Promoting Sustainable Woodfuel Systems: A Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Program Design
Summary — This report reviews the literature on sustainable woodfuel production and provides recommendations for program design. It focuses on four components: government-led reforestation, national government regulation, strengthening local governance, and fostering smallholder production.
Key Findings
- Woodfuel dependence causes high land and climate impacts.
- Unsustainable woodfuel consumption emits 1-2.4 Gt of CO2e annually.
- Sustainable woodfuel programs require long-term investments that integrate complementary approaches.
- Smallholder tree cultivation plays a critical role in enabling inclusive and sustainable woodfuel markets.
- Government regulation of woodfuel is often unsuccessful due to complexity, geographic diffusion, and informality.
Full Description
This paper reviews the evidence-based literature to develop recommendations for promoting sustainable woodfuel production. It provides an overview of the woodfuel sector and four components of sustainable woodfuel programming: government-led reforestation campaigns, forest sector regulation, decentralization of forest management, and actions altering the agricultural context and business climate for smallholder tree cultivation. The paper lists common challenges facing the sector and includes recommendations intended to orient national-level programming. Annexes include case studies from Senegal, Madagascar, and Haiti.