EU promotes sustainable use of wood-fuel

THE European Union (EU) and Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) have launched a new project to promote more sustainable wood-fuel value chains in Zambia.

CIFOR Communications Officer, Central Africa Ahtziri Gonzalez told the Daily Nation that the project would focus on creating knowledge, options and engagement for sustainable management of wood-fuel value chains.

The project would also be implemented across SubSaharan Africa for four years.

“Funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the project "Governance of Multifunctional Landscapes in Sub-Saharan Africa: Managing Trade-offs between Social and Environmental Impacts" (GML) has officially launched in Zambia,” Ms Gonzalez said.

During the kick off ceremony held in Kitwe CIFOR’s team presented preliminary research results on wood-fuel trade flows in Zambia, with a focus on border flows with Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania.

“We want to understand the biophysical and social impacts of wood-fuel value chains in the Copperbelt, Northern, North-western and Southern Provinces.

“We are then sharing this knowledge with partners to inform policymaking and to work towards more sustainable solutions,” says CIFOR scientist and project leader in Zambia, Davison Gumbo.

The event served as an opportunity to invite key stakeholders collaborate in the framework of the project and to have their input in the framing of its key priorities.

We want to understand the biophysical and social impacts of wood-fuel value chains in the Copperbelt, Northern, Northwestern and Southern Provinces — Davison Gumbo.

And Principal Forestry Officer Mindenda Pande said although charcoal had not received the importance and efforts it deserved, Government was currently implementing various programmes aimed at correcting the situation.

The next stage of the project would be the production of knowledge on priority areas and key intervention sites, such as refugee sites, vulnerable ecosystems, large cities and cross-border areas.

Based on the results, options for sustainable management of wood-fuel value chains would be developed in collaboration with stakeholders.