Fueling Change

Category: Introduction | Date: Jan 31 2008 | By: admin

This blog has been created to keep you apprised of the latest developments in ending the illegal charcoal trade within the Virunga National Park, home to 70 of the last Mountain Gorillas in existence. Charcoal is the primary fuel used for household cooking in the DRC and the illegal harvest of fuel wood used for making charcoal has had a devastating effect on the Mountain Gorillas. We will be covering the effort to help the local Congolese transition to alternative fuel sources, possibly the Protos plant-oil stove, developed by Bosch-Siemens Hausgerate (BSH) in Munich, Germany, and plantation fuel wood. This effort to move away from the use of illegal, non-plantation charcoal is critical to the effort to save the Mountain Gorilla from the brink of extinction.

Cracking Down on the Illegal Charcoal Trade
In late December of 2007, ICCN officials, DRC National Army officers, local community representatives, and political leaders joined forces to end the illegal trafficking of charcoal emanating from both Rwanda and the DRC (specifically Goma). As a result of this meeting, it was decided that strong enforcement measures needed to be taken immediately.

ICCN rangers have now begun seizing all charcoal shipments that are not accompanied by a certificate of origin provided the Congolese Department of Environment, proving that the charcoal was sustainably grown. The initial response by traffickers was to start running the loads at night to avoid arrest and confiscation of their loads. It wasn’t long before the ICCN Rangers were tipped off, and in the last few nights, the rangers have seized five truckloads. Since the campaign began in early January, rangers have seized 10 truckloads, carrying over 36 tons of illegal charcoal.

The confiscated charcoal has been turned over to UNHCR and other humanitarian NGOs to distribute to the camps for people displaced by the conflict between government forces and rebels loyal to Laurent Nkunda.

This recent crackdown on the illegal harvest trade is a good first step, but it must be coupled with alternatives to illegally harvested charcoal. Absent this, the people that depend of this for household cooking will have no way to prepare meals. Similarly, people that depend on the illegal trade for income will have no immediate means to generate income. Clearly, this is a complex issue requiring a multifaceted solution.

The Protos Plant Oil Stove by Bosch-Siemens Hausgerate (BSH)

Demonstrating a level of corporate responsibility that few multinationals can match, BSH has undertaken the Protos plant oil stove development project to both help impoverished people in tropical climes and halt the devastating effects of deforestation on the environment. Recognizing that you cannot ask people to stop cutting down their forest for fuel if there is no alternative, BSH set out to create the first economically viable and environmentally sustainable plant oil stove. The Protos stove is truly the epitome in flex fuel technology. It is able to burn palm, coconut, jatropha, industrial rapeseed, canola, peanut, sunflower, safflower, soybean, used cooking oils – even diesel if need be.

In addition, this new technology has the potential to boost local economies through the creation of new plant oil agricultural market segment. Furthermore, because Protos burn nearly 400 times cleaner than charcoal, they have the significant benefit of reducing the respiratory disease and cancer associated with charcoal burning.

In the next four weeks, WildlifeDirect will be conducting a feasibility study in the Goma area aimed at eventually bringing this exciting new technology to both help halt the destruction of Mountain Gorilla habitat and help transition the people of the DRC to a sustainable, carbon neutral household fuel. Updates of the progress of this initiative will be a regular feature in this blog.