Forests: Providers ofwood fuelIn addition to climate regulating services, the world’s forests provideessential provisioning services for billions of people, including thesupply of fuel, timber, fibre, food <strong>and</strong> medicines. Across much ofthe developing world, for example, the primary way in which peoplecook <strong>and</strong> keep warm is by burning woody biomass from their localenvironment. The two regions most dependant on wood fuel areAsia <strong>and</strong> Africa, which together account for 75 per cent of globaluse (World Resources Institute, 2011).In Africa, 80-90 per cent of rural energy comes from woodfuel obtained within a few kilometres of people’s homes (Chomitzet al., 2007). More than 70 per cent of the urban population relyon wood fuel for cooking, mainly charcoal (DeFries et al., 2010;Mwampamba, 2007; WWF, 2011b). Charcoal is an increasinglypopular wood fuel among urban dwellers. Produced from naturalwoodl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> forests, <strong>and</strong> transported to towns for sale, millionsof tonnes of charcoal enter cities in developing countries everyyear. Much of this charcoal production is unsustainable (Ahrendset al., 2010), leading to net deforestation <strong>and</strong> forest degradation,additional CO2 emissions, <strong>and</strong> thus to climate change, as well assignificant biodiversity loss. Although wood can be a sustainableresource, this level of dem<strong>and</strong>, coupled with growing populations,is having a major impact on forests throughout the continent.Case study: Wood fuel impacts on biodiversityForest degradation is exp<strong>and</strong>ing in waves from Africa’s majorcities, leading to significant forest degradation <strong>and</strong> loss offorest biodiversity.In Tanzania, for example, logging has advanced 120km fromDar es Salaam in just 14 years, depleting all high-value timbertrees within 200km of the city. This first wave of degradationwas followed by a second that removed medium-value timber,<strong>and</strong> a third that consumed the remaining woody biomass forcharcoal production.Moving away from the city at a speed of around 9km per year,these degradation waves have severely impacted biodiversity <strong>and</strong>ecosystem services. Forests close to the city contain 70 per cent fewertree species (Figure 48) <strong>and</strong> store 90 per cent less carbon per hectarethan less disturbed forests 200km away (Ahrends et al., 2010).75%ASIA AND AFRICATOGETHER ACCOUNTFOR 75 PER CENTOF GLOBAL USE OFWOOD FUELFigure 48: Waves offorest degradationspreading out fromDar es Salaam (DES)between 1991 <strong>and</strong> 2005Map of the degradationwaves of dominant forestuse in the study area in1991 <strong>and</strong> 2005. Charcoalburning has moved a roaddistance of 30km fromDES in this time period,<strong>and</strong> medium-value timberlogging has moved 160km(Ahrends et al., 2010).KeyDominant forest usecharcoal burningDominant forestuse logging of low/medium-value timberDominant forest uselogging of high-valuetimberFigure 49: <strong>Biodiversity</strong>impact of loggingaround Dar es SalaamThe impact on biodiversity,indicating how speciesrichness increases withdistance from DES. Forestsfurther away from thecity are less impacted bylogging <strong>and</strong> cutting forcharcoal production <strong>and</strong> soare more species rich thanthose closer to it (Ahrendset al., 2010).The progressive removal of high-value trees <strong>and</strong> the increasingdistance travelled to locate fresh supplies suggest a “logging downthe timber value” scenario akin to the “fishing down the food web”pattern observed in the oceans. A lack of affordable alternativesfor charcoal <strong>and</strong> rising dem<strong>and</strong> for construction timber means thatin the absence of sustainable fuel sources, forest degradation willcontinue to exp<strong>and</strong> from Africa’s growing cities.Species richness esimate301500DES1991 200540Kmcharcoal wavelow/medium-valuetimber wavehigh-value timberwaveDES100 200 220Distance from Dar es Salaam (km)WWF Living Planet Report 2012 page 78 Chapter 2: Why we should care page 79
Energy to BurnMargaret occupies an interesting spot on the spectrum ofenergy use. Like 2.7 billion others, she cooks <strong>and</strong> heatswater with wood <strong>and</strong> charcoal. She is planting trees on herproperty to ensure a source of fuel wood. Margaret alsohas a small solar panel that allows her to read her Bible <strong>and</strong>charge her mobile phone.© WWF-Canon / Simon RawlesCould renewable energy leapfrog fossil fuels in developingnations, in the same way that mobile phones leapfroggedl<strong>and</strong>lines, providing people like Margaret with energysecurity, a healthier smoke-free kitchen <strong>and</strong> reducing thepressure on nearby forests?
Change language