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The social and developmental implications of Charcoal burning in Somaliland

 

Ahmed Adan

Somaliland

Charcoal

24 August 2004

 

 

 

Introduction

Charcoal use for energy is a common practice in the third world countries; the only energy for family and restaurant food preparation in Somaliland. This paper will analyze the reasons and the implications of charcoal production in Somaliland and the potential solutions to prevent further deterioration of tree cover.

 

Methods

The author has searched websites for information related to charcoal production in Somalia. Few sites with relevant information have been found.

 

Housewives, charcoal burners and traders have been interviewed in Erigavo and Hargeisa, Somaliland.

 

Since the libraries in Somaliland do not keep local publications (books, articles, magazines etc), the author has contacted individuals and institutions for written information.

 

Informal interviews were made with 3 staff members with the ministry of Pastoral Development and Environment (MPD&E) for the government policies towards Environmental care.

 

Narratives

 

Charcoal plays an important role in both the energy sector and the economy of most African countries. Charcoal making provides a considerable amount of employment in rural areas; it allows for a quick return on investment. However, the inefficiencies inherent to the production and the use of charcoal put a heavy strain on local wood resources, resulting severe environmental consequences (Mohamed, 2001).

 

In Somaliland Charcoal production is a major problem. FAO reported that about 92% of domestic energy requirements in Somalia are dependant upon charcoal and firewood fuel source (FAO, 1993). Other studies estimated that Over 95% of Somali families and all restaurants use inefficient metallic stoves for cooking; 50% of the heat is wasted, which means cutting more trees to meet the energy demands (interview of housewives and restaurant owners).

 

Two housewives, Sahra and Shamis, interviewed in Hargeisa asserted that they consume about 3-4 sacks of charcoal each month. “The number of sacks increases during fasting month of Ramadan to 6 sacks,” Shamis said. One sack of charcoal weighs between 15kg to 20kg.

 

Some development agencies, notably Candlelight and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), demonstrate energy conserving stoves and advertise it on the media. The stoves, made of clay with metallic outside walling, are now available in Hargeisa markets. The price (25,000 for one pot stove and 40,000 Somaliland Shilling for double pot stove) is bit higher than the commonly used metallic type, which is 3,500 for small stoves and 10, 000 for bigger ones. A young man tending one of the stoves selling stores said that the clay type conserves heat 30% higher. “I have been using the energy conserving stove for the last 30 days and I have reduced charcoal consumption for about one sack,” said Sahra during the interview.

 

Charcoal burners are typical poor and destitute pastoralists who have no alternative income-earning opportunities (UN Drought Report, October 2003). The ban on the Somali livestock to the Saudi Arabia, the major recipient; four years drought in some parts of Somaliland and the neighboring regions of Somalia; chewing Qat (Catha edulis –green leaves used for Cathinone, a stimulant that produces feeling of euphoria) necessitated young men to burn charcoal.

 

According to the estimations given by the charcoal dealers, Erigavo town accommodates about 6000 families; each family needs average of 3 charcoal sacks of 15-20kg a month. Each of the 30 restaurants in the town consumes 300 sacks a month. Thus, the amount of charcoal needed in Erigavo town would be 27000 sacks a month. A tree with the diameter of 80cm could produce 1.6 sacks of charcoal. The fully grown trees are decreasing in number, and the burners should cut as many middle age trees as possible to get their target sacks of charcoal.

 

Table 1: The following table indicates charcoal consumption in Hargeisa alone for the second half of year 2003.

SN	Month	Num. Of Sacks
01	July	78,900
02	August	87,300
03	September	73,500
04	October	93,000
05	November	87,900
06	December	96,390
Total		516,990 Sacks of size17-18Kg.

 

These figures were obtained from the ministry of Pastoral development and environment. To meet the energy demands of Hargeisa city, 323,118 trees with the circumference ranging between 70cm-90cm have to be cut (MPD&E Case Study, Jan 2004).

 

 

 

The process of charcoal production

 

Traditionally, charcoal burning was limited to small groups of cutters with hand axes to respond to the domestic needs. Nowadays, the business attracted diverse of social groups including some well-off traders. The burners set fire on the standing tree at the bottom (picture I).

Easy way of cutting trees by burning at the bottom (Photo Report on “forestry in Somalia”)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Battery-powered chain saws were introduced to Sanaag and Sool woodland areas. This technology exasperates the depletion of trees in those areas. The traditional charcoal burners either set fire on the standing tree or use hand axes to cut the tree into small pieces to bake it in kilns. The charcoal baked in kilns is preferred than the one from the standing trees; burning standing trees wastes 60% of the biomass.

 

Tree trunks are chopped down into small pieces and baked in kilns (picture II). The average kiln is 1.3m deep, 1.7m wide and 2.6 long. The tree parts are put in and buried with earth to limit the amount of oxygen and air during burning (study 2004).

 

The process of baking tree parts in kilns takes about 5 to 6 days; the pit preparation needs 2 to 3 days, putting the wood in the pit one day, brewing is one day and cooling of charcoal is for one day (MPD&E Case Study, Jan 2004).

 

Acacia bussei is the most preferred tree specie for charcoal production, timber and fencing for its hard stems. Other species currently targeted are Acacia tortilis  (Qudhac) and Acacia ethbaica ("Sugsug"), These Acacia species commonly grow in the woodland plateaus with scattered groves in the mountainous and other areas (see map

 

Preparation of kiln

This is surface kiln. 

(Photo Report on “Forestry in Somalia”)

 

 

 

 

 

Local communities some times try to control the indiscriminate destruction of trees in their localities by warning the burners or confiscating their tools and equipments. The charcoal dealers counter-act the resistance of the local communities by hiring young men from the same locality.

 

Charcoal dealers provide tools, food and Qat to the burners deductible from their payments at the end. As the woodland areas are dwindling, the charcoal burners some times compete and dispute over the use of certain patches of trees.

 

Charcoal burners are organized in small groups camping at the production sites. These groups work for individual stores in the big towns or are freelanced selling their product to anybody they strike a deal with. There are also individuals who burn sacks of charcoal from the trees around their homesteads and transport on donkeys to the nearby villages. The age of the charcoal burners ranges from 17 to 30 years.

 

The charcoal burners affirmed that they were involved in the business for the following reasons:

• To cover the food and other essentials of their families. This group is mostly from destitute families living around the villages.
• To get income for Qat chewing. The charcoal dealers estimated that the burners spend 60% of their income on Qat chewing.
• Few people involve in charcoal burning to make money for investments. Recent studies revealed that one man has bought 70 sheep and goats and one camel. Another man was reported has bought 10 camels.

Role of women in Charcoal business

A recent case study on the impact of charcoal production on the environment … revealed that small number of women are involved in burning few sacks of charcoal to cover the basic expenses of their families; these women are mostly from destitute families living near the villages. Two women burning charcoal at their vicinities have been observed at Go’da weyn of Hargeisa region. 

 

Women are mostly involved in retail trade of charcoal; at the village they buy from the freelance burners and sell it to the big dealers with small profit. Women also buy small stocks from the big dealers at big cities and sell it to their neighbors.

 

Table 2: Charcoal consumption in the 6 regional capitals of Somaliland and export to Arabian Gulf countries and Djibouti

Charcoal use in Sacks	2002	2003	Diff	Percent
Hargeisa	619,880	4,203,980	3,584,100	578.1926
Erigavo	254,000	324,000	70,000	27.55906
Berbera	163,950	186,890	22,940	13.99207
Burao	497,867	534,500	36,633	7.357989
Borama	257,600	348,980	91,380	35.4736
Export	244,800	184,750	(60,050)	-24.5302
Totals	2,038,097	5,783,100	3,745,003	183.75

 

 

Government Role in charcoal business

Somaliland Environmental policy permits the burning of only dry wood for charcoal production. The increasing demand of energy to the fast growing cities and towns necessitates burning of the green trees. The quality and the quantity of charcoal from the green trees are much higher than dry wood.

 

A recent study identified that the ministry of rural development and environment has issued 170 licenses to charcoal burners across Somaliland. The ministry is accused of encouraging tree depletion by issuing licenses without prior information of the locations or monitoring the behavior of the burners.

 

Local communities have complained repeatedly to the concerned government institutions but could not get practical support to control the indiscriminate destruction of the trees on which their livestock live. “We met the regional officer of the ministry of Environment and the regional police commander in Erigavo for 5 times. They usually express that they feel pain about the destruction of trees but offers no support. We (pastoralists) are angry and dissatisfied with the government for lack of support,” said Hussein Ahmed. 

 

The ministry has 87 staff in the six regions of Somaliland; 50% of this number is based in the main office, Hargeisa. The staff are underpaid, untrained and have limited facilities to accomplish their responsibilities. The minister said, “This ministry was existing since 1997, and receives the smallest share of the national budget allocations.” Moreover, the ministry has no efficient vehicles to monitor the activities across the country. “We express the need of allocating better budget for the ministry to supervise the management of natural resources effectively in the cabinet meetings,” he added.   

 

In the absence of strong regional administration, “there is no documentation of the volumes of charcoal exported or the number of trees cut down,” said Shirwa (IRIN, 2002). 

 

Export and Import of charcoal

 

Market research in Bosaso town and United Arab Emirates (UAE) revealed that charcoal exportation to Arabian Gulf countries, notably Saudi Arabia and UAE, is lucrative business. One sack of charcoal costs about US$2.5 at the production site, but fetches around $10 in the outside markets. Charcoal smuggled from Somaliland territory is exported through Bosaso port of Northeast Somalia (Puntland).

 

About 30 truckloads of charcoal cross from Ethiopian Region 5 to Somaliland each month. Ethiopian authorities have attempted to halt the charcoal consignments crossing over the border by confiscating the trucks transporting it. Despite of this tough strategy, charcoal consignments are still pouring into Hargeisa, Somaliland (Awaleh, 2004).

 

The Police at the border between Somaliland and Djibouti estimated that about 3 truckloads of charcoal smuggle into Djibouti each month. The smugglers use animal back (donkeys and camels) for crossing the goods across the border (Awaleh, 2004).

 

The rapid expansion of charcoal exports and the reduction of Somalia’s already scant woodlands is only one symptom of the untalled environmental damage that has occurred in a decade’s absence of government (Andrew Maykuth, 2002).

 

Care International officer, Miskell, said he and other activities have tried to pursue the United Nations to press Arabian Gulf nations to curtail their imports. “The Arabs turned their trees into charcoal a long time ago,” he said, “Now they are working on Somalia’s.” 

 

Somaliland environmental policy prohibits exportation of charcoal. Government does not have sufficient resources to control its long border with Southern Somalia. Moreover, Somaliland and Puntland dispute over the administration of Sanaag and Sool regions where large amounts of charcoal are burned. Geographically, those two regions are in Somaliland but half of the people there are ethnically affiliated to Puntland regional administration.

 

Damage to the environment

 

The trucks transporting charcoal increase roads criss-crossing in the pastureland. Due to the slope of the landscape, the road catch rainwater and development into rills then gullies. There are 3 meters deep gullies, which started from tire marks in Togdheer region of Somaliland.

 

The recent severe droughts that had impacted the communities of Sanaag and Sool plateau was worst in those areas where the trees were cleared out (Awaleh, 2004).

 

According to interviews with charcoal burners, dealers and housewives, people are aware about the negative impacts of charcoal business to the livelihoods of the pastoral communities. The rainfall failures were attributed to the dwindling tree cover in Somaliland and the neighboring regions. Camels and goats - the most drought resistant for their browsing – become susceptible to climatic adverts.

 

Alternative Energy Sources

 

On paper, the government policy is to encourage alternative energy for urban citizens of Somaliland, to reduce charcoal for family and restaurant food preparation. However, government has no specific plans to initiate the implementation of the policy statements.

 

There are huge deposits of hard coal in the Golis Range Mountains; for instance it was estimated that 6 billion tons of coal is in Hodmo area in 120km north of Eil-afweyn town. The coal was identified in Hodmo, Surad, Haadh, Abaydh and Al-madow of Sanaag region, east of Somaliland. Coal is also available in Borama region at the west (UNDP, 1998).

 

According to laboratory analysis sponsored by ActionAid and UNDP, the moisture and volatile contents is high which means the coal is young or immature low-grade type. The Sulphar value is low which promises that it could be domestically used in closed stoves with chimney 1 meter above the roof (UNDP, 1998).

 

Sanaag Community Based Organisation has been involved in demonstration of coal in Erigavo and El-afweyn towns since 2001. The results of the demo was that coal from Haadh, Surad Ad and Surad madow can be used in 30-40 minutes after it has been lit i.e. all the particles turns to white. All the samples were burning between 10-15 hours. The participants and other coal users complained about strong smell if lit inside the house; thus it has to burn outside until all the participles become white.

 

Other alternative energy opportunities are solar power and wind regime; Somaliland has abundant sunshine throughout the year. Some people are already using solar panels for lighting and communication purposes.

 

ADRA consultant, Stephen Ndichu, asserted that wind regime and solar power are very potential renewable energy in Somaliland. He showed a graph of wind blow in the main cities of Somaliland throughout the year; the lowest blow was 10 meters per hour. The stated that wind generators can function with 3 meter per hour.

 

 

 

 

Table 3: The outcomes of UNDP sponsored analysis of coal samples from Hodmo and Erigavo

Coal	Hodmo 1	Hodmo 2	Hodmo3	Erigavo 1	Erigavo 2
Moisture	17.4	15.9	2.2	10.0	6.8
Ash	8.2	12.9	19.8	57.1	50.0
Volatile	33.9	32.6	42.0	18.2	19.2
Sulphar	0.55	0.72	0.64	0.35	0.19
Fixed carbon	40.5	38.6	36.0	14.7	24.0
Gross caloric Mj/kg	23.24	38.6	36.0	14.7	24.0

 

 

Analysis

The tree cover will be completely exhausted in the coming 10 years, if no alternative energy sources are introduced for urban use in Somaliland and Somalia. The charcoal exportation activities need to be curtailed by putting pressure on the Arabian Gulf countries to stop importation of charcoal from stateless Somalia.

 

Central administration is very essential for Somalia to regulate the management of the natural resources and negotiate with other countries. It is not only the range resources that are suffering, but also the marine resources; foreign fishermen are depleting the fish in the Somaliland and Somalia coasts. The Somali coastal areas allegedly become the dumping site of the nuclear wastes.

 

International community is required to support the people of Somaliland and Somalia to conserve the dwindling natural resources (trees).  The UN and the powerful countries are needed to urge Arabian countries to review their importation policies.

 

Table 3 in the narrative illustrates that charcoal consumption has increased 3,745,003 sacks in 2003. This was attribute to the number of families coming to the towns and flourishing restaurants.

 

The exportation of charcoal has decreased 60,050 sacks in the same year. Civil society groups have put pressure on the Puntland administration to control the charcoal consignments to the Arabian Gulf countries.

 

Livestock, especially camels and goats, are already suffering of lack of sufficient browsing. Acacia species produce pods and new leaves in the middle of the dry spell with which these species survive. Consequently, livestock herders are giving up pastoral life and fleeing to the already overflowing urban centers. Due to the scarce employment opportunities, the crime rate is steadily increasing in the big cities such as Hargeisa.

  

Local communities should mobilize themselves to control unsustainable use of the natural resources. Education is the key to attitudinal changes; basic education must be available to the people in the rural settings, especially to the mobile pastoralists. Big traders have to explore investment in alternative energy sources.

 

As illustrated in the narrative, local coal deposits, wind and solar power could replace the charcoal for domestic use. Government of Somaliland must facilitate the design of clear strategies of exploiting renewable energy, and of mining, processing and marketing the coal in the Somaliland.

 

The abundant sunshine is potential for solar power; individuals in the remote villages are already using solar panels for lighting and communication purposes. The price is very high for the average family to purchase; one panel of 45 watts costs about US$500. Solar cookers are very essential to replace the charcoal, and the price must be reasonable for the low-income families.   

 

References

1. MPD&E (2004) “Impact of Charcoal Production on Environment and on the Socio Economy of Pastoral Communities of Somaliland.”
2. IRIN 2002, March Monthly Report
3. Awaleh (2004) “Charcoal trade in Somaliland with Emphasis on cross-border trade.”
4. UN October (2003) “ Interagency Drought Assessment Report.”
5. Abdullahi Elmi Mohamed (June 2001) “Somalia’s Degrading Environmental”
6. UNDP “Results of Laboratory Analysis on Somali Coal.”
7. Andrew Maykuth (2002) “Charcoal producers are rapidly depleting Somalia’s trees.”
8. Faysal Ahmed Yusuf “Environmental Degradation in Somalia.”
9. A.P. Robinson. “Charcoal making in Somalia: A look the bay method” 
10. Martin Herzog, Rheinfelden, September 1996 –‘ Photo Reports in “Forestry in Somalia”.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annex 1: Somaliland map with main areas of charcoal production illustrated as white circles.

 

The white patches on the map are the locations where charcoal is mainly burned in Somaliland. The activities are higher according to the sizes of the illustrated patches i.e. the bigger the circle bigger the problem. Since the color of the map is green, white color was chosen for the affected areas, which means lost of greenness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annex 2: Interview with Housewife in Hargeisa City

 

Q. What is your name?

A. My name is Sahra Abdi

 

Q. Are you living in Hargeisa? If yes, which quarter?

A. Yes, I live in Hargeisa, October quarter

Q. What energy do you use for cooking?

A. We use charcoal

 

Q. How many sack per month?

A.  We use average of 4 sacks, but during the month of Ramadan the number increased to 6 sacks because we have to cooking the normal meals for the children and food for the adults to break the fasting at sunset and another meal early in the morning – 3 am.

 

Q. What is the cost of a sack of charcoal?

A. It increases every time to visit the stores. The dealers are complaining that the trees are becoming scarce and distant from the urban centers. Currently, the sack costs us 16,000 Somaliland Shillings (equivalent to US$2.5).

 

Q. What type of stove do you use for cooking?

A. I had been using the normal stoves - metallic type, but have changed for the last month to what they called energy-conserving type, made of clay cased with metal.

 

Q. How do you see the quality energy conserving type?

A. The quality seems better because I have saved one sack in the month I have been using it.

 

Q. Do you feel that charcoal use is damaging the environment? If yes how?

 A. I am aware that the trees have been cleared out in many woodland areas. The current shortage of rains and the heating climate was attributed to the lost of trees in our country.

 

Q. Have you ever tried any energy other than charcoal for cooking? If yes, what type? How did you see it?

A. No, I have not used any other type. I have just been using charcoal since I was brought to town 20 years ago. In the countryside, we had been using firewood.