Secretariat of Climatefarming

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Deforestation causes global warming According to FAO figures, some 13 million
ha of forests worldwide are lost every year, almost entirely in the tropics. Deforestation
remains high West Africa. Between 25 and 30 percent of the greenhouse
gases released into the atmosphere each year – 1.6 billion tonnes – is
caused by deforestation.1
Fuelwood consumption is one of the main causes of deforestation, and excessive
cutting of trees for firewood before they are fully grown, leads to the loss of
growth potential of the forest stands. In most developing nations more than 80%
of wood extracted are being used for fuel. In many places , illegal extraction of
trees for firewood and charcoal has been a major cause of deforestation and
forest degradation.2 The purpose of this proposal is to replace Fuelwood by unused
agroresidua.
Defrorestation in the sub sahel leads to land degradation. Parviz Koohafkan,
Director of FAO’s Land and Water Division (2008) notes that “Land degradation
also has important implications for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as
the loss of biomass and soil organic matter releases carbon into the atmosphere
and affects the quality of soil and its ability to hold water and nutrients,”
Globally an estimated 2.4 billion people rely on traditional biomass for cooking
and heating (wood, dung, and agricultural residues), mostly burnt using inefficient
and dirty cooking devices or open fires. Cooking and heating with solid
fuels on open fires or traditional stoves results in high levels of indoor air pollution.
This is a major contributor to respiratory health problems, particularly for
women and children, resulting in 1.6 million premature deaths each year
(W.H.O. http://www.who.int/indoorair/impacts/en/).
The purpose of this proposal is to replace traditional stoves by non pollutant 3rd
generation pyrolysis stoves running on agroresidua and turning biomass in charcoal
(biochar)