[Stoves] [stove] Report from Nigeria

Cookswell Jikos cookswelljikos at gmail.com
Tue Dec 8 00:19:12 CST 2015


Dear Paul and Crispin,

Have either of you heard about an organization called Follow The Money
<http://followthemoneyng.org/womencookstoves.html>? They are following a
$49 million USD project to distribute 750,000 various stoves (LPG and
otherwise) and 18,000 wonderbags. (Some interesting photos here -
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.662360343895129.1073741838.220283568102811&type=3)
It would seem that there have been some...issues... with the project so
far....*'
http://www.connecteddevelopment.org/aftermath-poor-implementation-of-womencookstoves-project-stakeholders-urge-new-minister-of-environment-to-support-local-markets-for-alternative-energies/
<http://www.connecteddevelopment.org/aftermath-poor-implementation-of-womencookstoves-project-stakeholders-urge-new-minister-of-environment-to-support-local-markets-for-alternative-energies/>*
Does anyone know how much further along this program has reached and if the
rest of the stoves have been or are planning to be disbursed in a more
transparent manner?


At the end of Dr Smith's email, he mentions the effects of deforestation -
''North of the red line, deforestation and desertification are serious in
Nigeria due partly to fuelwood harvesting.''

I would just like add on something I came across recently,
http://charcoalexport.tripod.com/
*''The charcoal industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and a money
spinner for interested investors. The United Kingdom alone consumes more
than 60,000 metric tons of charcoal annually, out of which about 70% comes
from tropical Africa. Other countries around the world equally consume
charcoal in great quantity.'' Nigeria currently ranks second to Brazil in
the production of charcoal. The western countries particularly prefer
Nigeria’s charcoal, as the country is rich in tropical hardwood, which
burns slower and is hotter. Nigeria currently exports 380,000 metric tonnes
of charcoal annually.
<http://www.proshareng.com/news/Nigeria%20Economy/Charcoal:--The-Unexpected-Gold-Mine-/20630>*

While of course the vast majority of charcoal produced across the Northern
dryland strip of West Africa is destined to local and regional cities. It
would appear that there is also a huge (far less documented) industry
exporting lumpwood charcoal to Europe and the Middle East for BBQ season.
This seems most unfortunate to me as it hardly helps a bad situation and
especially if the prices of appx. 200euros a ton FOB Nigeria is an accurate
average, that seems far too cheap to be able to pay the producers fairly
and conducted sustainable forestry schemes.
Perhaps though there could be some lessons taken from the circular economy
movement, if many of these West African charcoal exporting countries are
net food importers, the Ghanians seem to have come up with the perfect
solution of a type of charcoal that could be exported back to the EU and
Middle East for grilling their steaks next summer -Charcoal from Lavender
Hill <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34802143>. :)

Being from East Africa we have our own issues with exporting charcoal,
mostly from the Horn area. Seeing as reducing the charcoal demand is always
a good way to start to help reduce deforestation rates, does anyone know of
any energy saving stoves/BBQ programs that are being undertaken in
countries like the UAE, Lebanon and Oman where so much of East Africa's
export charcoal is destined?

Hope I am not to far off topic, but any light anyone else could shed on
this would be much appreciated.

Best,

Teddy





On Tue, Dec 8, 2015 at 12:43 AM, Paul Anderson <psanders at ilstu.edu> wrote:

> Stovers,
>
> The message below came from Kirk Smith via his Stove (singular word)
> ListServ.   So I am forwarding it and (later) some other messages of
> interest about LPG for clean cooking stoves.
>
> LPG for cookstoves was a point of discussion at the GACC Forum in Ghana
> last month.   Ghana has recently (a few years back) discovered and is using
> gas deposits.   Discussions included lamenting the promotion of a fossil
> fuel LPG instead of renewable biomass.   The counter points include 1)
> abundant gases that are just being flared (so use them), and 2)  that
> developed countries should not be working against the developing countries
> utilizing fuels that helped build the West.
>
> Not an easy or quick resolution.   "Stovers" (biomass types, mainly) need
> to be aware of such alternatives and issues.
>
> See Kirk's message below with Nigerian kerosene data. and ask yourself:
> Given that solutions exist (LPG, micro-gasifiers, and more) for the
> solving of the clean cooking problems of health and more, What numbers of
> deaths (and other hardships) are inflicted upon one's own people by corrupt
> government and selfish business interests?
>
> Paul
>
> Doc  /  Dr TLUD  /  Prof. Paul S. Anderson, PhD
> Email:  psanders at ilstu.edu
> Skype: paultlud      Phone: +1-309-452-7072
> Website:  www.drtlud.com
>
> On 12/6/2015 1:54 AM, Kirk Smith wrote:
>
> I am just returning from nearly a week  in Lagos where I gave the keynote
> address at the Nigeria LP Gas Association annual meeting.  (My slides can
> be downloaded  from the website below – see “Talks.)  Spent the rest of the
> time visiting LPG facilities, slum and small-town household kitchens, and
> the energy people at Lagos University.   (I might note that I used personal
> funds for the travel)
>
>
>
> The household fuel situation in Nigeria is quite anomalous by comparison
> to other West African countries or other parts of the world.   For its
> level of development, it has both a high use of biomass (66% -- see pie
> chart below) and low LPG use (5%), in spite of being 50% urban  and having
> the 7th largest gas reserves of any country.   Annual use of LPG, for
> example, is just about 1 kg per capita, far below the West African average
> of 4+ even though richer than the average and having more than half  of the
> population of the region, thus driving down the average.   It actually
> exports 85%  of the LPG it produces, when there is clearly suppressed
> demand in the country.
>
>
>
> One reason is the high continued use of kerosene as a cooking fuel – 27%.
> ( I do not know of a country that today has a higher kero use for cooking,
> but please let me know of any.  Given  its size, Nigeria must in any case
> contain a large percentage of all kero cooking in the world)  This is due
> to a heavy long-term untargeted subsidy for kero and consequent strong
> entrenchment of special interests that make billions of dollars from it
> annually.   I was told that at least 2 recent presidential elections were
> “bought” by the kero lobbies.  As elsewhere, much or even most of the
> subsidy benefit actually accrues to special interests and owners of diesel
> trucks because of diversion.  (as most of you know, household kero use has
> high impacts  on health and climate per unit useful energy)
>
>
>
> Nevertheless, there seems real opportunity for a large-scale expansion of
> LPG, in two major phases
>
>
>
> --First to substitute LPG  for kerosene following  something like the
> highly successful effort by Indonesia to do so starting in 2007.   Like
> there, it would save the Nigerian gov substantially by eliminating the kero
> subsidies, which are bad for health, climate, and economy.  Monthly LPG
> costs, unsubsidized, are actually cheaper than subsidized kero If up-front
> costs can be handled, the recurring costs of LPG are less that kero due to
> much higher efficiency, even if unsubsidized.   Like Indonesia, there would
> have to be, sometimes painful, accommodation of the special interests, as
> well as easing the transition by poor households through provision of the
> first cylinder and stove.
>
>
>
> --Second would be a  major expansion of LPG into  wood-using areas
> focusing first in the north where massive deforestation is occurring due to
> fuel gathering (as well as overpopulation and climate change).   See map
> below.  Perhaps somewhat along the lines of  targeted subsidies as is
> happening in India.    In  this case, there would be a serious carbon
> benefit with potential international funds to assist.
>
>
>
> The optimism that something may happen is not only due to the rising
> obvious perversity of the current situation,  but also that the new gov
> here, the first to actually directly clamp down on corruption in decades,
> is giving most people I spoke with renewed hope for turning the country
> around and is focused on such social programs.  They speak of a ~14x (!)
> increase of LPG demand in 10 years -- from 5 to 50% coverage with a  rising
> population.  Ambitious to be sure, but the kind of effort needed.
>
>
>
> Another 115 million more people that could have clean fuels before too
> long!.  I might note that even though already the 7th most populous
> country in the world, Nigeria has one of  the highest fertility rates and
> may reach 900 million by 2100 (from ~185 million now) and will be 3rd
> largest in the world by 2050.  Thus, a good proportion of the population in
> the world we most want to protect from household air pollution, babies and
> pregnant women, will be in Nigeria.
>
>
>
> An even greater incentive to start soon./k
>
>
>
> p.s. Ethanol is another option as a clean fuel for which Nigeria has
> special advantages being a major producer of cassava, an excellent
> renewable source.  At present, however, there is not even enough production
> to cover food needs and thus no  capability to expand into fuel.  This
> could change with a concerted program, however, although a difficult case
> to make in a country with so much domestic gas reserve and rapid population
> growth requiring more food each year.
>
>
>
> p.p.s,  Kero lighting is also widely used because of lack of reliable
> power in many areas.   I was told, however, that rechargeable LED lamps are
> rapidly replacing kero lamps, but I have not yet seen any data in support.
>
>
>
> ------------slides-------------
>
> deleted during resending:
> A.  Pie chart with biomass at 56% and LPG at 5 % of Nigerian household
> energy.
>
> B.   Map of Nigeria showing wood fuel dominating in the northern half of
> the country.
>
>
>
> Nigeria’s cookfuel situation – very low LPG use in spite of having the 7th
> largest gas reserves in the world.  Currently, 40% of gas produced is
> flared.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> North of the red line, deforestation and desertification are serious in
> Nigeria due partly to fuelwood harvesting.
>
>
> ---------------------------
> Kirk R. Smith, MPH, PhD
> Professor of Global Environmental Health
>
> Chair, Graduate Group in Environmental Health Sciences
> Director of the Global Health and Environment Program
> School of Public Health
> 747 University Hall
> University of California
> Berkeley, California, 94720-7360
> phone 1-510-643-0793; fax 642-5815
> krksmith at berkeley.edu
> http://www.kirkrsmith.org/
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
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