RAEL Research Project Description
A Social and Technical Analysis of Charcoal
Production in Narok District of Kenya
Between one-third and one-half of the
world’s population continues to use wood and other biomass fuels to meet
their energy needs. The use of wood as a household fuel is overwhelmingly
concentrated in less developed countries where, for a number of reasons,
alternative fuels like natural gas, kerosene, 
liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG), and electricity, have not been widely adopted.
The
impacts of such widespread wood consumption extend across a range of social and
environmental issues including health problems associated with indoor air
pollution (IAP), and environmental change associated with both greenhouse gas
emissions and the depletion of local forests and woodlands. In addition, heavy
reliance on woodfuel creates high labor demands and potentially hazardous
conditions for members of the household that typically fall affect women and
children in a disproportionate way.
Despite these associations, it is important
to recognize that a direct causal link between woodfuel consumption and any one
of these problems can not be considered in isolation. These problems rarely
arise as a result of woodfuel consumption alone. Rather, they are the result of complex
relationships between woodfuel consumers, the environment in which they live
and the larger political economy. Therefore, understanding the problems
associated with household woodfuel consumption is only possible by considering
the social, political-economic and environmental context in which they arise.
This
research project has been designed to help gain a more nuanced understanding of
the interactions between environmental and political economic factors shaping
Kenya’s charcoal trade, which is one of Africa’s most vibrant
energy-related markets. The importance
of charcoal in Kenya’s economy can not be overstated. Charcoal plays a crucial important role in
people’s livelihoods, from rural charcoal-makers to urban charcoal
vendors and domestic consumers. A recent
study by the Ministry of Energy estimated that charcoal generates over $300
million in annual revenues. This revenue
is roughly equivalent to the money generated by the nation’s tourism
industry, which every government official would admit is critical to the
economic health of the nation.
Over
80% of Kenya’s urban population use charcoal as their primary source of
domestic energy and over 30% of the nation’s rural population also use it
to meet some of their energy needs.
Combining both urban and rural charcoal consumption with the demand from
cottage industry, restaurants and other catering institutions shows that
charcoal production is the single largest end-use of wood in Kenya today,
surpassing wood consumed directly as firewood, as well as wood used in 
construction and for pulp and paper (Ministry of Energy, 2002).
The
overall effect of this huge demand for wood resources is not clear. Charcoal has impacts that are both positive
and negative. One the one hand, it burns
more cleanly and efficiently than unprocessed firewood, Kenya’s other
major cooking fuel. Thus, for many
consumers, particularly in crowded urban areas, charcoal likely has health
benefits over firewood (Ezzati and Kammen,
2002).
It is also well-tailored to the urban poor, because it can be purchased in very
small quantities and does not require any expensive equipment to use.
However,
charcoal burns more cleanly than wood at the point of end-use because the
production process drives off moisture and most of the volatile matter, a
process that releases large quantities of greenhouse gases (Bailis, Ezzati et al.,
2003). Moreover, the impact on Kenya’s forests
and woodlands is most likely quite negative, but very difficult to
quantify. This difficulty arises for
several reasons: Kenya’s charcoal originates from different types of 
ecosystems
on land that is controlled under a range of land tenure regimes and management
practices. Some charcoal production
involves clear-cutting while other production involves selective
harvesting. Some tree removals are
purely for commercial charcoal production, while other trees are cleared to
create additional agricultural or pastoral land, with charcoal simply made as a
by-product of the land clearance.
Without conducting an in-depth on-site analyses, it is extremely difficult
to determine the extent of environmental damage that is occurring and it is
equally difficult to determine causal factors contributing to that damage.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that in some
areas of Kenya, commercial charcoal production has led to deforestation of
large tracts of wooded savannah in order to meet Kenya’s charcoal demands
(Ecoforum, 2002). In addition, some recent aerial studies
sponsored by UNEP and East Africa Wildlife Association) have shown that
charcoal production, among other activities, has taken a serious toll on some
of Kenya’s few remaining closed-canopy forest areas (Gathaara, 1999;
Lambrechts, Woodley et al., 2003; Vanleeuwe, Woodley et al., 2003). These areas, which include Mt. Kenya Forest
Reserve, Aberdares National Park, and the Mau Forest Complex do not provide the
bulk of Kenya’s charcoal.
Nevertheless, they are at risk as a result of charcoal-making
activities. Because of their sensitivity
and high-profile, these forest zones have protected status. It is illegal to produce charcoal or extract
any forest products from these areas and, unlike other less sensitive areas,
the law is strictly enforced.
While
it is important to understand the effects of charcoal production in
Kenya’s few remaining closed forests and take steps to minimize the
negative impacts of that activity, the majority of Kenya’s charcoal is
produced from shrub-lands, rangelands and wooded savanna typical of the
landscape shown in the picture to the left.
Very
little is known about the extent of charcoal production in these ecosystems and
less is known about the degree to which current charcoal production practices
can be sustained in the long term.
Studies in other countries where charcoal is a popular fuel have
demonstrated that these types of woodlands can recover from charcoal production
without significant degradation under certain land uses, but the extent of
ecosystem recovery is sensitive to land management practices (Chidumayo, 1993;
Hosier, 1993).
This
research project is exploring charcoal production in Narok, a district in
southwestern Kenya that is home to Kenya’s famous Maasai Mara Game
Reserve. The district is also one of
Kenya’s main charcoal production areas.
Less than 5% of the district’s land area is state-owned forest
that is subject to the protection of the Kenyan government (Ministry of Finance and Planning, 2002). Narok’s
charcoal comes primarily from wooded savannah which is either private or
communal land, which the state has little power to regulate.
In
Narok, we are seeking to understand the role that charcoal plays in the rural
economy. In addition, we want to
identify the socioeconomic, political, and environmental factors that make this
area a major charcoal production zone, and assess the sustainability of
charcoal production in this region. Thus
far we have surveyed about 50 charcoal producers working on roughly 30
different plots of privately owned land.
Our analysis is ongoing. Watch
this space for results of the study or contact Rob Bailis for more
details.
This
work is supported by the Link Foundation
fellowship for Energy-Related Research and the Energy Foundation. While in Kenya, Rob Bailis is hosted by Dr.
Evans Kituyi at the African Centre for
Technology Studies (ACTS), which itself is hosted at the World Agroforestry
Centre (formerly the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry or ICRAF).
References:
Chidumayo, E. N. (1993). "Zambian Charcoal
Production: Miombo
Woodland Recovery." Energy Policy
21(5): 586-597.
Hosier, R. H. (1993). "Charcoal
Production and Environmental Degradation: environmental history, selective
harvesting, and post-harvest management." Energy Policy
21(5): 491-509.
Ministry of Energy (2002). Study on Kenya's
Energy Demand, Supply and Policy Strategy for Households, Small Scale Industries
and Service Establishments: Final Report. Nairobi, KAMFOR Company Limited: 158.
Ministry of Finance and Planning (2002).
Narok District Development Plan: 2002-2008. Nairobi, Government of Kenya: 80.