| Boiling Point | |
 Issue 49 (2003) Forests, fuel and food | |
| Article | Livelihoods in the urban biomass sector - realities and threats |
| Author | Hannah Isaac |
This article is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the DFID.
Whether it be wood, charcoal or simply branches, leaves and twigs, traditional biomass fuel remains the most important source of household energy for more than two billion people in today’s world.
Associated with the mass consumption of these biomass resources are concerns about environment and health, and much research has been carried out to identify and measure impacts such as deforestation from unsustainable wood and charcoal production, and smoke-related illnesses that can occur when biomass fuel is used in poorly ventilated kitchens.
In the last few decades attempts have been made to reduce biomass consumption through a range of interventions that create the conditions for ‘fuel substitution’ to occur.
If measures are effective in reducing biomass consumption, what might this mean for the livelihoods of the many people who serve the biomass trade?
This question formed the basis of a recently completed DFID KaR project, carried out by Energy for Sustainable Development Ltd (ESD) and a team of experts from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. All three countries have experienced various fuel substitution measures in recent years, such as:
| What is ‘fuel substitution’? The term ‘fuel substitution’ encompasses a number of measures, including:
In both cases, this could mean either:
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Mrs B, a 30-year-old widow with two children, has seen the price of BLT increase, having an impact on her ability to secure sales, and she states that her daily income has decreased almost by half in the last four years. Her only reason for remaining in the business is the lack of an alternative. One of the main problems expressed by Mrs B is the lack of a secure vending place. The main space she now occupies is on a roadside, although she vends in and around a designated market place. As a result, she is exposed to occasional harassment.
Her accommodation, an informally sub-let single room in a family house, was affordable to begin with, but has been gradually increasing at the same time that her income has been decreasing. With two children to care for, and no other income to rely on, her situation illustrates extreme vulnerability in this sector.}f One of the first objectives of this research was to characterize the biomass sector in these three cities. If fuel substitution measures have the potential to threaten livelihoods, who would be affected and on what scale?
Through a series of tallies held at major entry points to each city, and at key vending locations, the team identified a diverse range of actors engaged in transportation and sales of both wood and charcoal, and, in the case of Addis Ababa, branches, leaves and twigs. The full range of actors and some key social characteristics are summarised in Table 1.
 Table 1: Social characteristics of biomass fuel suppliers |
In all three countries, some common trends were identified:
- The difference in income levels of motorized versus non-motorized transporters and wholesale versus retail vendors is significant.
- The correlation between gender and type of activity means that it is only men that are able to earn a decent wage from the fuel supply business.
- Physical assets were identified as the most important asset for all suppliers. Examples include vehicles, donkeys, a secure vending location and storage space.
- Women are concentrated in activities in which access to these assets is extremely limited, for example manual transportation of fuel, market sales and roadside vending.
Figure 1: A fuel market in Addis Ababa - While women have strong social assets in terms of networking with other women, and membership of community associations, it is men who are most able to use their social assets to enhance their livelihoods. Greater access to social assets enables men to obtain credit, avoid harassment with authorities or access shared resources such as
Those with fewest assets are the most vulnerable position within this sector. However, in order to really judge what this means for the population of fuel suppliers as a whole, it is necessary to consider the proportions of fuel suppliers engaged in each type of activity.
Results of the tallies carried out at the beginning of the research are shown in Table 2. They indicate that the most secure and well-paid activities, i.e. motorized transportation and wholesale vending, are in short supply, with a high proportion of suppliers employed in non-motorized transportation and the retail sector. If broken down further, these statistics show a clear concentration of women in the lowest-paid, most arduous and least secure jobs.
 Table 2: Breakdown of fuel supplier tally activity |
- Fuel substitution policies are yet to be effective in reducing overall quantities of biomass fuel consumed in urban areas. This may be due to increasing urban populations or the fact that greater efficiency does not reduce fuel use but means that the same amount of fuel is being used, but for additional purposes, such as boiling water.
- Individuals do not relate changes in their livelihood circumstances with interventions at a macro level – especially since they are often unaware of the policies that have been introduced.
Nevertheless, individual case studies indicate that the lack of alternative livelihood options for the vast majority of fuel suppliers makes them extremely vulnerable to changes in the market for traditional fuel. Fuel substitution measures that do not consider this group are likely to have serious impacts on them.
Perhaps more importantly, however, this research has shown that, right now, the greatest threat to livelihoods of fuel suppliers relates to the environment in which these actors operate. The conditions of the fuel sector itself have a direct impact on those who are trying to make a living in this business.
- Biomass regulatory measures, such as charcoal bans in Kenya and Ethiopia have created conditions in which corruption and institutional harassment flourish, thus increasing the vulnerability of suppliers, and particularly harming
- Lack of sustainable forestry policies mean that, as local sources of fuel are depleted, it becomes increasingly necessary to use motorized transport to bring supplies to the capital. As a maledominated activity, this pushes
- Social conventions mean that attitudes towards the traditional fuel sector are generally negative, partly due to its illegal nature, and also as a result of the nature of the work itself, since charcoal is a naturally dirty commodity. The results indicate that women tend to have lower negotiating power, are excluded from the motorized transport sector, and are very rarely present in the wholesale supply of fuel.
Social and institutional factors take time to change. However, by improving people’s access to assets, their vulnerability can be reduced, placing them in a better position to positively influence the structures and processes surrounding them.
In this regard, the team has identified a number of measures that can improve both the existing circumstances of suppliers and better equip them to deal with any future impacts that may result from successful fuel substitution policies (Table 3).
 Table 3: Recommendations for action |
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