Producing Charcoal in the Sub-Saharan Drylands: The Contested Fuelscape of Central Pokot, Kenya
Final Report Abstract
According to our three work packages we assessed the environmental impacts of charcoal production, worked on the local perceptions on land-use and landcover change, and evaluated the role of charcoal for local livelihoods. We integrated local knowledge with a multi-temporal Landsat-based Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) classification and participatory mapping exercises. Important changes are a decrease in canopy cover, especially in the vicinity of expanding settlements and deforestation along the main rivers, clearly linked to agricultural expansion of large irrigation schemes. The remote sensing analysis could not find a link between the decrease in canopy cover and increased charcoal production, probably due to the spatial resolution of the Landsat data together with the small charcoal production sites, typical for the study area. Using an unmanned aerial systems (UAS) we assessed the small-scale impact of charcoal production on the vegetation in the vicinity of the production sites. Comparisons between charcoal production sites and reference plots without earth-mound kilns or burn marks revealed no significant differences, most likely a result of the small scale of charcoal production. Local informants, however, reported declining abundance of tree species preferred for charcoal production in certain areas. Local Perceptions of LULC change and its drivers are closely linked to the dependence of the community on their natural resource base. Small-scale charcoal production became a relevant part of local livelihood portfolios in Pokot Central during the 1990s. Since the administration of West Pokot County has not yet passed own regulations, the production remains illegal, while unclear land rights and corruption hinders a sustainable transformation of the sector. Charcoal production is part of a diversified livelihood portfolio and complement it with livestock keeping, farming and other activities such as bee keeping, gold panning or small businesses. Policy related short-term shocks such as the national charcoal ban 2018 but especially the COVID-19 related restrictions resulted in massive financial worries as market access was cut off. Only few producers were able to compensate their losses in 2020 by selling livestock or by intensifying a different income source. The results from the present study hold relevant policy implications, which were shared with local government officials during the final workshop. The most important result is the high economic value of charcoal production in Pokot Central and the high dependence of many households on the income. At the same time, environmental effects are not yet as pronounced as in other production areas. It is essential to create fine-grained and localised charcoal regulations that consider site-specific conditions and consider local production methods and informal regulations. The study found the use of a UAS in monitoring very promising. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the mid-to long-term effects should be investigated, also with regards to gender relations.
Publications
- Umkämpfte fuelscapes – Holzkohleproduktion in subsaharischen Trockengebieten. Deutscher Kongress für Geographie 2017, Tübingen
Petersen M, Bergmann C, Nüsser M
- 2019. Contested fuelscapes: Producing charcoal in sub-Saharan drylands. Area 51(1): 55–63
Bergmann C, Roden P, Nüsser M
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12394) - 2021. Contextualizing land use and land cover change with local knowledge: a case study from Pokot Central, Kenya. Land Degradation and Development 32(10): 2992–3007
Petersen M, Bergmann C, Roden P, Nüsser M
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3961) - 2021. Producing charcoal in a pandemic: How COVID-19 restrictions affect livelihoods in Pokot Central, Kenya. Erdkunde 75(2): 121–137
Petersen M, Kamurio CN, Kortom CD, Nüsser M
(See online at https://doi.org/10.3112/erdkunde.2021.02.04) - The charcoal value chain as a complementary livelihood activity for pastoralists in the rangelands. Poster at The Joint International Grassland and International Rangeland Congress 2021, Nairobi
Teyie S, Wasonga O
