Conceptual Analysis: The Charcoal-Agriculture Nexus to Understand the Socio-Ecological Contexts Underlying Varied Sustainability Outcomes in African Landscapes

Iiyama, Miyuki; Neufeldt, Henry; Njenga, Mary; Derero, Abayneh; Ndegwa, Geoffrey; Mukuralinda, Athanase; Dobie, Philip; Jamnadass, Ramni; Mowo, Jeremias

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2017.00031

Cited by 24 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The case of Pokot thus illustrates that processes of land degradation, especially bush encroachment, have stimulated the uptake of commercialised small‐stock and charcoal production. Processes of deforestation, as other studies confirm (Iiyama et al., ), are rather related to the interaction of charcoal and agricultural production.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Contested fuelscapes: Producing charcoal in sub‐Saharan drylands

Bergmann

Roden

Nüsser

2017

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Universal access to sustainable and modern energy is considered key to a wide range of aspired development outcomes. Related initiatives are particularly contested when it comes to a tree-based form of bioenergy that is used in large quantities all around the world and that ranks among the most commercialised but least regulated commodities in sub-Saharan Africa, namely charcoal. Throughout the region charcoal is used for residential cooking and heating by millions of households. While consumers are mainly located in urban and peri-urban settings, the growing demand for charcoal is largely met by rural dryland populations whose production-end practices have long been considered a major cause of deforestation and land degradation. Recent charcoal policies aim to create and support sustainable production pathways, especially through the provisioning of appropriate technologies (for instance, more efficient kilns) and improved managerial mechanisms (such as standardised environmental assessments). In order to make local forms of knowledge and practice more relevant to ongoing scholarly and political discussions on the charcoal sector, this paper proposes the notion of fuelscape as a conceptual space where the environmental and livelihood impacts of charcoal production can be revealed, compared and debated. This proposition is developed in three parts. In the first part, we introduce fuelscapes as a critical tool through which to approach (dryland) energy landscapes. In the second part, we explore how local stakeholders in Central Pokot, Kenya, account for the shifting significance and contested meaning of commercialised charcoal production in temporal, material and social terms. The discussion then captures contested fuelscapes more broadly and with reference to three interrelated themes; namely historicity, complexity and diversity. We conclude by suggesting key areas of strategic lesson-drawing for future charcoal research and policy in sub-Saharan drylands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Contested fuelscapes: Producing charcoal in sub‐Saharan drylands

Bergmann

Roden

Nüsser

2017

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“…Indeed, it is claimed that practically all charcoal in Rwanda is derived from trees planted on private woodlots, with virtually no illegal charcoal production activities affecting natural forests [42,48]. This is in stark contrast with the situations in other African countries where charcoal production is a major driver of degradation of natural woodlands [13,49,50]. Smallholder farmers in dryland conditions are no exception to derive multiple benefits from tree species, not only to procure materials for charcoal production, but also to derive ecosystem services, such as shade and climate regulations [40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, wood for charcoal is mostly harvested from trees scattered on landscapes which are available for "free" to households. There planting trees is an inherently risky venture and the survival rates are low, due not only to harsh climatic conditions, but also to damages caused by multiple users under not-completely-exclusive tenure systems [50]. Guaranteed exclusive access under secure tenure to multi-functional benefits of trees may be an essential condition for active investment in tree planting by smallholders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree-Based Ecosystem Approaches (TBEAs) as Multi-Functional Land Management Strategies—Evidence from Rwanda

et al. 2018

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Densely populated rural areas in the East African Highlands have faced significant intensification challenges under extreme population pressure on their land and ecosystems. Sustainable agricultural intensification, in the context of increasing cropping intensities, is a prerequisite for deliberate land management strategies that deliver multiple ecosystem goods (food, energy, income sources, etc.) and services (especially improving soil conditions) on the same land, as well as system resilience, if adopted at scale. Tree based ecosystem approaches (TBEAs) are among such multi-functional land management strategies. Knowledge on the multi-functionality of TBEAs and on their scaling up, however, remains severely limited due to several methodological challenges. This study aims at offering an analytical perspective to view multi-functional TBEAs as an integral part of sustainable agricultural intensification. The study proposes a conceptual framework to guide the analysis of socio-economic data and applies it to cross-site analysis of TBEAs in extremely densely populated Rwanda. Heterogeneous TBEAs were identified across Rwanda's different agro-ecological zones to meet locally-specific smallholders' needs for a set of ecosystem goods and services on the same land. The sustained adoption of TBEAs would be guaranteed if farmers subjectively recognize their compatibility and synergy with sustainable intensification of existing farming systems, supported by favorable institutional conditions.

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“…Charcoal is an important cooking energy source in rural areas Iiyama et al, 2017). Its production promotes forest degradation and, in the long run, can produce a complete deforestation process (Santos et al, 2017) and its consequences in terms of albedo changes, soil crusting, water and wind erosion, floods and droughts.…”

Section: Water As An Integral Component Of Ecosystem Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By using simulation models, they have projected the demand for fuel-wood and charcoal for different socio-economic pathways, showing the disproportionate biomass demands that in some regions will require using a large fraction of forest (Santos et al, 2017). By adopting a nexus approach, the group is facilitating the understanding of the socio-economic and ecological interactions of charcoal and agricultural production, especially by highlighting two dimensions of the socio-ecological contexts: charcoal value chains and tenure systems (Iiyama et al, 2017). In addition, the interconnections between sustainable charcoal production in Tanzania, ecosystem services, and trade-offs in the allocation of land, labor, and net primary production have been documented (Doggart and Meshack, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Food-Water-Energy Research through a Socio-Ecosystem Approach

Maass

2017

Front. Environ. Sci.

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The nexus approach helps in recognizing the link between water, energy, and food production systems, emphasizing the need to manage them in a more integrated way. The socio-ecosystem (SES) approach, however, goes beyond that, by incorporating the regulation and supporting services in the management equation. Changes in ecosystem integrity affect the delivery of ecosystem services to society, which affects local people's well-being, creating a feedback mechanism regarding management strategies. The SES approach makes explicit the "human-bio-physical" nature of our interaction with ecosystems, highlighting the need for a more integrated and interconnected social-ecological research perspective. In addition, the SES approach makes more explicit the multi-scale character of the ecological processes that structure and maintain social-ecological systems. Water dynamics have an important role in shaping ecosystem's structure and functioning, as well as determining the systems capacity for delivering provisioning services. The tropical dry-deciduous forest (TDF), is particularly useful in studying water-food-energy trade-off interactions. Recently, a category 5 hurricane landed in the study area (Mexico's Pacific coast), triggering various social and ecological problems. This event is challenging the current forest management strategies in the region. The extreme hydrometeorological event created an excellent opportunity to test and promote the SES approach for more integrated food-water-energy research. By using the SES approach within our long-term socioecological research project, it was easier to identify opportunities for tackling trade-offs between maintaining the transformation of the system and a more sustainable alternative: promoting the maintenance of the ecosystem's integrity and its capacity to deliver provisioning and regulating services.

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Conceptual Analysis: The Charcoal-Agriculture Nexus to Understand the Socio-Ecological Contexts Underlying Varied Sustainability Outcomes in African Landscapes

Cited by 24 publications

References 41 publications

Contested fuelscapes: Producing charcoal in sub‐Saharan drylands

Contested fuelscapes: Producing charcoal in sub‐Saharan drylands

Tree-Based Ecosystem Approaches (TBEAs) as Multi-Functional Land Management Strategies—Evidence from Rwanda

Integrating Food-Water-Energy Research through a Socio-Ecosystem Approach

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