ECOWAS Workshop on Sustainable Wood Energy Management

A workshop on sustainable wood management was organised by ECREEE in collaboration the GBEP (Global Bioenergy Partnership) and its partners that provided a forum for sharing knowledge and information on sustainable supply of woody biomass for specific stakeholders. The workshop was supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BLMFUW) and held in Cotonou, Benin from 09 - 11 May 2016. It provided information, enhanced the capacities of relevant actors within the forestry and wood energy value-chain and came out with conclusions and recommendations.

Specific objectives of the workshop were as follow:

• discuss the present state of art with regard to the unsustainable use of wood fuels and how to introduce sustainability in its value chain;
• sensitize and enhance capacities on shifting to and expanding the sustainable use of wood fuels  by incorporating efficient and modern approaches in the entire value chain for other productive sectors of the economy;
• peer-to-peer learning and sharing of positive experiences on successful wood energy projects, including modernization and sustainable production, transformation and utilization for replication; and
• Inform and discuss integration of alternative cooking fuels into national energy policies and strategies, since linkages between clean cooking and sustainable supply of woody biomass are undeniable.

The workshop was held against the backdrop of high dependency of the region on traditional biomass use for domestic energy supply. The harvesting and use of such biomass is highly unsustainable and has adverse consequences on the health of women and children with resultant degradation of the ecosystem.

It has been realised that for the region to move and promote Clean Cooking Solutions and sustainable biomass use, it is necessary to have a systematic and harmonized approach to the challenges confronting the domestic energy sector.

The workshop:

• sensitized participants on the present state of art with regard to the unsustainable use of wood fuels;
• enhanced capacities on how to introduce sustainability in the value chain of the sector;
• shared information on positive experiences on successful wood energy projects with participants; and
• Linkages between clean cooking and sustainable supply of woody biomass were discussed and emphasized in integrating alternative cooking fuels into national energy policies and strategies.

More information on the workshop can be read below.

Registration Form