Most households in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) use charcoal for cooking. Demand for this essential fuel is increasing due to urbanization and population growth. The high level of demand is putting intense pressure on forest resources because charcoal production is linked to forest degradation, often in combination with slash-and-burn agriculture.
Smallholder farmers, with no access to sustainably managed resources and few alternative options for generating cash income, are unintentionally contributing to this degradation.
Tag: charcoal
A seasonal inventory of household fuel consumption and associated emissions using digital methods in Eastern Rwanda
Around 2.3 billion people globally rely on biomass for cooking, contributing to severe health, environmental, and climate challenges, with household air pollution responsible for over 4 million deaths each year. This widespread dependence underscores the urgent need for accurate measurement of biomass consumption and associated emissions. The primary objective of this study is to enhance the understanding of household biomass energy use by quantifying the contributions of woody biomass and crop residues, examining seasonal consumption patterns, and estimating the resultant CO₂e emissions. The study’s novelty lies in its application of a digital, sensor-based system to continuously and accurately monitor biomass consumption across 420 households in Eastern Rwanda, conducted over three agricultural seasons. This approach generates high-resolution, region-specific data on the utilization of firewood, crop residues, and charcoal, while directly linking consumption patterns to CO₂e emissions. The findings indicate that firewood accounts for 86% of the total biomass used for cooking, followed by crop residues at 13% and charcoal at 0.8%. The estimated daily household consumption amounts to 3.1 kg of firewood, 0.47 kg of crop residues, and 0.03 kg of charcoal. The relatively high amount of crop residue suggests a chronic shortage of firewood, despite the intensive tree-planting campaigns. Firewood consumption remained stable during season A (short rainy) and season B (rainy), with a slight decrease in season C (dry). Crop residues decreased steadily from Season A to B, and further to C. The estimated annual CO2e emission from biomass combustion is 1.32 tons per household and 0.48 tons per capita. Digital methods provide precise, time-resolved data on fuel types and consumption, offering valuable insights for energy planning and carbon financing. Future research should integrate PM₂.₅ emissions to better assess health impacts and determine the sustainable balance between using crop residues as fuel and returning them to the soil.
Sustainable woodfuel management in East and Southern Africa
This chapter provides a comprehensive compendium of woodfuel (comprising charcoal and fuelwood/ firewood) in East and Southern Africa, describing trends, options and practices for sustainable management and incentive mechanisms. It shares examples of ‘what works’, including practices of improved communitybased forest management, woodlots, agroforestry and assisted natural regeneration methods with potential for sustainable wood production for energy. It looks at key components for success such as community involvement, secure land and forest tenure, transfer of capacity and ownership, and engagement of various stakeholders. It also reviews how incentive mechanisms for replication and upscaling can come from climate financing, private sector restoration obligations, and well-integrated national government policies that consider the inextricable links between rural development and household energy portfolios. Throughout the region, a change in thinking is needed to place woodfuel higher on the reforestation, climate change, energy and sustainable development agendas to enhance the potential of sustainable woodfuel practices and incentive mechanisms.
Biomass fuel consumption and indoor air pollution from cooking appliances in refugee settings
Background
Indoor air pollution from reliance on firewood and charcoal remains a major health and environmental challenge in refugee and host communities. Although energy-efficient cooking technologies have the potential to reduce biomass fuel consumption and indoor air pollution, the comparative performance of different technologies under real-household conditions remains limited.
Objective
A study was conducted to quantify household cooking energy consumption and the resulting gas and particle concentrations from selected cooking technologies.
Methods
The study evaluated three cooking stoves: the Three-stone open fire, Lorena, and Traditional metallic stove (TMS), using firewood, charcoal, and briquettes. Eighteen cooking tests measured carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅), fuel consumption, and cooking time.
Results
Firewood enabled the fastest cooking, while briquettes with the Lorena stove required twice the cooking time. The Lorena stove consumed slightly more firewood and substantially more briquettes than the TMS, but was more efficient with charcoal. CO levels when using firewood exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) 1-hour guideline by 61% (Three-stone open fire) and 153% (Lorena), while briquettes remained within limits. Both ambient and cooking-related CO₂ concentrations remained below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) permissible exposure limit, whereas ambient PM₂.₅ concentrations averaged 28 µg/m³ , exceeding WHO air quality guidelines.
Conclusions
The study found context-dependent performance variations, challenging the assumption that improved cooking technologies are universally effective. Despite reducing cooking-related pollutants, briquettes and the Lorena stove alone cannot address elevated ambient PM₂.₅ levels, highlighting the need for integrated air quality interventions.
Cooking fuels and household air pollution in resource-constrained urban environments: A field assessment
Household air pollution from cooking remains a major public health and climate challenge in low-income urban areas. In Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya high population density living in poorly ventilated houses, surrounded with poor waste management and use of charcoal in inefficient stoves and kerosene expose people to harmful emissions. This study assessed household energy use, cooking time, and emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from cooking with charcoal, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and electricity under real-world conditions, and explored implications for health and climate policy. Participatory cooking tests of breakfast and dinner were conducted in three households that used all four fuel types identified in a household survey. Real-time measurements of CO, CO2, and PM2.5 were taken before, during, and after cooking. Data were analysed using Welch’s ANOVA with Games–Howell post hoc tests. Cooking with any fuel resulted into some household air pollution and charcoal and kerosene produced the highest concentrations of the studied gases and particles. LPG and electricity produced low concentrations and there was no significance difference between the two. The household ambient PM2.5 was 213 μg/m3 implying that people are living in houses with this pollutant being 14.2 times above the 24-h threshold of 15 μg/m3 by World Health Organization guidelines. Hence no fuel switch alone will address household air quality in the informal settlement.
Household cooking fuels, their environmental impacts and community priority interventions in refugee settlements in Uganda
Africa hosts approximately 14 million refugees; nearly one-third of the global refugee population. Uganda alone hosts over 1.8 million refugees, with their settlement on small plots of land (~ 50 × 50 m), within host communities exerting pressure on natural resources and accelerating environmental degradation. This paper presents a study on the root causes and consequences of woodfuel sourcing and utilization and community priority interventions in Rhino and Imvepi Refugee Settlements in Uganda for informed decision making. Data was collected via a household survey through personal communication with 381 respondents (62 men, 319 women), key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs). The results showed that firewood was the dominant fuel used by 96 % of hosts and 97 % of refugees, followed by charcoal (40 % and 59 %, respectively). Fuel stacking (using more than one fuel type) was reported by 48 % of hosts and 73 % of refugee households. Our study highlights that refugees presented greater reliance on charcoal and crop residues, reflecting firewood scarcity and charcoal’s availability as a traded commodity. Women and children, particularly among refugees, faced greater hardships in accessing firewood. Environmental degradation from woodfuel sourcing and utilization is driven by socio-cultural norms, economic hardship, weak policy enforcement and inadequate skills and poor awareness of sustainable practices; leading to deforestation, air pollution, soil degradation, biodiversity loss and adverse impacts on livelihoods. The root causes and impacts from woodfuel sourcing and use are complex and deeply interconnected, highlighting the need for transdisciplinary, gender-responsive and context-specific approaches to promote sustainable and cleaner woodfuel systems in both host and refugee communities.
Comparative Assessment of Gasifier Cookstove Performance on Smallholder Farms in Three Regions in Kenya
A majority of households in sub-Saharan Africa use inefficient biomass stoves in poorly ventilated kitchens, leading to indoor air pollution. Biomass for cooking can be sustainably sourced from agricultural residues such as prunings from agroforestry. This study assessed biochar-producing gasifier cookstove performance among 150 households in Embu, Kwale, and Siaya Counties through household surveys and participatory cooking tests with 75 households. With the gasifier, carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations were lower in Embu (5.1 ppm), while carbon dioxide (CO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were lower in Kwale, at 588 ppm and 136 μg/m3, respectively. Compared to the three-stone open fire, reductions in CO and PM2.5 concentrations were highest in Embu, at 82% and 97%, respectively. The biomass-to-char conversion efficiency with the gasifier was 17–18%. If households consider the produced char as a soil amendment, they could save 24–43% of fuel compared to the three-stone open fire; if the char is seen as fuel, the potential savings are 42–65%. Significant differences between the three sites were observed with the gasifier for gross and net fuel use, and for concentrations of PM2.5 and CO2. Gasifier uptake can reduce the need for fuel collection and indoor air pollution, with a positive impact on both the environment and human wellbeing.
A women’s association in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo
In Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo, where over 80% of households rely on charcoal, unsustainable production is a major driver of forest degradation. This study examines how the women’s association AFEVADES, in collaboration with CFT sawmill and CIFOR-ICRAF, transformed wood residues into sustainable charcoal, focusing on gender dynamics and environmental impacts. Initially an informal survival strategy, the initiative evolved after AFEVADES officially registered in 2020, gaining access to carbonization training and microcredit. As a result, the group doubled production efficiency, reduced processing time, and secured a stable wood supply.
The project has strengthened women’s economic autonomy, with women leading 95% of operations, managing earnings, and supporting households through food, education, and home construction. Over four years, 2,638 m³ of wood residues were converted into 11,000 bags of charcoal, reducing forest pressure. While still modest in scale, this model highlights the potential of gender-inclusive, community-driven solutions in supporting livelihoods and forest sustainability, emphasizing the need for policy support and investment to expand sustainable practices.