(REEEP 2012). A significant fraction of fuelwood in Guinea comes from mangrove
forests located in the coastal region (Sect. 7.2.1). Mangrove forests are the main
sources of fuelwood and charcoal for household cooking and small-scale agricultural
processing (e.g. palm oil, fish smoking, salt making) (ESMAP 1994; Ewel et al.
1998; Balmford et al. 2002) (Sect. 7.2.1). Furthermore, mangrove areas host many
other traditional livelihood activities that also end up degrading the forest. For
example, rice farming in cleared mangroves accounts for 16% of the total rice
crop area and 18% of the total rice production in the country (RoG 2009). Considering its extent and high-yield variability (1.5–3.5 t/ha), mangrove rice production is
considered particularly important for national and local food security. However,
these coastal mangroves provide important ecosystem services that are gradually
degraded such as erosion protection for more than 300 km of the Guinean coast and
habitat for biodiversity (USAID 2012).
The above imply the important trade-offs associated with energy use, traditional
livelihoods and ecological conservation in the coastal areas of the country. These
trade-offs are regulated by a constellation of government agencies, which further
complicates their effective management. For example, the Ministry of Energy and
Hydraulics (MEH) is responsible for regulations, incentives and legislative frameworks in the energy sector. The Ministry of Environment is in charge of forestry
issues, thus playing an important role in (a) regulating the biomass sector and
(b) ensuring the conservation of threatened ecosystems. Regarding the former,
there are plans to protect the national biomass resources while at the same time
reducing deforestation and the national contribution to global climate change.
Towards this end, the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) aim
at reducing fuelwood and charcoal demand by 50% per capita by 2030 through the
introduction of improved cookstoves and charcoal production kilns (RoG 2015).
Regarding the latter, the escalating conservation concerns over mangrove loss led to
the revision of the Forestry Action Plan of 1992 that includes strategies for management and development of mangroves in coastal Guinea (Samoura et al. 2007). At
the same time, the coastal region is important for national development (RoG 2004).
In the past decades, a series of initiatives promoted by different government agencies
have sought to achieve a pragmatic coastal development through multiple policies,
strategies and investment programmes.
The aim of this chapter is to explore the interface between energy use, rural
livelihoods and mangrove degradation in the coastal region of Guinea. In particular,
we identify common fuelwood access regimes in four study districts for households
that interact directly with mangrove forests, namely, loggers, rice farmers and salt
makers. Section 7.2 outlines the study sites and the data collection and analysis
methods. Section 7.3 assesses household energy consumption patterns, expenditure
and cooking device utilization and fuelwood access regimes. Section 7.4 synthesizes
the main findings at the interface of rural livelihoods and mangrove forest exploitation and identifies possible future trajectories and policy implications for the region.
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forests located in the coastal region (Sect. 7.2.1). Mangrove forests are the main
sources of fuelwood and charcoal for household cooking and small-scale agricultural
processing (e.g. palm oil, fish smoking, salt making) (ESMAP 1994; Ewel et al.
1998; Balmford et al. 2002) (Sect. 7.2.1). Furthermore, mangrove areas host many
other traditional livelihood activities that also end up degrading the forest. For
example, rice farming in cleared mangroves accounts for 16% of the total rice
crop area and 18% of the total rice production in the country (RoG 2009). Considering its extent and high-yield variability (1.5–3.5 t/ha), mangrove rice production is
considered particularly important for national and local food security. However,
these coastal mangroves provide important ecosystem services that are gradually
degraded such as erosion protection for more than 300 km of the Guinean coast and
habitat for biodiversity (USAID 2012).
The above imply the important trade-offs associated with energy use, traditional
livelihoods and ecological conservation in the coastal areas of the country. These
trade-offs are regulated by a constellation of government agencies, which further
complicates their effective management. For example, the Ministry of Energy and
Hydraulics (MEH) is responsible for regulations, incentives and legislative frameworks in the energy sector. The Ministry of Environment is in charge of forestry
issues, thus playing an important role in (a) regulating the biomass sector and
(b) ensuring the conservation of threatened ecosystems. Regarding the former,
there are plans to protect the national biomass resources while at the same time
reducing deforestation and the national contribution to global climate change.
Towards this end, the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) aim
at reducing fuelwood and charcoal demand by 50% per capita by 2030 through the
introduction of improved cookstoves and charcoal production kilns (RoG 2015).
Regarding the latter, the escalating conservation concerns over mangrove loss led to
the revision of the Forestry Action Plan of 1992 that includes strategies for management and development of mangroves in coastal Guinea (Samoura et al. 2007). At
the same time, the coastal region is important for national development (RoG 2004).
In the past decades, a series of initiatives promoted by different government agencies
have sought to achieve a pragmatic coastal development through multiple policies,
strategies and investment programmes.
The aim of this chapter is to explore the interface between energy use, rural
livelihoods and mangrove degradation in the coastal region of Guinea. In particular,
we identify common fuelwood access regimes in four study districts for households
that interact directly with mangrove forests, namely, loggers, rice farmers and salt
makers. Section 7.2 outlines the study sites and the data collection and analysis
methods. Section 7.3 assesses household energy consumption patterns, expenditure
and cooking device utilization and fuelwood access regimes. Section 7.4 synthesizes
the main findings at the interface of rural livelihoods and mangrove forest exploitation and identifies possible future trajectories and policy implications for the region.
224
B. S. Balde et al.