A reassessment of the wood energy situation in developing countries, the majority of which are

in tropical regions, revealed that in Asia and Africa consumption of wood energy is declining
although consumption in Africa remains high while in South America, where wood energy is less
important, overall consumption appears to have been rising slowly (Arnold and Persson, 2003).
With high levels of poverty, the dependence on biomass energy sources continues to rise in sub-
Saharan Africa (May-Tobin, 2011).
This trend, coupled with inefficient wood fuel production and consumption practices, and
inaccessibility by most households to other reliable and affordable commercial energy forms.

Charcoal is a fuel that is produced by carbonization of biomass. Although investment in

charcoal production from forest plantations is increasing in tropical regions, for the most part,
biomass for charcoal production is obtained from natural forests in which natural regeneration is
the main source of forest recovery. This general pattern of almost complete dependence on natural
forests for charcoal production forest management, are the primary reasons why governments,
nongovernment organizations and civil society are concerned about the environmental impacts
of charcoal production (WEC, 2004)

In almost all countries where charcoal is produced there have been reports highlighting concern
about deforestation and forest degradation that accompanies the production process (Hofstad
et al., 2009). Forest degradation refers to less obvious changes in the woody canopy
cover while deforestation is the more or less complete loss of forest
cover that is often associated with forest clearance (Grainger, 1999).

Overall, charcoal was cheaper than other fuel and considered as the most used fuel in
households in almost all countries but consumption of these has a negative impact in the
environment. It is important for it provides income for local people who may not be able to find
work specially in poor areas. Since these families don't have a lot of income, charcoal is often
one of the largest parts of a family's budget.

The World Bank. (May 7, 2015). Tracking Access to

Nonsolid Fuel for Cooking [Online].
Available: http://www-
wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentSer
ver/WDSP/IB/2014/05/15/000333037_20140515114
123/Rendered/PDF/880590BRI0know00Box385214
B00PUBLIC0.pdf
According to Frakulsuman (2011), charcoal is cheaper than
other fuel and possible to use as a substitute to other fuel. We
can use the energy of charcoal in our household such as
cooking. Although it has many advantages, charcoal still emits
carbon dioxide that may pollute the air.