The Niger household energy project ; promoting rural fuelwood markets and village management of natural woodlands

WORLD BANK TECHNICAL PAPER NO. 362 Work in progress for public discussion The Niger Household Energy Project P/roi/h/lftiXl Rura / hitil oo// /r/ . l(/ rlks a/ld I l//(i-,( . I f/l/ol,"///(t ot(. \ Vatl// I II 6 0J//,1.s- -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ v * Joint United Nations Development Programme /World Bank L , ' pESMAP Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme Energy Sector anagement Psistanc Progrlamme ( Kilc ,A// w aloy, I! i///u /ow (vu / Ihu/. ,. (i/+ /f\i/Yi . O/t//1lUf11 .lh /i )i .\lst/o/  RECENT WORLD BANK TECHNICAL PAPERS No. 280 Rowat, Malik, and Dakolias, Jutdicial Reform in Latin America and the Caribbean. 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The typescript of this paper therefore has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formal printed texts, and the World Bank accepts no responsibility for errors. Some sources cited in this paper may be informal documents that are not readily available. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data in- cluded in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this volume do not imply on the part of the World Bank Group any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such bound- aries. The material in this publication is copyrighted. Requests for permission to reproduce portions of it should be sent to the Office of the Publisher at the address shown in the copyright notice above. The World Bank encourages dis- semination of its work and will normally give permission promptly and, when the reproduction is for noncommercial purposes, without asking a fee. Permission to copy portions for classroom use is granted through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., Suite 910, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, Massachusetts 01923, U.S.A. Cover: Stock area of a rural fuelwood market in the Torodi region of Niger. Gerald Foley is a partner in the Nordic Consulting Group, Copenhagen. Willem Floor is a senior energy planner and coordinator of the Rural and Household Energy Group in the Industry and Energy Department at the World Bank. Gerard Madon is a consultant based in France and was team leader of the CIRAD/SEED technical advisory group. Elhadji Mahamane Lawali is an official in Niger's Ministry of Environment. Pierre Montagne is a consultant for CIRAD/SEED. Kirl Tounao is an official in Niger's Ministry of Energy and Mines. ISBN 0-8213-3918-4 ISSN: 0253-7494 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Niger household energy project: promoting rural fuelwood markets and village management of natural woodlands / Gerald Foley ... [et al.]. p. cm.-(World Bank technical paper; no. 362. Energy series) ISBN 0-8213-3918-4 1. Fuelwood industry-Niger. 2. Energy consumption-Niger. 3. Energy industries-Environmental aspects-Niger. I. Foley, Gerald, 1936- . II. Series: World Bank technical paper ; no. 362. III. Series: World Bank technical paper. Energy series. 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No. 325 Bacon, Besant-Jones, and Heidarian, Estimating Construction Costs and Schedules: Experience with Power Generation Projects in Developing Countries   Contents Foreword .............................................................. xi Abstract .............................................................. xiii Acknowledgments .............................................................. xv Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................... xvii Currency Equivalents .............................................................. xviii Units of Measure .............................................................. xviii Executive Summary ...............................................................1 Niger .....................................................1 Natural Woodlands ...........................................................1 The Household Energy Project ..................3........................................ 3 The Supply Component ........................................................... 5 A New Strategy: The Rural Fuelwood Market ................................................... 5 Implementation .........6,..,,,,......... 6 Effects of the Tientiergou Findings ......................................... ................. 7 Progress to Date ......................................................... 7 A Genuine Contribution to Rural Development ............................................ ..... 8 The Demand Component ......................................................... 9 Looking to the Future ......................................................... 10 1. Country Context ...............................................................11 Topography and Vegetation Zones ........................... , . . . 12 Population .......................... 13 Ethnic Groupings and History .......................... 13 Local Government and Landownership .......................... 14 Landownership .......................... 14 Woodland Ownership and Rights .......................,.,.,.,,,,.,,.15 v  The Forest Service ..................................................... 16 Settlement Patterns, Farming, and Pastoralism ................................................... 16 Pressures on the Agricultural System ..................................................... 17 The Role of Pastoralism in the Agricultural System ........................................... 17 2. Project Background ........................................................... 19 Household Fuels in Niger ........................................................... 19 Emerging Environmental and Energy Concerns in the 1970s ................ .................. 20 New Approaches in the 1980s ........................................................... 21 The FLUP Fuelwood Resource and Annual Yield Estimate ................. ................... 22 Analyzing the Fuelwood Supply System ........................................................... 23 The Fuelwood Supply Chain ...................... ..................................... 23 Phases in Fuelwood Exploitation ........................................................... 24 Urban Fuelwood Markets and Prices ........................................................... 24 Absence of Effective Control and Tax Collection ............................. ................. 25 Proposals to Address the Fuelwood Issue ........................................................... 25 The Guesselbodi Project ........................................................... 25 Other Natural W oodland Management Cooperatives ...................... ................... 28 High Costs of Fuelwood ........................................................... 29 Improved Fuelwood Stove Programs ........................................................... 29 3. The Household Energy Project ........................................................... 31 The Project Concept ........................................................... 31 The Supply Component ........................................................... 32 The Demand Component ........................................................... 36 Project Approval and Cost ........................................................... 40 4. Implementing the Project ........................................................... 41 Project M anagement and Administration ............................................................ 41 The Five-Year Plan of Action ............................................................ 42 Establishing the Legal Framework for the Rural Fuelwood Market System ...... 43 Fuelwood Supply Surveys ............................................................ 46 Preparing the Niamey Supply Master Plan ......................................................... 48 vi  Zinder and Maradi Supply Master Plans ................................... 55 Developing the Rural Fuelwood Market ................................... 56 Delimiting the Area of Village Woodland ................................... 57 Stages in Establishing a Rural Market ................................... 59 The Tientiergou Natural Forest Management Study ................................... 61 Ecological Dynamics of the Tiger Bush ................................... 61 Harvesting the Natural Woodlands ....................................................,,,,,.63 Findings on Protection against Grazing after Harvesting .................... ............... 64 Guidelines for Natural Woodland Management and Protection against Grazing ................................................... 66 The Demand Component .................................................... 67 Publicity Campaign and Identification of Stove Market Niches ............. ........... 67 Developing and Marketing the Tchip Stove ................................................... 69 Energy Shops ........... . 70 The Permanent Information and Evaluation System .................................. ..... 71 Half-Yearly Newsletter ....................................... 72 5. Project Achievements ............................................ 73 The Changing Role of the Forest Service ......................................... 73 Rural Market Establishment, Production, and Revenues .......................................,.74 Allocation of Tax Receipts from Rural Markets ...................................... 75 Utilization and Impact of Market Funds in a Village .....................................,.76 Costs of Establishing Markets .78 The Fuelwood Taxation Issue .79 Fuelwood Tax Collection Shortfall .80 Management Weaknesses in Rural Markets ............................. 81 Evolution of Fuelwood Prices ....................... ,... 82 Results of Monitoring Harvested Woodland Areas ....................................... 83 Support for Fuelwood Transporters ....................................... 83 The Demand Component ....................................... 84 Promotion of Kerosene as a Substitute Cooking Fuel ....................................... 84 Promotion of Improved Fuelwood Stoves ............... ........................ 85 vii  Need for Consolidation ................................. 87 6. Review ................................. 89 Tax Levels and Collection Rates .................................... 89 Simplifying the Levy on Rural Market Sales .................................... 90 Management Plans for Rural Markets .................................... 91 The Fuelwood Harvesting Quota .................................... 92 Redefining the Role of the Forest Service .................................... 93 Reviewing the Fuelwood ProblWmatique ............................ 94 The Question of Stumpage Value .............................. 96 Dealing with Demand .............................. 97 Conclusions .............................. 98 Bibliography .................................... 101 Tables 3.1 Areas of Natural Forest, Estimated Sustainable Yields, and Projected Fuelwood Consumption, 1986-2030 ................................................................ 32 3.2 Comparative Costs of Cooking with Different Stoves and Fuels ..................................... 37 3.3 Relative Prices Required for Fuelwood and Kerosene to be Competitive ....................... 38 4.1 Division of Taxes Levied on Fuelwood ............................................ .................... 44 4.2 Authorized Expenditure of Tax Revenues ................................................................ 45 4.3 Structure of Fuelwood Taxes Established in 1992 ........................................................... 45 4.4 Niamey Fuelwood Supplies and Transport Mode, 1984 and 1990 ..................................... 46 4.5 Costs and Prices for Fuelwood Transport to Niamey ........................................................ 47 4.6 Fuelwood Consumption and Prices in Four Urban Centers in Niger, 1990 or 1991 ........ 48 4.7 Standing Forest Stocks and Sustainable Yields, Niamey Catchment ............. ................ 49 4.8 Annual Forest Yields and Fuelwood Use, Niamey Area .................................................. 53 4.9 Fuelwood Supply and Demand, Zinder and Maradi ......................................................... 56 4.10 Cooking and Other Energy Equipment Used by Households in Four Urban Areas ...... 68 4.11 Breakdown of Potential Stove Markets by Socioeconomic Class . . 69 5.1 Quantities of Fuelwood Sold, Turnover, and Division of Rural Market Receipts, 1992-94 ................................................................ 75 5.2 Tax Receipts from Fuelwood Markets and their Allocation, 1992 to mid-1995 ......... ... 76 viii  5.3 Investment of Village Market Tax Receipts in Niamey Catchment Area, 1994 .............. 77 5.4 Estimated Future Costs of Establishing Rural Markets ......................................... ... 79 5.5 Forestry Tax Receipts and Rates of Collection ................................................................. 81 5.6 Sales of Mai Sauki Stoves by Urban Region, 1989-93 ................................ .................... 85 Figures 1 Tiger Bush Formations ................................................................. 2 2 Niger, Showing Niamey Fuelwood Catchment Area ........................................................... 4 4.1 Agrosocioeconomic Zones around Niamey ................................................................. 50 4.2 Niamey Supply Master Plan Exploitation Zones .............................................................. 54 Boxes 4.1 Zones of the Niamey Catchment Area ...................................... ........................... 51 4.2 The Six Stages in Setting up a Market ................................................................. 59 ix   Foreword This contribution to the World Bank Technical Papers, Energy Series, reviews the Household Energy Project, which is implementing an innovative strategy for sustainable management of natural woodlands and production of fuelwood for Niger's major cities. The new strategy is of great importance for Niger and, potentially, for other Sahelian countries that face deforestation and desertification from natural events such as droughts and from unregulated mining of their vital biomass resources. The project arose from a study completed in 1987 that was sponsored by the government of Niger and the Joint UNDP/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP). ESMAP was established in 1983 to provide technical assistance on sustainable energy to developing countries and is administered by the Industry and Energy Department. In 1988 an $11 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) supported the Household Energy Project itself. The project, which began in 1989, offers an integrated program of taxation and lan .denure reform that devolves responsibility for man.a inu natnral woodiands to rnral communities instead of allowing indiscriminate wood cutting from state lands by urban entrepreneurs. Its supply component includes the development of fuelwood markets run in the rural areas by local villagers, who collect sales taxes from urban fuelwood wholesalers to ensure that the full economic value of the wood is reflected in its price. The villagers, in turn, agree to exercise continuing stewardship over their local woodlands. The demand component of the project includes promotion of improved wood and petroleum-product stoves to reduce biomass consumption. Because it recognizes the interest of the villagers in controlling and protecting their own environment and the needs of city dwellers for secure supplies of cooking fuel, the project promotes sustainability in a way that comports well with both rural and urban interests. The effort in Niger illustrates the World Bank's new initiatives on rural energy (elaborated in Rural Energy and Development: Improving Energy Supplies for Two Billion People, recently published in the Bank's Development in Practice series). The multifaceted initiatives involve technical, institutional, and policy reforms. They aim at mobilizing local entrepreneurs, private investors, and international agencies to promote sustainable production and use not only of modem energy supplies-such as petroleum products and electricity-but also of the traditional fuels upon which many millions of people in the developing world will remain dependent for decades to come. Richard Stern Director, Industry and Energy Department xi  I  Abstract A radical new approach to dealing with the problems of energy and the environment in the Sahel is currently being implemented in Niger. The government is giving village communities control over their natural woodlands in return for a commitment to manage the woodlands and the production of fuelwood sustainably. By devolving responsibility for woodland management to the village community-the unit best-placed to carry out such management and the one that will benefit most from its success-the government aims to create a sustainable fuelwood supply for the capital, Niamey, and other major towns. Under traditional arrangements in Niger, urban wood traders have dispatched teams of woodcutters into the countryside. These woodcutters simply take what they need from land owned by the state and truck it back to the cities, with little or no consideration for the sustainability of supply. Villagers in the areas where wood is being harvested have had no power to regulate the cutting and receive no benefits from it. As a way of breaking this pattern, the Household Energy Project developed the concept and practice of the rral fuewood arklet. Under this system, conmmunities are given frmAl rights to manage their local areas of natural woodland and exclusive rights to sell all the fuelwood produced through the rural markets. In return, the communities sign an agreement to manage the woodland sustainably. The project was designed as a result of a study by the government of Niger and the Joint UNDP/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) and funded by a World Bank/IDA credit. The present paper details the rationale, history, and prospects for this innovative energy strategy. After a nontechnical summary of the project and its results to the end of 1995, the paper describes the local physical and socioeconomic conditions, with particular attention to the "tiger bush" that forms much of Niger's natural woodland. Chapter 2 treats the background of fuelwood interventions, which began in response to the Sahelian drought of 1974 and encompassed sponsorship of semi-industrial plantations of fast-growing exotic species and efforts to encourage cultivation and control harvesting. Soon abandoned as impractical, these approaches gave way to the more systematic examination of existing resources by the ESMAP team and their use by the Household Energy Project, as described in chapter 3. The supply component of a new woodfuels strategy centered around the idea of the rural fuelwood market and sustainable management of woodfuels. A demand component was aimed at encouraging dissemination of improved woodfuel and petroleum- product stoves and outlined revisions in tax and pricing policies. The practical and legal aspects of the project's implementation after its official launch in 1989 are discussed in chapter 4. Chapter 5 presents some measures of the project's achievements and difficulties; at present, about 16 percent of Niger's urban fuelwood supply comes from sustainably managed areas. Chapter 6 considers how the project might be expanded during Phase II. If it can be expanded, the approach will have potential for replication over much of the Sahel and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. xiii   Acknowledgments This report describes Phase I of the Government of Niger-World Bank Household Energy Project. The project was designed as a result of a study completed in 1987 by the government of Niger and the Joint UNDP/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) and was funded by a 1988 World Bank/IDA credit. The present report presents results to the end of 1995 of the project's efforts to promote sustainable management of Niger's natural woodlands and provide adequate fuelwood supplies to Niger's major cities. Because of its innovative character, the project needed much support to be considered for Bank funding. This support was given by Jean-Fran,ois Bauer, at that time chief of the Sahel division; Ignatius Menezes, his right hand; and Jean Gorse, forester. Willem Floor was the World Bank task manager for the project, and G6rard Madon was coordinator of technical assistance. Elhadji Mahamane Lawali was director of the supply component, Kiri Tounao was director of the demand component, and Pierre Iviontagne was resident external adviser to the suppiy couiLponenLt. Grateful thanks are extended to Lawaly Ada, director of the Environment Directorate; Abdul Haji, resident representative of the World Bank in Niamey; Sophie Noestrup, Danish International Development Agency resident representative in Niarmey; Madougou Idrissa, director of Tchip-Import; Francois Haaser; Tiemou Issoufou; Oumarou Sanda Lawan; Ibrahim Idi-Issa; Dieter Geesing; and all who provided information and otherwise helped in the preparation of the report. The report was written by Gerald Foley. It was edited by Paul Wolman and Caroline McEuen. Carole-Sue Castronuovo provided word-processing assistance. xv   Abbreviations and Acronyms English French Association Nationale des Exploitants de Bois ANEB Niamey Fuelwood Dealers Association ASEBN Brigade Territoriale pour la Protection de la Nature BTPN Caisse Centrale de Coop6ration Economique, CCCE now Caisse Fran,aise de Developpement CFD Centre International de Recherche en Agronomie pour le CIRAD D6veloppement Comit6 Inter-Etats de Lutte contre la S6cheresse au Sahel CILSS ESMAP Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme PAGE Fonds d'aide et de cooperation FAC FAO U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization FLUP Forestry Land-Use and Planning Project PUSF National Solar Energy Office ONERSOL GDP gross domestic product GIS Geographical Information System GPS Global Positioning System GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit IDA International Development Association ha hectare km kilometer I liter LPG liquefied petroleum gas mm/year millimeters per year NGO nongovernmental organization ORSTOM Projet Foyers Am6liores Phase II, executed by GTZ PFAII National Gas Project (Projet National Gaz) PNG PIES Permanent Information and Evaluation System PV photovoltaic SONIDEP UNDP United Nations Development Programme PNUD UNIFEM U.N. Development Fund for Women UNSO U.N. Sahelian Office USAID United States Agency for International Development xvii  Currency Equivalents The currency unit in Niger is the FCFA (franc de la communaute financi6re africaine). Before 12 January 1994 50 FCFA = I F 280FCFA = US$1.00 After 12 January 1994 100 FCFA = 1 F 580 FCFA = US$1.00 Units of Measure Fuelwood quantities in the field are usually measured in steres. A stere is a stacked cubic meter of cut wood. The weight per stere depends primarily on the density with which the wood is stacked, which in turn depends on its size and straightness. Small branches, for example, stack together more loosely than logs. The figures used in the Household Energy Project are based on actual measurements and are as follows: Small wood: 225 kg/stere Medium-sized wood: 300 kg/stere Large wood: 350 kg/stere Average: 300 kg/stere. xviii  Executive Summary A radical new approach to dealing with the problems of energy and the environment in the Sahel is currently being implemented in Niger. The government is giving village communities control over their natural woodlands in return for a commitment to manage them sustainably. By devolving responsibility for managing the natural woodlands to the village community-the unit best-placed to carry out such management and the one that will benefit most from its success-the project aims to create a sustainable fuelwood supply for the capital, Niamey, and other major towns. At present, about 16 percent of the urban fuelwood supply comes from managed areas. If the outcome of the first phase of the project can be expanded and made permanent, it promises to be a major breakthrough, with potential for replication over much of the Sahel and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Niger Niger is a huge, landlocked country with a population of about 8 million. Some 85 percent of the people live as subsistence farmers and pastoralists. With a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of about US$280, it is among the world's poorest countries. Niamey, the capital, now has a population of about 600,000, and it is doubling in size every 12 years. The northern three-quarters of the country is mainly desert, an extension of the Sahara. In the sparsely populated center band of the country, where the natural vegetation is a light savanna woodland, rainfed agriculture is just barely possible, but there is always a risk of drought. The people living here keep large herds of livestock that they move north and south with the seasons in search of grazing and water. In the South, where the rainfall is in the range of 350 to 800 millimeters, agriculture is more reliable. Here, the natural vegetation is savanna woodland. About 90 percent of the population lives in this area, which covers about 12 percent of the country. Natural Woodlands Niger's comparatively sparse biomass reserves have long been cause for concern in light of the country's dependence on fuelwood. Even in the comparatively well- vegetated South, Niger does not have forests in the sense typical of the moist tropical and temperate regions. Rather, most of Niger's natural woodlands-a term used to emphasize their distinct differences from forests-occur as strips or patches of vegetation interspersed with areas of hard, impervious, denuded soil (Figure 1). The striped appearance of the terrain from the air has led to its nickname,"tiger bush." 1  C-,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C * -~~~~~~~~~~In  Executive Summary 3 Large areas of natural woodland have been cleared for agriculture. Trees are also cut to supply fuelwood to the urban areas. Around Niamey, the tree cover has been so reduced that, from the air, the city itself appears as by far the most heavily wooded area within a radius of 30 to 40 kilometers. During the 1970s, amid fears of a fuelwood supply crisis within the coming decades, there were proposals for large plantations, some of them irrigated, of fast-growing tree species such as eucalyptus and neem. Indigenous species, because of their slow growth, were not considered capable of producing the quantities of fuelwood required in time to avert the anticipated crisis. By the early 1980s, however, it was becoming clear from experience in Niger and elsewhere in the Sahel that the plantation approach was a dead end. Survival rates of planted trees were poor, and yields were often less than those of the natural woodlands that had been clear-cut to make way for the new plantations. With costs of harvested wood running up to ten times the retail selling prices of wood from natural woodlands, the economics of the plantations were hopeless. At the same time, research into the natural Sahelian woodlands was finding that their stocks and yields, especially if managed and protected, were considerably greater than previously thought. Attention therefore turned to the possibility of introducing rational management of the natural woodlands as a means of meeting future fuelwood demands. The Household Energy Project The World Bank Group first became involved in the work being done in Niger in 1978, when it launched a forestry project, usually referred to as the IDA/FAC/CCCE project (for the initials of the collaborating groups-the Bank Group's International Development Association and the French development assistance agencies, Fonds d'Aide et de Coop6ration and Caisse Centrale de Cooperation Economique). The first detailed survey of the country's fuelwood supply system-carried out in 1984 within the framework of this project-showed that fuelwood provided virtually all the cooking fuel used by families in both the urban and the rural areas. A transport census showed that about 110,000 tonnes of fuelwood were being brought into Niamey each year. The project estimated that in the absence of alternative fuels, this consumption would grow at the same rate as the population of the city, about 6 percent yearly. Around the same time, the first major natural woodland management project in Niger was getting under way in the badly degraded Guesselbodi National Forest to the southeast of Niamey. This project, which was carried out with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), was designed to draw village communities into the restoration and management of their natural woodland areas. Working under the direction of the forest service, local people were paid to carry out a range of woodland restoration measures. These included creation of "microcatchments" and small check dams to increase rainwater infiltration in the denuded areas of the tiger bush. The intention was that the local people would subsequently manage the woodland area under the direction of the forest service; in return they would be allowed to harvest and sell fuelwood and fodder.  4 The Niger Household Energy Project Against this background, the Household Energy Project was designed by a joint government of Niger-World Bank team working in Niger in 1986. At the time, the initial results of the Guesselbodi project suggested that rational management of the natural woodlands in the supply catchment areas of Niger's main cities could enable the cities to meet a major proportion of their fuelwood needs in a sustainable manner. It was also evident, however, that unless the growth in fuelwood demand could be brought under control, it would rapidly outstrip and overwhelm any such sustainable supply. The design of the Household Energy Project was therefore based on a two- pronged approach. The supply component focused on the management of the natural woodlands in the fuelwood catchment areas of Niamey and the other major towns (Figure 2). The demand component concentrated on the promotion of substitute fuels, principally kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), as a means of limiting the growth in fuelwood demand. Figure 2 Niger, Showing Niamey Fuelwood Catchment Area LIBYA ALGERIA , T 'r tvfA .0.0 NIGER < MALI X - 1 AGADEZ Agadez - i &i., , -. DIFFAa hS l~-TAHOUA\iv . Tahoua i ZINDER 1 CHAD Zinder - *Lake , + 'MaradL "'nder ,Ch BUR .5 8 ..... ' Diffa ;.._ Ch MARADI ~- FASOss m ~ .BENIN . NIGERIA if co 20OK ~~OO LO METERS