between these three approaches. The EPI approach requires extensive effort to investigate lifetime health effects, whereas the HRA approach needs to clarify the assumptions in exposure assessments to estimate lifetime health risks. The HBE approach allows the presentation of health impact in different scenarios, however, the risk functions used are derived from EPI studies from other regions. Two recent studies applied a combination of the EPI and HBE approaches to address uncertainty issues due to the selection of risk functions. In conclusion, all approaches revealed potential health risks due to smoke haze. Nonetheless, future studies should consider comparable exposure assessments to allow the integration of the three approaches.
Cleaner Cooking with Charcoal in Kibera Informal Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, and Its Implications for Livelihoods and the Environment
Woodfuel that is unsustainably sourced and inefficiently used results in negative environmental and health impacts. This study assessed charcoal use and resultant concentrations of indoor air pollutants (IAP) in an urban informal settlement while cooking with a Jikokoa stove (an improved branded charcoal stove) and medium and small-sized artisanal Kenya Ceramic Jikos (KCJs). Fuel stacking was prevalent with charcoal and kerosene being used by 25% of the studied households. Cooking with a Jikokoa stove reduced charcoal consumption by 6.4% and 26% compared to small and medium-sized KCJs, respectively. The small-sized KCJ reduced charcoal consumption by 21% compared to the medium-sized KCJ. The Jikokoa stove reduced concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) by 10% and 50% and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by 6% and 77% compared to small-sized and medium-sized KCJs, respectively. The Jikokoa stove reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations by 15.6% compared to the medium-sized KCJ. The small-sized KCJ reduced CO and PM2.5 concentrations by 45% and 75%, respectively, compared to the medium-sized KCJ. In summary, small-sized KCJs are more effective than medium-sized ones, and Jikokoa stoves more effective than small-sized KCJs, making it the stove of choice. The more efficient charcoal stoves are, the more charcoal consumption and IAP can be reduced, mitigating environmental degradation, climate change and health problems associated with smoke in the kitchen. There is need for participatory research to scale improved stoves and upgrade local practices as they are cheaper and already embedded in the cooking culture.
Improvements in charcoal production and the environmental implications: Potential for the invasive Prosopis juliflora in Kenya
Charcoal is a common woodfuel in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Unsustainable wood sourcing and inefficient carbonization result into negative environmental impacts. This action research aimed at building the capacity for sustainable charcoal production including `improving the traditional earth mound kiln (TEK) that is used by 99% of charcoal producers in Kenya. Small stems and branches of the invasive Prosopis juliflora were used and produced quality charcoal with 28 kJ/g which will save trees. Improved earth mound kiln (IEK) increased charcoal yield by 49% per mass of sun dried wood fed into the kiln and reduced emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons by 40%, 49% and 44% respectively. Net charcoal yield by a mass of dry wood in TEK and IEK was 26.4% and 28.4% respectively. Communication and capacity development on sustainable charcoal benefit people and environment. Studies on sustainable charcoal and effects on dryland socio-ecological systems will be needed.
The linkage of El Niño-induced peat fires and its relation to current haze condition in Central Kalimantan
Annual forest and peatland fires in Central Kalimantan are reaching more than thirty percent of total fires in Kalimantan Island. Symptoms of climate change in the form of increasingly an extreme weather and global climate phenomena support the severity of fires occurrences and transboundary haze. This study aims to investigate the latest severe fire and haze condition in Central Kalimantan. Hotspot data was from 2006 to 2019. Visibility, Particle Matter Size 10 (PM 10) and Air Pollution Standard Index (PSI) data was from El Niño in 2014/2015 comparison to La Niña in 2016/2017. The results showed that the top incidents in peatland occurred not only very strong in 2015 but also weak El Niño in 2006. The most of dense hotspots density in the last fourteen years (> 50% of fires in the area) found in Pulang Pisau, Palangka Raya and Kapuas. The haze condition in Palangka Raya was getting thicker at the end of October. The dangerous of PSIs with PM10 concentrations of more than 500 µg m-3 occurred for 2 (two) months, from the end of August to the early of November 2015. PSIs in highest fire occurrences in 2015 is about 50 times greater than the lowest fire occurrences in 2017. Low visibility in 2015 was ranging from 200 to 900 m during the peak air pollution season. Thus, this El Niño-induced fires and haze in peatland area could threaten thousand peoples and cause harmful feed-back to the environment.
Environmental sustainability of bioenergy strategies in western Kenya to address household air pollution
Over 640 million people in Africa are expected to rely on solid-fuels for cooking by 2040. In Western Kenya, cooking inefficiently persists as a major cause of burden of disease due to household air pollution. Efficient biomass cooking is a local-based renewable energy solution to address this issue. The Life-Cycle Assessment tool Simapro 8.5 is applied for analyzing the environmental impact of four biomass cooking strategies for the Kisumu County, with analysis based on a previous energy modelling study, and literature and background data from the Ecoinvent and Agrifootprint databases applied to the region. A Business-As-Usual scenario (BAU) considers the trends in energy use until 2035. Transition scenarios to Improved Cookstoves (ICS), Pellet-fired Gasifier Stoves (PGS) and Biogas Stoves (BGS) consider the transition to wood-logs, biomass pellets and biogas, respectively. An Integrated (INT) scenario evaluates a mix of the ICS, PGS and BGS. In the BGS, the available biomass waste is sufficient to be upcycled and fulfill cooking demands by 2035. This scenario has the lowest impact on all impact categories analyzed followed by the PGS and INT. Further work should address a detailed socio-economic analysis of the analyzed scenarios. © 2020 by the authors.
Emission of volatile organic compounds during open fire cooking with wood biomass: Traditional three-stone open fire vs. gasifier cooking stove in rural Kenya
Cooking with wood biomass fuels releases hazardous air pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that often disproportionally affect women and children. This study, conducted in Kwale and Siaya counties in Kenya, employed thermal desorption gas chromatography – mass spectrometry to analyse VOC emissions from cooking with a wood biomass three-stone open fire vs. top-lit updraft gasifier stove. In kitchens with adequate ventilation, total VOC levels increased from 35–252 μg∙m−3 before cooking to 2235–5371 μg∙m−3 during open fire cooking, whereas use of a gasifier stove resulted in reduced emissions from cooking by 48–77 % (506–2778 μg∙m−3). However, in kitchens with poor ventilation, there was only a moderate difference in total VOC levels between the two methods of cooking (9034–9378 μg∙m−3 vs. 6727–8201 μg∙m−3 for the three-stone open fire vs. gasifier stove, respectively). Using a non-target screening approach revealed significantly increased levels of VOCs, particularly benzenoids, oxygenated and heterocyclic compounds, when cooking with the traditional open fire, especially in closed kitchens, highlighting the effects of poor ventilation. Key hazardous VOCs included benzene, naphthalene, phenols and furans, suggesting potential health risks from cooking. In kitchens with good ventilation, use of the gasifier stove markedly reduced emissions of these priority toxic VOCs compared to cooking with an open fire. Thus, substituting open fires with gasifier stoves could help to improve household air quality and alleviate health risks. The study revealed that VOCs were present prior to cooking, possibly originating from previously cooked food (buildup) or the outside environment. VOC emissions were also exacerbated by reduced air flow in high humidity during rainfall, suggesting an area for further research. The findings underscore the importance of adopting cleaner cooking technologies and enhancing kitchen ventilation to mitigate the impacts of VOCs in developing countries.
Correlation of publication frequency of newspaper articles with environment and public health issues in fire-prone peatland regions of Riau in Sumatra, Indonesia
Forest fires in peatlands emit pollutants to the atmosphere, affecting public health. Though air quality data and epidemiology information are helpful in the management of the environment and public health, they are not always available. We aimed to reveal the utility of newspaper articles for estimating the public health concerns posed by air pollution. Using the database of a local newspaper, Riau Pos, in Riau Province of Sumatra, Indonesia, we have studied spatiotemporal correlations between publication frequency of newspaper articles mentioning search terms relevant to health issues and Fire Radiation Power (FRP) of peatland fires. FRP from one of the NASA satellite databases has been used as an index of air pollution caused by peatland fires. Visibility data for airport operation were also used as an index of particulate matter concentrations. The study regions are primarily the fire-prone Riau Province and nearby areas in the central area of Sumatra, Indonesia, from 2009 to 2018. Newspaper articles related to public health are found to be associated with FRP and visibility, or regional air pollution.