2: THE ROLE OF WOOD ENERGY IN AFRICA

2.1. Methodology used for constructing best estimates

Best estimates were adopted for the period 1980-96 on a country-by-country basis and by applying the following principles :

· Where consistent, statistics from the Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) and Environment and Development Action (ENDA) were generally given priority since they are derived from best national knowledge, or from field surveys;

· Since they are generally based on estimates and do not report sectorial consumption, FAO data were only used for data cross-checking. On the other hand, FAO data represented the only source providing figures on wood pulp production. Therefore, they were systematically included in the best estimates of black liquor consumption using the usual chemical pulp to energy conversion factor;⁽¹⁾
· Where consistent, the IEA data for 1995 and 1996, which were the only years where detailed woodfuel consumption could be processed (i.e., distinguishing fuelwood and charcoal as well as sectorial consumption), were reported in the best estimates figures for the 23 countries considered individually. However, the reference years used by IEA in formulating its estimates were also used for cross-checking;
· Simulations were processed on a country-by-country basis;
· Simulations are processed on a sector-by-sector basis (i.e., consumption is simulated first at sectorial level).

Given these principles, a specific step-by-step approach supported by expert judgment was then applied⁽²⁾ as follows :

· Where consistent the most recent data, or those derived from field surveys among all the sources of data, were given major priority in representing the reference data;

· Where consistent, national data were given a second priority level as reference data;

· Other historical data are adopted when they are consistent with the global trends presented by reference data already in the time series;

· The gaps in the time series are filled according to the following steps :

¬ Sectorial consumption (of fuelwood and of charcoal) for intermediate years (e.g. where data are available for only 1980 and 1990) is estimated using a compound series approach based on the calculated growth rate of total consumption within the two available observations.

¬ Consumption for other years (e.g. from 1991 to 1996) is estimated using a compound series approach based on the growth rate of per capita consumption within the two available observations. However, when the consumption trend seems to be inconsistent, a more adequate approach is adopted (e.g., comparison with a similar country, consideration of a longer time series, etc.).

¬ For countries presenting only one historical data or no data at all, estimates were made by applying per capita consumption or even calculated trends related to a country or a group of countries presenting similar geographic, ecological and economic characteristics. However, in a few cases, per capita consumption, the basis for estimating national consumption, was left unchanged for the whole time series.

Although it was generally possible to build consistent time series for almost all countries (except Saint Helena), it should be noted that data for some countries presented considerable uncertainty, including :

· Nigeria

· Gabon

· Equatorial Guinea

· Algeria

· Libya

· Egypt

· Angola (uncertainty on charcoal consumption)

· Malawi (uncertainty on charcoal consumption)

· Namibia

Woodfuel consumption in these countries represented around 150 million m³ in 1995, i.e., 24% of total African consumption. Of this amount, Nigeria alone accounts for approximately 18%.

However, the level of uncertainty in these countries does not significantly affect the quality of African aggregated estimates. This means that if we assume a 20% uncertainty for these 9 countries, the corresponding gap would lead to increasing the uncertainty of African aggregated estimates by only 5%. Therefore, the best estimates presented hereafter might be considered a good first approximation of woodfuel use in Africa.

2.2. Analysis of biomass-energy issues and uses in Africa

2.2.1. Aggregate analysis

According to best estimates, total woodfuel consumption in Africa amounted to 630 million m³ in 1995.Compared to woodfuel consumption in other continents (or group of countries), Africa was an intermediate consumer in 1980, 1985 and 1990 (Table 2.1).

Table 2.1 : Total Woodfuel Consumption According to the Best Estimates* in Different Continents (1000 m³)

	1980	1985	1990	Average annual growth rate 1980-90
Europe and non Europe OECD	451	504	488	0.8 %
Africa	514	549	592	1.4 %
Asia	636	711	788	2.2 %

⁽*⁾ Except for Asia, where FAO data were reported in this table

Africa also has an intermediate consumption growth rate for woodfuel compared to other groups of countries (see table 2.1). Aggregate woodfuel consumption trends in Africa from 1980 to 1996 as well as regional trends are shown in figures 2.1 and 2.2 respectively.

On the other hand, Africa still depends heavily on woodfuels to meet energy needs. In fact, Africa has the highest per capita consumption (see table 2.2).

Table 2.2 : Per Capita Woodfuel Consumption in Different Groups of Countries in 1994 (m³/year)

	(m3/year)
Europe and non Europe OECD	NA
Africa	0.889
Asia	0.299

NA: data not available

Figure 2.1 : Woodfuel Consumption Trends between 1980 and 1996 in Africa (1000 m³)

2.2.2. Sub-regional analysis

According to best estimates, African woodfuel consumption is characterized by the substantial contribution of the West Moist region, which accounted for 172 million m³ in 1994, representing 28% of total African consumption (see table 2.4). This region's importance is due to Nigeria, which contributed about 20% of total African consumption (see table 2.3).

On the other hand, the Tropical Southern and East Sahelian regions are respectively the second and the third contributors to African woodfuel consumption, each accounting for 19% of total consumption. The Central African region contributes 16% of total woodfuel consumption.

Woodfuel consumption is highly concentrated in Africa. In fact, in 1994, the 10 major countries contributed around two thirds of total African consumption, while the 45 other countries contributed one third. These 10 countries are listed in descending order according to woodfuel consumption in 1994 (table 2.3). Sub-region 2 is represented by three countries in the top 10, while sub-regions 3, 4 and 5 are represented by 2 countries each.

Table 2.3 : Contribution of the Top 10 countries to African Woodfuel Consumption in 1994

Rank	Country	1000 m3	(%) of total African Consumption	Related sub-region(*)
1	Nigeria	118.8	19.1%	3 (WMA)
2	Ethiopia	56.6	9.1%	2 (ESA)
3	South Africa	42.5	6.8%	8 (NTSA)
4	Tanzania	42.2	6.6%	5 (TSA)
5	Congo Democrat. Rep.	38.0	6.1%	4 (CA)
6	Uganda	29.8	4.8%	4 (CA)
7	Kenya	28.7	4.6%	2 (ESA)
8	Sudan	26.3	4.2%	2 (ESA)
9	Mozambique	21.7	3.5%	5 (TSA)
10	Cote d'Ivoire	19.0	3.0%	3 (WMA)
	Total	422.6	67.8%

⁽*⁾ Definition of the Sub-regions _ 1 : West Sahelian Africa (WSA), _ 2 : East Sahelian Africa (ESA), _ 3 : West Moist Africa (WMA), _ 4 : Central Africa (CA), _ 5 : Tropical Southern Africa (TSA), _ 6 : Insular East Africa (IEA) ,
_ 7 : North Africa (NA), _ 8 : Non Tropical Southern Africa (NTSA).

Table 2.4 and 2.5 provide detailed figures of the contribution of each region⁽³⁾ during the period 1980-1996.

	Table 2.4 : Contribution of Sub-regions to Total Woodfuel Consumption in Africa
	(1000 m3)
	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
West Sahelian Africa	23 923	22 762	25 508	25 054	24 822	24 780	24 903	25 173	25 982	26 956	28 124	29 164	30 510	31 363	32 832	34 135	35 505
East Sahelian Africa	94 162	100 739	108 386	98 706	100 318	99 513	100 558	104 182	105 627	107 615	109 825	111 772	113 888	116 695	119 659	122 975	130 411
West Moist Africa	172 310	171 655	171 175	170 579	170 804	171 485	172 338	174 090	176 166	178 513	178 668	176 878	175 354	174 203	171 809	170 443	186 204
Central Africa	64 729	67 559	70 359	73 495	75 492	77 762	79 401	81 286	83 395	86 014	88 832	90 170	92 642	93 819	96 632	101 346	109 416
Tropical Southern Africa	97 410	101 190	109 882	108 758	107 812	107 056	106 625	106 431	106 420	106 786	107 662	110 379	113 192	116 136	120 553	121 976	130 576
Insular East Africa	6 360	6 697	7 057	7 442	7 863	8 314	8 797	9 316	9 869	10 464	11 100	11 777	12 500	13 274	14 097	14 981	15 927
North Africa	16 770	16 832	16 948	17 102	17 269	17 616	18 002	18 424	18 945	19 359	19 791	20 257	21 149	21 376	21 601	22 114	22 709
Non tropical Southern Africa	37 891	38 725	39 585	40 542	41 293	42 107	42 942	43 828	44 733	46 991	47 907	48 843	49 936	51 009	45 344	41 911	38 633
TOTAL AFRICA	513 555	526 159	548 900	541 677	545 672	548 633	553 567	562 729	571 137	582 698	591 910	599 241	609 172	617 874	622 527	629 882	669 380
	Table 2.5 : Contribution of Sub-regions to Total Woodfuel Consumption in Africa
	(%)
	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
West Sahelian Africa	4.7%	4.3%	4.6%	4.6%	4.5%	4.5%	4.5%	4.5%	4.5%	4.6%	4.8%	4.9%	5.0%	5.1%	5.3%	5.4%	5.3%
East Sahelian Africa	18.3%	19.1%	19.7%	18.2%	18.4%	18.1%	18.2%	18.5%	18.5%	18.5%	18.6%	18.7%	18.7%	18.9%	19.2%	19.5%	19.5%
West Moist Africa	33.6%	32.6%	31.2%	31.5%	31.3%	31.3%	31.1%	30.9%	30.8%	30.6%	30.2%	29.5%	28.8%	28.2%	27.6%	27.1%	27.8%
Central Africa	12.6%	12.8%	12.8%	13.6%	13.8%	14.2%	14.3%	14.4%	14.6%	14.8%	15.0%	15.0%	15.2%	15.2%	15.5%	16.1%	16.3%
Tropical Southern Africa	19.0%	19.2%	20.0%	20.1%	19.8%	19.5%	19.3%	18.9%	18.6%	18.3%	18.2%	18.4%	18.6%	18.8%	19.4%	19.4%	19.5%
Insular East Africa	1.2%	1.3%	1.3%	1.4%	1.4%	1.5%	1.6%	1.7%	1.7%	1.8%	1.9%	2.0%	2.1%	2.1%	2.3%	2.4%	2.4%
North Africa	3.3%	3.2%	3.1%	3.2%	3.2%	3.2%	3.3%	3.3%	3.3%	3.3%	3.3%	3.4%	3.5%	3.5%	3.5%	3.5%	3.4%
Non tropical Southern Africa	7.4%	7.4%	7.2%	7.5%	7.6%	7.7%	7.8%	7.8%	7.8%	8.1%	8.1%	8.2%	8.2%	8.3%	7.3%	6.7%	5.8%
TOTAL AFRICA	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%

Figure 2.2 : Regional Woodfuel Consumption Trends in Africa (1000 m³)

Figure 2.3 : Regional Woodfuel Consumption Shares in Africa (%)

2.2.3. Sectorial analysis

Analysis of the profile of woodfuel use in Africa reveals the importance of household consumption, which represented more than 86% of total African consumption in 1994. The industrial sector, which is generally related to traditional industries, contributed about 10% of total consumption, while the other sectors (transformation, commercial, tertiary, etc.) represented 4% of woodfuel consumption.

Examination of the consumption trends for each sector underlined a slight drop in the household share of total woodfuel consumption, from 90% in 1980 to 86% in 1994. These trends may have resulted from socio-economic changes in African society that have led to a proportion of residential energy uses (particularly for cooking) being transferred to informal tertiary catering. The analysis of sectorial contributions to woodfuel use and associated trends might not be systematically consistent given the relatively high degree of data uncertainty in other consuming sectors, particularly industry and transformation compared to data available on residential use.

To illustrate the point, it should be remembered that woodfuel use for black liquor was simply derived from existing FAO statistics of chemical pulp production using a defined conversion factor. Therefore, they should not be considered actual data. Additionally, while it was not possible to simulate figures for countries where reference data for industrial and other sectorial consumption were unavailable, this does not exclude woodfuel use by these sectors. Therefore, the effective contribution of these sectors to woodfuel consumption may have been slightly underestimated.

Table 2.6 :Contribution of Various Sectors to African Woodfuel Consumption for Different Reference Years (Million m³)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1994
Households	461.9	489.1	520.2	537.2
Industries	37.0	42.3	49.8	59.4
Commercial, transformation and others	14.6	17.3	21.9	25.9
Total	513.5	548.7	591.9	622.4

Table 2.7 : Contribution of Various Sectors to African Woodfuel Consumption for Different Reference Years (%)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1994
Households	90.0%	89.1%	87.9%	86.3%
Industries	7.2%	7.7%	8.4%	9.5%
Commercial, transformation and others	2.8%	3.2%	3.7%	4.2%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%

2.2.4. Analysis by area

The use of fuelwood and charcoal is closely linked to user location. In fact, the area of use (rural versus urban) for these two energy types is a major determining factor in utilization patterns.

Among the 5 different data sources used for this study, only two (ESMAP and Other National sources) provided a number of detailed figures on rural and urban woodfuel demand. However, the existing information could not be interpreted given :

· the uncertain quality of a number of data sources that addressed the issue;

· the important number of gaps that would lead to more complicated approaches and models for estimating missing values in each country;

· the many decisions to be taken in countries where there are no detailed rural and urban consumption figures;

· the time needed to develop this modeling approach and to validate the results in order to make them consistent with results obtained when developing the best estimates according to a global approach (aggregating rural and urban).

Clearly, the materials collected may be used to generate a relevant best estimate for rural and urban uses. However, the timeframe and objectives of the current study mean that an important issue such as improving knowledge on current and future woodfuel behaviour should perhaps be included in a follow-up phase of the FAO data improving process.

2.2.5. Analysis by woodfuel type

The importance of fuelwood utilization used to traditionally be one of the major characteristics of African woodfuel practices. However the social and economic changes associated with urbanization have led to a significant shift from fuelwood to charcoal. The future is likely to confirm these trends and therefore pressure on ecosystems will continue.

Table 2.8 shows the respective contributions of fuelwood, charcoal and black liquor to woodfuel demand, confirming the importance of fuelwood. Table 2.9 shows how the shares of each woodfuel item evolved during the period 1980-1994. While black liquor seems to have stabilized at a low level (0.3-0.5 %) of woodfuel demand, the charcoal share grew from 15% in 1980 to 18% in 1994 at the expense of fuelwood.

This is due to the relatively low growth rate of fuelwood consumption (1% per annum during the period 1980-1994), which is much lower than total population growth (2.8% for Africa during the same period) and even lower than rural population growth (2.1% per annum). This could represent a powerful indication of the importance of the ongoing substitution process even in rural areas, which will lead to a greater role for charcoal in meeting the energy needs of African people. As an illustration, charcoal consumption grew by 2.8% during the period 1980-1994 in pace with population growth.

As a concluding remark, charcoal will undoubtedly represent a major economic, social and environmental issue in Africa in the future.

Table 2.8 : Contribution of Various Types of Woodfuels to African Woodfuel Consumption (million m³)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1994
Fuelwood	435.5	458.1	480.4	507.0
Charcoal	76.5	89.0	108.5	113.0
Black Liquor	1.6	1.5	3.0	2.5
Total	513.6	548.6	591.9	622.5

Table 2.9 : Contribution of Various Types of Woodfuels to African Woodfuel Consumption (%)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1994
Fuelwood	84.8%	83.5%	81.2%	81.5%
Charcoal	14.9%	16.2%	18.3%	18.1%
Black Liquor	0.3%	0.3%	0.5%	0.4%
Total	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

2.2.6. Per capita analysis

Per capita woodfuel consumption dropped significantly from 1.08 m³ in 1980 to 0.89 m³ in 1994. While this seems to contradict previous analysis addressing charcoal substitution, it corresponds in reality to natural woodfuel consumption patterns as well as to the specific share of the major consuming countries. In fact, urbanization is generally accompanied by a decrease in per capita consumption because of social evolution and the specificity of urban space. On the other hand, the drop in average per capita consumption in Africa is a result of the increasing population share of those countries where per capita consumption decreased in the period 1980-1995 (e.g. Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Sudan, Mozambique).

The following table presents average woodfuel per capita consumption for each sub-region studied :

Table 2.10 : Per Capita Woodfuel Consumption in African regions (m³)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1994
_ 1. West Sahelian Africa (WSA)	0.733	0.661	0.652	0.677
_ 2. East Sahelian Africa (ESA)	1.162	1.065	1.020	0.996
_ 3. West Moist Africa (WMA)	1.615	1.387	1.246	1.066
_ 4. Central Africa (CA)	1.026	1.066	1.051	1.024
_ 5. Tropical Southern Africa (TSA)	1.660	1.583	1.381	1.376
_ 6. Insular East Africa (IEA)	0.579	0.652	0.745	0.838
_ 7. North Africa (NA)	0.184	0.169	0.168	0.167
_ 8. Non Tropical Southern Africa (NTSA).	1.218	1.194	1.210	1.046
African average	1.080	1.002	0.941	0.889

Figure 2.4 : Per Capita Woodfuel Consumption in African Regions (m³/year)

2.2.7. Contribution of woodfuels to total wood removal

Wood consumption for energy is the major contributor to total wood removals in Africa. Woodfuel accounts for about 92% of total African wood consumption. There appear to be no significant variations in this share during the period 1980-94 (see table 2.11).

On the other hand, the regional figures of woodfuel contribution to total wood consumption are globally uniform (generally over 90%) except for Non-Tropical Southern Africa, where this contribution only reached 76%. Additionally, these woodfuel shares generally remained stable in almost all regions in the period 1980-1994 except for Insular East Africa, where this contribution increased from 87% to 96%.

Table 2.11 : The share of Woodfuels in Total African Wood Consumption (%)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1994
West Sahelian Africa	92.7%	92.1%	91.9%	91.9%
East Sahelian Africa	95.7%	95.3%	95.4%	97.0%
West moist Africa	93.5%	93.2%	92.6%	92.2%
Central Africa	90.9%	91.0%	90.5%	90.5%
Tropical Southern Africa	95.1%	95.3%	94.3%	94.1%
Insular East Africa	87.3%	90.3%	92.5%	96.4%
North Africa	92.2%	89.5%	94.1%	90.1%
Non-Tropical Southern Africa	76.0%	77.5%	81.5%	76.6%
African average	92.1%	92.0%	92.1%	91.8%

NB : It should be recalled that the only estimates available for roundwood consumption other than woodfuels came from FAO Statistics. Thus the figures related to the share of woodfuels in total roundwood consumption are derived from the best estimates for woodfuel consumption, and from the FAO statistics related to wood other than woodfuels.

2.2.8. Contribution of woodfuels to primary energy consumption

Traditionally, woodfuel consumption makes a major contribution to primary energy balances in the majority of African Countries, except the following nine countries : Djibouti, Mauritius, Seychelles, the five North African countries, and South Africa.

Woodfuels account for about 40% of total African primary energy consumption. During the period 1991-94, this share dropped slightly from 41% to 39.4 %, which does not appear significant given the uncertainty of woodfuel data.

On the other hand, the contribution of woodfuel to total wood consumption logically divides African countries into three different groups :

· North Africa and Non Tropical Southern Africa, in which woodfuel contribution to total primary energy consumption is low, ranging from 6% to 12% ;

· West Sahelian Africa, West Moist Africa, and Insular East Africa, where the contribution of woodfuels to total primary energy consumption ranged from 61% to 71% ;

· East Sahelian Africa, Central Africa and Tropical Southern Africa, where the share in total primary energy consumption ranged from 75% to 86% .

Table 2.12 : The Contribution of Woodfuel to Total Primary Energy Consumption in Africa (%)

Year	1991	1992	1993	1994
West Sahelian Africa	71.6%	71.6%	71.9%	72.2%
East Sahelian Africa	82.4%	81.9%	81.7%	81.5%
West Moist Africa	67.8%	65.9%	73.8%	61.6%
Central Africa	82.1%	86.2%	81.8%	80.7%
Tropical Southern Africa	75.3%	75.4%	76.5%	76.4%
Insular East Africa	72.9%	72.4%	70.6%	72.0%
North Africa	5.9%	6.0%	5.8%	5.8%
Non Tropical Southern Africa	11.8%	11.9%	11.7%	10.3%
African average	41.0%	41.0%	40.8%	39.4%

NB : It should be recalled that data related to primary conventional energy consumption were unavailable for the following 6 countries for the period 1991-94 : Eritrea, Botswana, Namibia, Saint Helena, Reunion and Lesotho. In addition, data on primary conventional energy consumption for Gambia, Somalia, Swaziland were unavailable for year 1992-1993-1994. Therefore the average share of woodfuels as a function of total primary energy consumption was calculated accordingly. However, the gaps related to these countries would not hamper the significance of the calculated average given their weak contribution both to conventional and traditional fuels. As for illustration, the contribution of these countries to African woodfuel consumption amounted to only 2.4% in 1993.

2.2.9. Prospects for the substitution of woodfuels by LPG and implications for the future

Analysis related to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption is restricted given the specific focus of this study on woodfuels. However, an effort has been made to gather data from the same sources as for woodfuel, i.e., IEA and ENDA statistics.

Although there are many gaps in the time series (data are completely missing for 21 countries), some major global comments can be hazarded.

The first major finding relates to the substitution process from woodfuels to LPG, particularly for cooking end-uses in Africa. Taking into account available data, Africa may be split into five different groups of countries, according to their LPG consumption level :

· The North African region, where LPG consumption represented 3.2 million tons in 1990, increasing 7.2 % annually in the period 1980-1990, and by 9.2 % in the period 1990-1995. Additionally, LPG per capita consumption was the highest in Africa, reaching 22.4 kg/year in 1985, 26.8 kg/year in 1990 and 37.6 kg/year in 1995;

· South Africa, which is one of the major LPG consumers in Africa with 0.240 million tons in 1990. However, while LPG consumption growth was regular, the growth rate dropped from 2.5 % per year in the period 1980-1990 to 2.2 % in the period 1990-1995. Additionally, LPG per capita consumption was significantly lower than in North Africa although higher than in other African countries, reaching 5.3 kg/year in 1985, 6.5 kg/year in 1990 and stabilizing at 6.4 kg/year in 1995;
· Cap Verde and Gabon, which are minor LPG consumers compared to the African total, but where LPG per capita consumption was the second highest after North Africa, with 16.6 kg/year and 11.8 kg/year in 1990 in Cap Verde and Gabon respectively. In Cap Verde, this is mainly due to the particular shortage of woodfuel sources which made dependence on LPG unavoidable; in Gabon, the reason was easy access to LPG owing to it's specific situation as an important oil producer;
· Mauritania and Senegal, which share a minor part of total LPG consumption in Africa, but where LPG per capita consumption is relatively high (4.5 kg/year and 4.6 kg/year respectively in 1990) owing to woodfuel shortages in the two countries. Also government policy in Senegal has been oriented towards LPG substitution for more than 10 years.
· The other 45 African countries, where per capita LPG consumption was still very low, amounting to 0.7 kg/year in 1990. The growth rate of per capita consumption even dropped from 5.7 % per year during the period 1980-90 to 1% per year in the period 1990-95.

If we wish to refer to countries that contribute significantly to total consumption, only the five North African countries and South Africa could be considered. These countries represent about 92% of total LPG consumption in Africa, and this share is even increasing slightly although the contribution of South Africa to total LPG consumption dropped dramatically in the period 1980-1995.

Table 2.13 : Total LPG Consumption in Africa (1000 tons)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
North African countries	1 585.0	2 363.0	3 171	4 928.0
South Africa	187.0	176.0	240.0	267.0
Other African countries	154.4	208.2	357.9	432.7
Total Africa	1 926,4	2 747,2	3 768,9	5 627,7

NB : They were many unavailable data on LPG consumption for the rest of Africa. The time series were completed using an average per capita consumption calculated for countries where data were available (excluding North African Countries and South Africa).

Table 2.14 : Respective Share of the Major Groups of Countries in Total LPG Consumption in Africa (%)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
North African countries	82.3%	86.0%	84.1%	87.6%
South Africa	9.7%	6.4%	6.4%	4.7%
Other African countries	8.0%	7.6%	9.5%	7.7%
Total Africa	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

According to the previous analysis, LPG is assumed to be a minor contributor to meeting national energy needs for cooking purposes in Africa, except in North African countries. The historical trends of LPG contribution to final and useful consumption of cooking fuels (tables 2.15 and 2.16) confirm this assumption, despite efforts to boost the substitution process undertaken in many countries, particularly in West Sahelian Africa, and despite the environmental rationale for reinforcing this process.

Table 2.15 : LPG as Compared to Total Consumption of Cooking Fuels (Woodfuels+LPG) in Terms of Final Energy in Africa (%)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
North African countries	32.0%	40.0%	45.0%	54.0%
South Africa	3.1%	2.6%	3.2%	4.6%
Other African countries	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%
Total Africa	1.9%	2.5%	3.2%	4.5%

NB : Kerosene was not considered in the estimates of cooking fuels because of the unavailability of data addressing specific kerosene consumption for cooking purposes (distinction between cooking and lighting in the total national consumption of kerosene is generally not reported in any national or international publication). It should be noted that kerosene plays a minor role in meeting energy needs for cooking in African except in a few countries.

Table 2.16 : LPG as Compared to Total Consumption of Cooking Fuels (woodfuels+LPG) in Terms of Available Energy in Africa (%)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
North African countries	62.0%	70.0%	74.0%	80.0%
South Africa	9.9%	8.5%	10.4%	14.3%
Other African countries	0.6%	0.7%	1.2%	1.3%
Total Africa	6.2%	8.2%	10.4%	14.0%

NB : Useful energy was derived from final energy using the following combustion efficiencies :

· Woodfuels : 13%;
· LPG : 45%.

In conclusion, woodfuel is likely to remain a major energy source and a determining environmental and development issue in Africa in the mid-term future and even in the longer term. This means that a relevant effort aimed at improving knowledge on woodfuel demand and supply will need to be made in the future, particularly through systematic data collection, compilation and analysis.

2.2.10. Woodfuel supply sources

Although information on the origin of woodfuels used is vital for planning purposes, this information is still very scarce. Furthermore knowledge on collecting practices versus the supply sources is very poor in Africa⁽⁴⁾. While some experiences have been undertaken in certain Countries, none of the consulted references has really addressed woodfuels from the supply side, except FAO data on chemical wood pulp which can be used to calculate black liquor derived consumption.
On the other hand, some other national and international sources provided figures on supply sources; however the data presented were very sparse and mentioned neither the methods used in approaching the supply side nor the exact definitions of the terms used. Therefore, the supply component of woodfuel use in Africa is among the major weaknesses of woodfuel knowledge.

2.2.11. The use of woodfuels and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Africa

Given the significant woodfuel use, it generally shares a major part of the GHG balance in Africa.

The following table shows the results of GHG emission estimates derived from woodfuel use figures in Africa. Details of GHG emissions by country and by type of gas are presented in Appendix 6.

Table 2.17 : Total GHG Emissions from Woodfuel Use in Africa (1000 tons)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
CO2	557 660	594 942	640 859	680 120
CH4	1 630	1 749	1 901	2 017
N2O	18	19	20	21
NOx	466	494	525	557
CO	25 581	27 305	29 437	31 239
NMVOC	3 102	3 314	3 578	3 796

Table 2.17 shows the importance of CO₂ emissions in the total GHG balance due to woodfuels, with around 680 million tons emitted in 1995. CO emissions are also very significant, exceeding 31 million tons in 1995.

However, in order to obtain more accurate figures of GHG emissions, it is necessary to aggregate emission data in terms of tons of CO₂ equivalent (TE-CO₂). Detailed aggregated figures are presented as follows :

Table 2.18 : Aggregate GHG Emissions Due to Woodfuel Use in Africa (million TE-CO₂)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
West Sahelian Africa	28.0	29.2	33.2	40.3
East Sahelian Africa	111.0	117.3	129.4	144.8
West Moist Africa	201.7	200.2	207.8	196.6
Central Africa	75.8	91.1	104.1	118.5
Tropical Southern Africa	114.5	125.8	126.6	143.4
Insular East Africa	7.5	9.8	13.1	17.7
North Africa	20.0	20.9	23.5	26.2
Non Tropical Southern Africa	39.0	43.2	49.3	41.4
Total Africa	597.4	637.5	686.9	729.0

NB : Calculation of CO2 equivalent figures include the three main gases for which aggregation is to be considered according to IPCC recommendations, i.e.,CO₂ (Global Warming Potential = 1), CH₄ (Global Warming Potential = 21), and N₂O (Global Warming Potential = 310).

Within global woodfuel emissions, fuelwood use is once again the major contributor to the GHG balance. However, historical trends show an increasing share of charcoal use in total GHG, at least in the 1980s and 90s.

Table 2.19 : Respective Contributions of Fuelwood and Charcoal to Aggregate GHG Emissions in Africa (million TE-CO₂)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
Fuelwood	512.4	538.7	566.7	602.1
Charcoal	85.0	98.8	120.2	126.9
Total Africa	597.4	637.5	686.9	729.0

Table 2.20 : Respective Contributions of Fuelwood and Charcoal to Aggregate GHG Emissions in Africa (%)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
Fuelwood	85.8%	84.5%	82.5%	82.6%
Charcoal	14.2%	15.5%	17.5%	17.4%
Total Africa	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

The respective contributions of different GHG in total emissions from woodfuel use show the importance of CO₂, which represented more than 92%, while CH₄ shared less than 7% and N₂O less than 1 % of aggregate emissions.

Table 2.21 : Respective Contributions of the Three Major Gases to Aggregate GHG Emissions in Africa (million TE-CO2)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
CO2	557.7	595.0	640.9	680.1
CH4	34.2	36.7	39.9	42.4
N2O	5.5	5.8	6.1	6.5
Total Africa	597.4	637.5	686.9	729.0

Table 2.22 : Respective contributions of the three major gases to Aggregate GHG Emissions in Africa (%)

Year	1980	1985	1990	1995
CO2	93.4%	93.3%	93.3%	93.3%
CH4	5.7%	5.8%	5.8%	5.8%
N2O	0.9%	0.9%	0.9%	0.9%
Total Africa	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%

2.2.12. Socio-economic aspects of woodfuels

Woodfuels undoubtedly play a major socio-economic role in almost all African countries. Within families, women and girls are generally the most concerned by the collection and use of woodfuels for different purposes, particularly cooking, but also other productive purposes such as informal catering, brewing or even small-scale industries.

However, the economic role should be analyzed differently according to the woodfuel form. Most fuelwood is self produced and consumed, particularly in rural areas, while it is also collected in traditional ways and informally sold along the roads or on urban markets. Again, women are the major actors and fuelwood revenue is generally fully integrated into economic life.

Unlike fuelwood, charcoal production and marketing is more formalized. These activities represent a significant economic activity in many African countries and generate large employment opportunities in rural and urban areas.

If we consider a global average price of US$10/m³ for fuelwood compiled from FAO charcoal import prices for the year 1995, which might be underestimated compared to the real pricing situation in Africa, the economic value⁽⁵⁾ of woodfuel uses would amount to approximately US$ 6 billion for the whole of Africa.
While the current study did not address the socio-economic issues related to woodfuels, these issues are certainly key factors requiring international information gathering and improvement or information generation at national level. As a first step, a simplified approach could be adopted to improve knowledge in this regard; subsequently the results obtained could be used to launch more localized pilot studies that could be extrapolated to the whole of Africa.

1 2.27 m³ wood/ton of chemical pulp

2 Detailed approaches to filling the gaps for each individual country are included in Appendix 4.

3 The lists of the countries included in each region are provided in the different tables presenting the databases (Appendix 3)

4 A national survey was recently undertaken in Tunisia (1997) making a clear analysis of the Woodfuel demand and the corresponding detailed potential supply sources (direct forestry sources, fruit trees sources, etc.), at a regional basis.

5 Should not be assimilated to turnover since an important part of woodfuel consumption is not marketed.