Assessment of the bioenergy policy for the sustainable development of rural-based bioenergy systems in Zambia

Abstract

Traditional biomass remains the primary energy source in rural Zambia – providing 98% of the energy needs. Its use is unsustainable, inefficient, and leads to harmful emissions with serious health implications, and deforestation. Modern bioenergy systems offer viable energy supply alternatives - but only if sustainably developed. Among other causes, the limited provision of modern bioenergy in rural areas is attributed to an ineffective public policy for promoting these systems in Zambia. Accordingly, this study evaluates the policy in place that seeks to promote sustainable bioenergy systems for rural areas in Zambia through the analysis of related strategies. It is observed that one of the significant weaknesses of the bioenergy policy framework is its lack of consideration of the bioenergy supply chains. These are influenced by four main elements – i.e., feedstock availability, conversion technology, intermediate energy carriers, and energy service demands - that considerably differ across rural localities within districts. Thus, the bioenergy policy-making process should be considered at such subnational levels (district). A suggestion that is well-aligned with the country’s decentralized governance agenda that is being implemented. Considering that there are numerous rural communities within a district and that information regarding the different elements of the bioenergy supply chain is required for the local government policy-making process, a framework to guide the generation of such information has been proposed.