Climate change, sustainably managed renewable raw materials and energyfrom biomass are some of the major challenges facing mankind in the 21stcentury. Globally, wood is the most important locally available renewable energysource for the human population. In Africa, fuelwood and charcoal productionis the dominant use of woody biomass. When obtained from sustainablymanaged forests, the use of woody biomass can be seen with positive climaticand socio-economic effects.This book originated from research undertaken as part of a project, BuildingBiocarbon and Rural Development in West Africa (BIODEV), implementedin 2012–2016 by a consortium composed of the World Agroforestry Centre(ICRAF), the Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR), the Universityof Helsinki (UH), the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), along with nationalpartners of which the most important ones were Sierra Leone Agricultural Institute(SLARi) and Environmental Institute for Agricultural Research (INERA)in Burkina Faso. The project activities have been concentrating on BurkinaFaso and Sierra Leone; some activities have been carried out also in Guineaand Mali. The main aim of the project was to achieve sustainable rural developmentwith long-term livelihood and environmental benefits to rural populationsand the global community under climate change through science-based,validated and high-value biocarbon approaches. The project aimed also toform replicable high-value biocarbon tools in large landscapes.
Publication year
2016
Authors
Language
English
Geographic
Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Mali
