National policies and strategies on bioenergy in Africa - Case study: the Gambia

Jan 2008

The Republic of The Gambia is the smallest country in West Africa. With the exception of the Atlantic Ocean, The Gambia is totally enveloped by Senegal. Fuel wood is the dominant energy resource, accounting for about 81% of the total energy consumed. The fast growing population increases the demand for forest products, in particular fuel wood.
Firewood and other products are collected and used by rural households as “free commodities”. The price is determined by the work and the cost involved for collection, processing and transportation.
A report of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) from 1999 shows that 97.8% of the households, both rural and urban, use wood as primary source of fuel in particular for cooking.
The Government of The Gambia is encouraging the use of alternative energy sources and currently the utilisation of solar PV equipment is increasing in the country for industrial, commercial and domestic applications. Use of biomass is increasing though confined to agricultural waste such as saw dust, groundnut shells and straw.

By: COMPETE

 
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