Best Volume 4: Proposed Strategy (Biomass Energy Strategy)
In this Volume 4 an investment package of US$ 120 million is presented for the
implementation of the proposed biomass energy strategy to render the supply of wood and
charcoal sustainable. The package includes four parallel programs dealing with energy
conservation, rehabilitation of plantations, fuel substitution, and capacity building. Some
regulatory changes are required to change the current rules that govern the cutting of wood
for energy purposes: the law and decrees consider that wood comes from natural forests
whereas today most if not all wood comes from man-made plantations. This makes firewood
and charcoal just another product from the farm or the plantation and the legislation should
take this into account. In addition, the applied taxation system on woodfuels is no longer
adequate and should be improved. A different system is proposed whereby benefits are
offered to stakeholders as long as they improve the efficiency of their operations. Without
such changes it does not make much sense to implement the investment package.
