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Coverage

Rwanda

Project time

February – December 2009

Objectives/scope

Improvement of the knowledge on wood energy supply and demand in the Country, in order to support sound policy formulation and planning, and the strengthening of national capacities.

Institutional settings

Project TCP/RWA/3103 - Rationalisation de la filière bois-énergie. Project executed with FAO financial and technical support by the National Forest Authority, Ministry of Natural Resources (MINIRENA), with participation of other national institutions and ministries.

Scale/resolution

Raster cell resolution = 50 m
Administrative = Sector 2006 (416 units) and Sector 2002 (1565 units). Districts (31) and Provinces (5).

Demand features

Residential consumption in rural and urban areas). In order to map the consumption, a population distribution model was created using 2002 census data, “10 households” map points and updated urban areas (Google Earth).
The commercial consumption was guesstimated as 10% of urban residential consumption (ref Mozambique). Tea drying was the most important industrial consumption. Public sector consumption was represented by schools and prisons. Two conditions were considered: one “business as usual”(BAU) and one “ameliorated” (AME), with higher penetration of improved stoves and efficient carbonization techniques.

Supply features

The land cover base map was produced merging recent map of plantations and natural forests with LCCS-based Africover Map of Rwanda. The available woody biomass resources were estimated and mapped based on plantations inventory data, productivity by LCCS classes derived from WISDOM East-Central Africa and one ad-hoc survey of trees and shrubs in rural areas (interpretation of high-resolution orthophoto over a systematic sample of non-forest areas). Two variants were considered: one “business as usual” (BAU) and one “managed” (MAN) with higher productivity based on the observation of basic management prescriptions.

Integration features

The supply/demand balance was estimated and mapped at pixel level in a local context of 1.5 km and by administrative unit (Sector, District). Several balances were produced, depending on the supply and demand variants considered (BAU-BAU; BAU-AME; MAN-BAU; MAN-AME) (see Figure A3.28). In addition, balance mapping was done considering that a fraction of the woody biomass be replaced by farm residues.

Woodshed/bio-shed analysis

The overall negative balance prevent the delineation of sustainable supply zones. At current conditions none of the major cities can have sustainable woodsheds.

Integration with other aspects

Balance conditions and poverty parameters were combined to quantify and identify the populations living concomitant conditions of woodfuel deficit and extreme poverty, which represent a condition of severe vulnerability (see figure_in “Thematic coverage” Section).

Findings/conclusions

The national supply/demand balance, according to current situation shows an annual deficit of 1.8 Mt.(oven-dry). With improved management and conversion efficiencies (but the same plantation area) the balance could raise to a deficit of “only” 0.75 Mt.
Over 1.5 million people (20% of people of rural provinces) live in areas with concomitant conditions of serious woodfuel deficit and high poverty, which are cause of extreme vulnerability. These populations and the areas where they live (delimited on WISDOM maps) should be given highest priority in future projects.
The situation is so tight that the efforts aiming at sustainable wood energy must be oriented in all possible direction (management, efficiency, new planting areas, promotion of affordable fuel alternatives, etc.) in wide institutional synergies and with clear territorial priorities.

Publications

WISDOM Rwanda - Spatial analysis of woodfuel production and consumption in Rwanda applying the WISDOM methodology. Working Paper of Project “Rationalisation de la filière bois-énergie” (TCP/RWA/3103).