This is the 22nd post in a blog series to be published in 2022 by the Secretariat on behalf of the AU High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) and the Calestous Juma Executive Dialogues (CJED)

The Africa Union's Agenda 2063 considers climate-resilient communities and economies as principal to  supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and nature-based solutions to focus on biodiversity through sustainable land management, forestry, oceans, and ecotourism.[1] This includes pursuing resilient agriculture through inclusive economic development and green jobs. This is establishing green and resilient cities to address water management and treatment and provision of renewable energy sources through information, communication, and technology. The African continent is generating plenty of agricultural waste material that can be repurposed into fuel for cooking.

To this end, Africa's decreasing forest ecosystems can be preserved irrespective of climate change.[2] The African Union Climate Change and Resilient Strategy and Action Plan (2022-2032) frameworks are imperatively addressing deforestation in Africa because of the urgency of climate change and global warming.[3] It has been reported that deforestation is a major driver of climate change.[4] Notably, the repercussions of climate change have been severe for African countries. This is because they have resulted in unpredictable weather conditions that have substantially destabilised agricultural activities; thereby, threatening food security.[5]

Africa is the world’s third largest continent for global forest area constituting 26% of land in Africa classified as forest and a home for approximately 43 billion trees.[6] Regrettably, it has been reported that African forests are being demolished at a rate of about 4 million hectares per year. This is almost as twice as fast as the global average of forest destruction.[7] The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that more than 10% of Africa’s total forest cover was lost between 1980 and 1995.[8] This trend has also persisted since then in the last few decades.

Trees and forests are balancing the biological variation in the form of flora and fauna in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Forests are also enabling access to clean water, air, shade, and shelter. Furthermore, numerous animals live in forests, in complex communities of flora, insects, fungi, viruses, and bacteria. Most importantly, forests are lowering the ozone depletion rates and subsequently reducing the rate of global warming and climate change.[9] Standing forests address the impacts of climate change by absorbing greenhouse gases, as well as regulating the water flows, and protecting the coastal communities from extreme events and sea level rises.[10] Additionally, forests are providing migrating plant and animal species routes and stable habitats. Therefore, cutting down trees substantially reduces the forest’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and generate rainfall.[11] Consequently, this is exposing African territories to severe droughts and worsening the ongoing water crisis that is progressively increasing in Africa.

The causes of deforestation in Africa comprise the need to expand agricultural areas for farming and civilisation areas residences, cities, and roads amongst others. For example, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and Mighty Earth, between 2001 and 2014 reported that 10% of Ghana's trees and 25% of Côte d'Ivoire's forests were cleared for cocoa production.[12] Furthermore, approximately 40% of Ivorian plantations were constructed illegally inside protected areas.[13] Additionally, commercial logging and failing government policies have also resulted in massive deforestation. For example, only 24% of African forests are managed and protected for long-term preservation. Unfortunately, there have also been illicit mining, logging, and consequently the exploitation of timber in most African places.[14]

To provide energy, the production of charcoal has significantly contributed to Africa's deforestation. Here, this readily available resource serves as the primary source for cooking fuel for African populations. Furthermore, as these populations expand and the demand for charcoal rises, deforestation worsens. In addition to wood waste, the manufacturing of charcoal results in significant carbon emissions. Notably, more than one-fourth of the primary energy source in Africa is provided by wood and charcoal. Therefore, between 70% and 90% of the African people are reportedly cook using wood as a major source of energy for cooking.[15]

Thus, the African Union High—Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) is challenging African countries to consider turning agricultural wastes into fuel sources. However, agricultural waste is known to burn so rapidly, thereby, making it difficult to maintain and control a steady fire and combustion process. Furthermore, the agricultural waste does not fit in the shape and construct of traditional coal pots and stoves. Even though recycled wood wastes had found some applications in retrofitted industrial boilers, however, the direct burning of unfastened and bulky agricultural wastes remains inefficient and ineffective. This is because the loose agricultural waste material has limited energy value per volume, thereby, uneconomical. In addition, agricultural waste causes challenges in collection, transportation, storage, and handling.

Therefore, to improve and efficiently utilise agricultural residues, they can be densified into solid fuel pellets, sometimes referred to as briquettes. Worth noting is that the creation of fuel pellets involves reducing the size by pressuring the bulky biomass together.[16] Consequently, the resultant solid fuel briquette, usually in log form, with specific weight improves its storage and transportation. This makes the briquette attractive for use at home and in industry. Contrasting to the loose and bulky form, the combustion of briquettes can be made more uniform. Thus, the briquette materials can be burnt directly as fuel, in the same way, the fuel wood and coal in stoves and ovens are used.

APET notes that briquetting is an existing technology and innovation that is substantively enhancing the handling properties of the combustible material by boosting the volumetric value. This makes the briquettes applicable for a variety of domestic and industrial purposes. The briquettes can not only utilise agricultural wastes, but also a combination of varied materials such as waste wood, sawdust, agro-industrial residue, plastic, and rubber. This is possible for all forms of combustible material if they can be compressed by industrial press machines. In this way, APET recognises that African countries adopt this technology into their systems as the uptake of briquette fuel has been limited.[17]

Notably, briquetting can reduce insects,decrease the volume of waste materials, generate efficient solid fuel of high thermal value, require limited energy to produce, protect the environment, and provide job opportunities. This is carrying limited demonstrable risks and hazards. The raw materials suitable for generating briquettes include rice straws, wheat straws, cotton stalks, corn stalks, sugar cane waste (bagasse), and fruit branches, among others. Thus, since briquettes are generated from waste materials, APET believes that they are more sustainable and energy efficient. Consequently, APET observes that this can significantly reduce the pressure on forests and lower pollution levels in urban areas.

APET also observes that within the strategic circular bioeconomy, the briquettes cannot only decrease biomass waste materials, but can also promote more sustainable bioresources and market-based activities. This can significantly boost African entrepreneurship and strengthen the manufacturing industry. For example, the African market for cooking and heating fuel has demonstrated significant potential in establishing briquette production facilities across rural Africa.[18] For instance, the Rwandan Government is promoting briquette fuel as an alternative to wood and charcoal for cooking purposes. The target is to decrease the dependency on charcoal use from 79% down to 42% of the population by 2024.[19] This can consequently reduce pressure on Rwanda's forests.[20]

For example, the Coopérative pour la conservation de l’environnement (COOCEN) is producing and supplying briquettes to prisons and schools in Kigali.[21] Fundamentally, the COOCEN’s briquetting project is preventing the burning down of 1,800 tonnes of firewood per year or the cutting of at least 9,000 trees per year. Such reductions are significantly decreasing the deforestation of approximately 9 hectares of forest plantation.[22] Consequently, this is estimated to reduce approximately 297 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Kenya is producing tea in Africa and the tea factories are utilising ample firewood to dry the tea. Regrettably, the process of drying tea aggravates deforestation as the factories are cutting down millions of trees each year to keep up with the demand for production. For example, estimations are showing that tea factories are currently utilising up to approximately 1 million cubic meters of firewood annually.[23] As a result, using firewood to dry tea is substantially leading to deforestation in Kenya. To address this challenge of drying tea, Kings Biofuels, a briquette-making company, in partnership with the Kenya Tea Development Authority, is producing more than 200 tonnes of sawdust briquettes per month. Consequently, this is saving the destruction of millions of trees when drying tea in Kenya.[24]

The Zambian Emerging Cooking Solutions (ECS) is selling clean cooking stoves and pellets as fuel. This is enabling a unique cooking system by utilising an economical, plentiful, and essentially untapped source of energy for cooking in the form of a mix of pine and eucalyptus sawdust, and peanut shells. This sawdust is waste material generated from local sawmills that receive their wood from state-owned plantations. Notably, there are no pristine and/or indigenous trees that are utilised to produce briquette fuel. In addition, the ECS also utilises a variety of biomass such as rice husks, maize, and straw, among others. They are primarily utilising agricultural and forestry waste so the original forests can be spared. Notably, the clean-burning and micro-gasifying stoves for homes and restaurants are using the ECS briquette pellets from below market price of the equivalent in charcoal.

In conclusion, APET believes that the African continent possesses immense potential for adopting cleaner energy. Thus, an adoption of the briquette fuel can substitute charcoal utilisation and effectively benefit millions of lives. This can effectively create thousands of cleaner and healthier communities with the help of governments, civil society, and private sector entrepreneurs. In this way, African countries can reduce the pressure on forests and promote green technology. As an alternative source of fuel, green energy is promising to grow in the next few years. However, African countries should actively participate to increase the uptake of such existing and emerging technologies. Such efforts can lead to the accomplishment of the aspirations of the various frameworks on the green technology-enabled socio-economic development plans.

 

Featured Bloggers – APET Secretariat

Justina Dugbazah

Barbara Glover

Bhekani Mbuli

Chifundo Kungade

Nhlawulo Shikwambane

 

[1] https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/41959-doc-CC_Strategy_and_Action_Plan_2022-2032_23_06_22_ENGLISH-compressed.pdf.

[2] https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/blogs/49073/how-widespread-deforestation-in-africa-risks-our-climate-future/.

[3] https://archive.uneca.org/sites/default/files/uploaded-documents/ACPC/2020/africa_climate_change_strategy_-_revised_draft_16.10.2020.pdf.

[4] https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/41959-doc-CC_Strategy_and_Action_Plan_2022-2032_23_06_22_ENGLISH-compressed.pdf.

[5] https://www.fao.org/3/i5188e/I5188E.pdf.

[6] https://earth.org/deforestation-in-africa/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrs2XBhDjARIsAHVymmR8-TwGsnQpJQtTf_RIQvWihxNGaXX3NjRYm5anvhVW0rWZDkUSKCkaAuULEALw_wcB.

[7] https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/blogs/49073/how-widespread-deforestation-in-africa-risks-our-climate-future/.

[8] https://www.fao.org/3/a0773e/a0773e.pdf.

[9] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00122-z.

[10] https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/forests/brief/forests-combat-climate-change#:~:text=Standing%20forests%20also%20address%20the,species%20routes%20to%20resilient%20habitats.

[11] https://www.theconsciouschallenge.org/ecologicalfootprintbibleoverview/oxygen-deforestation.

[12] https://earth.org/deforestation-in-africa/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrs2XBhDjARIsAHVymmR8-TwGsnQpJQtTf_RIQvWihxNGaXX3NjRYm5anvhVW0rWZDkUSKCkaAuULEALw_wcB.

[13] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/16/ivory-coast-law-could-see-chocolate-industry-wipe-out-protected-forests.

[14] https://earth.org/deforestation-in-africa/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrs2XBhDjARIsAHVymmR8-TwGsnQpJQtTf_RIQvWihxNGaXX3NjRYm5anvhVW0rWZDkUSKCkaAuULEALw_wcB.

[15]http://asec-sldi.org/news/current/interesting-facts-forests-trees-africa/

[16] Salah M. El-Haggar, Chapter 7 - Sustainability of Agricultural and Rural Waste Management, Editor(s): Salah M. El-Haggar, Sustainable Industrial Design and Waste Management, Academic Press, 2007, Pages 223-260, ISBN 9780123736239, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012373623-9/50009-5.

[17] Mahoro, Brenda & Eniru, Innocent & Daniel, Omuna & Akiyode, Oluwole & Musinguzi, Danson. (2022). Adoption of Briquettes of Organic Matter as an Environmentally Friendly Energy Source in Uganda. 01. 23-30.

[18] Mwampamba, Tuyeni & Owen, Matthew & Pigaht, Maurice. (2013). Opportunities, challenges and way forward for the charcoal briquette industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. Energy for Sustainable Development. 17. 158–170. 10.1016/j.esd.2012.10.006.

[19] https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/activity-database/momentum-for-change-briquettes-as-an-alternative-to-fuel-wood-and-to-prevent-deforestation-%E2%80%93-kigali--rwanda.

[20] https://allafrica.com/stories/202112230387.html.

[21] http://barbudaresearchcomplex.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/9/8/23987377/briquette_making_-_rwanda.pdf.

[22] https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Books/PDF/resource_recovery_from_waste-61-71.pdf.

[23] https://borgenproject.org/kenyas-tea-landscapes/.

[24] https://energypedia.info/wiki/Biomass_Briquettes_%E2%80%93_Production_and_Marketing.