Charcoal consumption in Tanzania and its impact to climate change

Despite of a number of initiatives by the government of Tanzania and other stakeholders in enhancing environmental conservation there has been an increasing deforestation in the country with an estimated rate of losing 372,000 ha per annual. A major contributor to the deforestation is the ever-increasing demand for charcoal as a cooking energy leading to exponential increase in charcoal consumption especially in urban areas. Main objective of the study was to provide proven data and field experiences on Tanzania charcoal production and consumption to enhance making of informed decision for supporting programmes to ensure sustainable charcoal production, efficient consumption and existing potential energy alternative sources to charcoal. Specific objectives were to: review the Tanzania energy resources and energy balance and illustrate the contribution of charcoal; review the energy sources used for cooking in Tanzania and their consumption trends; review the components of charcoal value chain and explore opportunities for improvements to reduce charcoal consumption: review national policies and legal instruments supporting the charcoal sector.