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Charcoal production from invasive Prosopis juliflora in Baringo County, Kenya

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Abstract

Key Lessons - Originally introduced to dryland areas in Kenya as a solution to deforestation and fuelwood shortages, the shrub Prosopis juliflora has become highly invasive, displacing native plants, and negatively impacting both biodiversity and livelihoods. • Efforts to control Prosopis include, among others, using it to produce sustainable charcoal, which can both fill a major bioenergy gap and clear land for agriculture. • However, limited knowledge and a lack of proper equipment for pruning has prevented communities from realizing the full economic potential of Prosopis. • In Baringo County, CIFOR-ICRAF and partners took an integrated approach to sustainable charcoal production using Prosopis, through participatory mapping and ‘training of trainers’ on sustainable harvesting and the use of improved kilns. • Results show that using Prosopis for charcoal production is sustainable in three ways: it is abundant, it can be regenerated through selective pruning, and it produces high-quality charcoal more efficiently than other woody species. • This brief describes these results and offers recommendations for the use of invasive species for charcoal production.
SUSTAINABLE WOODFUEL BRIEF #04
Koech G, Sola P, Wanjira EO, Kirimi M,
Rotich H, Njenga M.
Charcoal production from
invasive
Prosopis juliora
in
Baringo County, Kenya
SUSTAINABLE WOODFUEL BRIEF #04
Koech G, Sola P, Wanjira EO, Kirimi M,
Rotich H, Njenga M.
Charcoal production from
invasive
Prosopis juliora
in
Baringo County, Kenya
This publication is part of a series of briefs describing ndings from the
EU-funded Governing Multifunctional Landscapes Sustainable Woodfuel
project, which aims to contribute to knowledge, options and engagement
for more sustainable woodfuel value chains across Sub-Saharan Africa.
cifor.org/gml/sustainable-woodfuel
3
Key lessons Introduction
The invasive
Prosopis juliflora
shrub and
its potential for charcoal production
Prosopis juliora (hereafter Prosopis), also known as mesquite
or ‘mathenge’ in Kenya, is among the world’s 100 worst invasive
species (Lowe et al. 2000). In Kenya, it was planted between the mid-
1970s and the 1980s in dryland areas to halt desertication, control
deforestation and alleviate fuelwood shortages (Pasiecznik et al.
2006). The introduction of Prosopis, which has biochemical properties
that negatively affect neighbouring plants, has resulted into the loss of
biodiversity both above and below ground (Maundu et al. 2009; Kaur et
al. 2012; Vilà and Hulme 2017). It also affects other ecosystem services,
such as water cycles (Gallaher and Merlin 2010, Dzikiti et al. 2013), and
has cut off livelihood opportunities through its displacement of native
plants (Maundu et al. 2009; Al-Humaid and Warrag 1998). The shrubs
provide breeding habitats for mosquitoes, their thorns cause injuries
to humans and livestock, and their sugary pods can harm livestock’s
teeth when consumed in large quantities (Njenga 2019). With its dense,
impenetrable thickets that protect it from animals, Prosopis has
survived where other tree species have failed. It has also become highly
invasive, branching very close to the ground, inhibiting the seedling
establishment of other tree species and grasses (Pasiecznik et al. 2001;
Singh 2008; Eckert et al. 2020).
In Baringo county, Prosopis was rst introduced in Ng’ambo and Loboi
locations. Initially, 20 sites of approximately 250 ha were planted with
Prosopis (Anderson, 2005). The plant has since spread to other areas
including, Salabani, Ilng’arua, Ilchamus, Kiserian, Rugus, Kapkuikui,
Loboi and Sandai locations, and Endao, Perkerra and Yatoi sub-
locations (Little 2019). Scaling the planting of Prosopis was stopped in
early 1990s once its invasive characteristics were discovered (Choge
et al. 2002). Unfortunately, the community lost 18,792 ha of cropland,
grassland, and woodland to Prosopis between 1986 and 2016 (Mbaabu
et al. 2019).
Originally introduced to dryland areas in Kenya as a solution to
deforestation and fuelwood shortages, the shrub Prosopis juliora
has become highly invasive, displacing native plants, and negatively
impacting both biodiversity and livelihoods.
Efforts to control Prosopis include, among others, using it to produce
sustainable charcoal, which can both ll a major bioenergy gap and
clear land for agriculture.
However, limited knowledge and a lack of proper equipment for
pruning have prevented communities from realizing the full economic
potential of Prosopis.
In Baringo County, CIFOR-ICRAF and partners took an integrated
approach to sustainable charcoal production using Prosopis, through
participatory mapping and ‘training of trainers’ on sustainable
harvesting and the use of improved kilns.
Results show that using Prosopis for charcoal production is
sustainable in three ways: it is abundant, it can be regenerated
through selective pruning, and it produces high-quality charcoal
more efciently than other woody species.
This brief describes these results and offers recommendations for the
use of invasive species for charcoal production.
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
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SUSTAINABLE WOODFUEL BRIEF #04
Without intentional management practises such as biological control,
chemical treatment, uprooting and clearcutting, and use of Prosopis,
the shrubs will continue to colonize new areas and become the dominant
vegetation. To stop this trend, the invasive species can be turned into a
resource. For example, the species is being used for sustainable charcoal,
fodder, poles, honey, and fuelwood initiatives supported by the Kenya
Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) and other stakeholders in Kenya
(Tuwei et al. 2019). The potential for charcoal production is huge, as
there are an estimated 40 million tonnes of utilizable Prosopis biomass
across Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Tana River, Garissa, Kajiado and
Taita Taveta counties – this could ll the country’s 55% charcoal decit
(MENR 2013). Further management and use of Prosopis could open
land for agriculture, allow the recovery of indigenous plant species, and
reduce human and animal injuries (Mwangi and Swallow 2008). When
well controlled, the species can provide timber and non-timber products
such as rewood, charcoal, pods, fodder, and ecosystem services such
as soil erosion control and improvement of soil fertility (Pasiecznik et al.
2001; Wise et al. 2012).
Mapping of
Prosopis
spread and envisioning a
future landscape
Despite several attempts to control the spread and further invasion
of Prosopis in Baringo County, success has been elusive due to a lack
of proper tools and equipment for pruning, low community-level
commitment, and limited knowledge on how to tap into the economic
potential of Prosopis and create incentives to manage it (Koech et al.
2020). Integrated approaches are needed to maximize the benets
and minimize the costs associated with Prosopis (Samuel et al. 2012).
Multistakeholder engagement and bottom-up approaches are critical to
ensuring that community visions are considered, as well as to mobilize
the diverse skills and resources needed to overcome this challenge.
This brief describes activities undertaken by the Governing Multifunctional
Landscapes Sustainable Woodfuel project, specically an intervention
prioritized during community action planning in Baringo. It documents
community perceptions of the benets and challenges of Prosopis
invasion arising from community mapping of its spread, as well as
a vision for an improved landscape through specic interventions.
Also described are outcomes from a ‘training of trainers’ session on
sustainable woodfuel, held in October 2019, during which charcoal
producers and a primary school teacher learned sustainable harvesting
techniques and were supported with a drum kiln, as well as equipment
to improve wood-to-charcoal production in the traditional earth mound
kiln.
The work was carried out in Baringo South sub-county (known as Marigat
sub-county by the national government administration) by the Center for
International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF),
KEFRI, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Kenya Forestry
Service (KFS), the County Government of Baringo, local authorities, and
several charcoal producer associations.
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
Prosopis
managed farm in Ngambo,
Baringo County - Kenya.
(Axel Fassio/CIFOR-ICRAF)
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
Potential benets from
Prosopis
The assessment of the spread and use of Prosopis was done during
the above-mentioned ‘training of trainers’ course (Njenga et al. 2019).
Participants included 11 women and 21 men comprising charcoal
producers, a primary school teacher, ve young male metal artisans
and two ofcers from the Department of Agriculture and Livestock of
the county government. Together, they identied and ranked 14 different
benets of Prosopis in Baringo (See table and et al. 2019). Supply of
charcoal, rewood and fencing materials were the top three benets
according to women, while men prioritized charcoal, fencing and poles.
Charcoal was at the top for both men and women, while women also found
supply of rewood to be a priority, as it is their responsibility to source it.
While charcoal was mainly produced for commercial purposes and sold
within and beyond the county, fencing and poles were mostly for local
consumption.
Prosopis products harvested by communities in Marigat subcounty
Benets Nature of
function Women (N=7) Men (N=10)
ScoreaRank Score Rank
Charcoal Woodfuel 14 118 1
Firewood Woodfuel 15 247 4
Fencing Timber 16 318 1
Shade Timber 29 473 6
Poles Timber 40 539 3
Roong Timber 56 689 8
Control of soil
erosion
Ecosystem
service 58 770 5
Furniture making Timber 63 893 10
Improvement
of soil fertility
Ecosystem
service 70 991 9
Medicine (roots,
leaves, bark) Medicinal value 71 10 112 13
Animal feed Food and feed 73 11 98 11
Windbreak Ecosystem
service 76 12 77 7
Poultice for
wounds Medicinal value 78 13 115 14
Food Food and feed 81 14 110 12
aScore: 14–81 points; ranking from 1 to 14, where ‘1’ is the most important.
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
Participatory mapping of the landscape
Outcomes from the participatory mapping of the landscape in
Marigat sub-county which has the highest density of Prosopis
cover in Baringo county showed that in the 1980s the area had
only a few scattered Acacia trees along the rivers (First map).
Community members said that the mapped area was mostly used for
grazing by pastoralists and some farming along rivers, but that there
was no charcoal production. Prosopis was introduced in the area around
1983, with demonstration plots established in 1984. By 2018 Prosopis had
colonized vast tracks of land in Marigat sub-county such as Ng’ambo, Loboi
and Ilchamus, among others, and had displaced grasslands and croplands
(Second map).
Rivers
Manyatta*
Semi-permanent houses
Town centers
Livestock shed
Resource maps showing (First map) Baringo County before
Prosopis
invasion, and (Second map) the
situation in 2018*cultural homesteads surrounding a livestock shed used mainly by pastoral communities
Acacia and other trees
Acacia and other trees
Houses
Rivers
Charcoal production points
Prosopis juliora
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
The vision of the community is to
manage Prosopis by harvesting
mature stems for charcoal and other
products such as poles, leaving other
shrubs to grow. Another suggested
intervention is the complete removal
of some Prosopis plants to reduce
the overall density and to create
space for multi-purpose trees (e.g.,
fruit trees) and crops (Third map).
Resource map showing a future vision of Baringo South subcounty aer the implementation of
interventions to manage
Prosopis
Acacia and other trees
Swamp/lake
Conservancy
Settlement
Forest land with indigenous species
Grassland/grazing eld
Prosopis juliora
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
This shrub has affected livelihoods for farmers and pastoralists who need
to nd the money and resources to physically remove the shrubs. And it
causes ecosystem management issues in areas where it grows very thick,
preventing the free movement of livestock and wildlife.
Finding ways to control and manage this invasive species is a top priority for
the county, but one that faces many challenges, as Ms. Kipkazi explains.
“There is a lack of resources to support Prosopis management activities,
as well as a lack of awareness among communities about the importance
of controlling Prosopis before it spreads and becomes too established,” she
said. “There are also not enough staff who can offer extension services and
training to community members.
Stakeholder story
A roadmap to the management of
Prosopis
in Baringo County
Jennifer Kipkazi is the Director of
Environment for Baringo County,
where the invasive Prosopis
juliora shrub has wreaked
havoc on grasslands, farmlands
and even waterways. For the
past few decades, the plant has
been colonizing farms, taking
over waterways and occasionally
causing ooding. Where it has
crowded out grasses and other
fodder, animals will eat its sugary
pods – which can cause dental
problems.
She also highlighted land tenure issues. As communally owned lands tend
to have more Prosopis, it is a challenge to develop collective management
plans to invest in controlling the plant, and to implement them across each
community.
At the county level, our main focus is to raise awareness among community
members about the benets of Prosopis management, and to show how
they can transform their land through demonstration plots, where grass
has returned to cleared areas,” said Ms. Kipkazi.
They also encourage sustainable
charcoal production using
Prosopis. “Continuous use of
the plant through charcoal
production can greatly reduce its
spread, she said. “Pruning the
Prosopis shrub prevents them
from taking over and limits seed
production.
“There has been good uptake of
Prosopis as a source of charcoal,
with producers using it even
before the moratorium, she
added.
Continuous
use of the plant
through charcoal
production can
greatly reduce its
spread
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
Tree pruning in a farm near Endui, Kitui County, Kenya.
(Axel Fassio/CIFOR-ICRAF)
Overview of charcoal production using
Prosopis
In 2018, the Government of Kenya imposed a moratorium on timber
harvesting in all public and community forests to alleviate widespread
drought. However, to control the spread of Prosopis, this invasive species
was excluded from the ban on 20 December 2018. Prior to the ban, local
communities in Baringo produced charcoal from indigenous species,
mainly Acacia lahi, as it was thought to produce high-quality charcoal
(Ndegwa et al. 2021).
Charcoal production using Prosopis is undertaken throughout the
year. Activity peaks during the school holiday months of April, August
and December, when students are available to contribute to the labour
and parents need to raise school fees for the following term (Koech
et al. 2020). All members of the household are involved in charcoal
production, although roles are notably gendered. The main roles for
men include felling trees, identifying suitable sites, setting up the kiln,
stacking wood, managing the kiln, loading and unloading charcoal,
marketing, and managing the income from charcoal sales. ‘Lighter’
activities such as pruning fallen trees, lighting and covering the kiln,
harvesting, and sorting and packaging the charcoal are mainly carried
out by women. Youth support their parents during school holidays until
they are old enough to carry out production on their own.
Studies such as Singh (2008), recommend the use of Prosopis in short
rotation energy programmes due to its fast growth, ability to grow new
shoots after pruning, and ability to quickly regenerate biomass. Tewari
et al. (2000) in India and Mehari (2015) in Ethiopia, established that
Prosopis produces high-quality charcoal, and its wood does not spit,
spark or emit much smoke. Studies indicate that in Kenya, Prosopis
produces quality charcoal with a caloric value of 33 MJ/kg (Oduor and
Githiomi 2013).
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
SUSTAINABLE WOODFUEL BRIEF #04
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Training of trainers in Baringo
Before the training, stems were harvested from Prosopis trees and dried
in the open air to reduce the moisture content to 20%. The training was
then conducted in October 2019 through both classroom and community-
level demonstrations to minimize transport and accommodation
costs and to allow participants to continue attending to their livelihood
activities. The total cost for the conference package was about USD 20
per participant per day for ve days. In the classroom, trainees gained
knowledge on sustainable woodfuel production technologies, which
were later demonstrated in the eld.
At the demonstration site, the wood was stacked tightly and carbonized
using both the traditional earth mound kiln and improved earth
mound kiln. Comparing the yields from the two kilns, the improved kiln
produced as much as 50% more charcoal compared to the traditional
kiln, with charcoal recovery rates of 22% and 15%, respectively (Njenga
et al. forthcoming). Further, wood residues below 5 cm were cut to about
80 cm and carbonized using the drum kiln, with a recovery rate of 21%.
Charcoal from Prosopis is targeted for both home use (10%) and for
sale (90%). It is used in the home mainly during the rainy season for
heating. Locally, small-scale food vendors and restaurants consume the
bulk of the charcoal. The charcoal that is not consumed locally is sold
to brokers, who aggregate it and sell to transporters for sale in towns
such as Marigat, Kabarnet and Nakuru, as well as at external markets in
Nairobi and Mombasa. The average price per bag ranges from between
KES 400–450 (USD 3.60–4.50) at the producer level, and a kiln can
produce 1–15 bags of charcoal, depending on the size of the kiln.
Income obtained from charcoal production is mainly used to buy inputs
for crop and livestock production, as well as for school fees, buying
goats, and as savings in village loan platforms. Although women in male-
headed households have the economic capacity to buy goats from income
obtained through the sale of charcoal, they do not have outright authority
to sell the goats without seeking permission from their husbands.
CPA meeting in a farm near Endui, Kitui County, Kenya.
(Axel Fassio/CIFOR-ICRAF)
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
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The improved earth mound kiln was preferred by charcoal producers,
being selected by 17 of the 24 beneciaries. Only ve producers opted
for the drum kiln, mostly women and youth who found it to be more
convenient and efcient, requiring less labour and set-up time, less wood
per batch, and yielding charcoal within 6–12 hours compared to up to
96 hours for earth mound kilns. The interviewed trainers reported to
have reached a total of 359 charcoal producers between October 2019
and August 2020. However, these community learning activities were
slowed when Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria overowed in 2020 causing
ooding and displacement of target beneciaries in Ng’ambo and Loboi,
as well as from delays related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Community-based outreach and scaling
of
Prosopis
management and use for
charcoal production
Follow up sessions to determine the impact of the training workshop
were conducted on 31 July and 3 August 2020. Seventeen of the 24
trained charcoal producers were interviewed. Six of the graduates of the
workshop in Ng’ambo, referred to as ‘community trainers’, had reached
other charcoal producers with the support of the area chief. One of the
community trainers is a teacher at Sintan Primary school who trained
primary school pupils in classes 6, 7 and 8 on Prosopis management and
charcoal production using the improved kilns. The community trainers
also established a demonstration plot on an area heavily invested by
Prosopis at the Chief’s camp, where they provided hands-on training
on Prosopis management and charcoal production using an improved
earth mound kiln and a drum kiln. Details of these improved charcoal
production technologies and related charcoal yields and emissions are
discussed in the rst brief in this series titled ‘Carbonization 2.0: How to
produce more charcoal with less wood and emissions’ and in Njenga et
al. (forthcoming).
Another ve community trainers based in Ilchamus and six in Loboi
went on to train other charcoal producers on the improved technologies
through on-site charcoal production. They took advantage of visits
by community members to their charcoal production site and farms
to sensitize them on the importance of using efcient and improved
charcoal production technologies, as well as on sound Prosopis
management practices. The community trainers also reached out to
community members in Loboi and Ilchamus through public meetings
held by the area chief and at ‘cattle dips’ (i.e. to control parasites in
livestock).
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
Recommendations for scaling up
Harvesting wood from Prosopis for charcoal production is sustainable
in three ways: rst, the shrub is abundantly available as it has already
invaded extensive areas of land in Baringo; second, Prosopis can
regenerate its branches through selective pruning, resulting in a
sustainable supply of woodfuel; and third, efcient preparation of
the branches by reducing moisture up to 20% can increase the wood
conversion rate, reducing wastage and boosting charcoal production.
Combining proper wood production, harvesting, drying and stacking
with the use of efcient carbonization technology such as improved
earth mound kilns or drum kilns demonstrates a high potential for a
sustainable charcoal production system. Prosopis produces high-quality
charcoal with a caloric value of 33 MJ/kg (Oduor and Githiomi, 2013), and
there are established markets for charcoal locally, in both neighbouring
towns and in external markets such Nairobi. Therefore, encouraging
farmers to invest income from the sale of charcoal in community lending
and loaning associations is likely to increase their returns, as they could
then access loans to improve traditional earth mound kilns and acquire
better equipment for wood harvesting. This would save labour and time
that could be diverted to other livelihood activities such as beekeeping,
crop cultivation and livestock keeping.
To help communities tap the huge potential of using invasive species for
charcoal production, we offer the following recommendations:
1 Train charcoal producers on cost-effective innovations such as selective
harvesting of branches, proper drying of wood, tight stacking of wood in
the kiln to allow better air ow, and improved earth mound kilns with
chimneys and breathers to increase the wood-to-charcoal conversion
rate.
2 Mobilize charcoal producers to generate accessible nancing options
through the formation of village loan and savings groups, so that they
have greater access to nancing for the purchase of better harvesting
and processing equipment, thereby leading to more efcient
production, higher charcoal yields and more income to support other
livelihoods and improve their lives.
3 Involve communities in context analysis and exercises to envision
how their landscape could look, to foster joint responsibility towards a
common goal and efforts to achieve that vision.
4 Build capacity among community champions on sustainable charcoal
production using Prosopis through the training of trainers approach,
to increase skills within the community, promote peer learning, and
provide locally accessible extension services.
5 Integrate ‘management by use’ with other measures to reduce invasion
by Prosopis, as recommended in the Kenya Bioenergy Strategy
2020–2027 (MoE 2020).
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Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
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SUSTAINABLE WOODFUEL BRIEF #04
2928
Charcoal production from invasive
Prosopis juliflora
in Baringo County, Kenya
Photo credits
Cover: Charcoal and Prosopis plant at a collection point in Ngambo,
Baringo County - Kenya.
Photo: Axel Fassio / CIFOR-ICRAF
Acknowledged contributors
Reviewers: Abdon Awono, Jhony Zapata
Project coordination: Jolien Schure
Editing: Erin O’Connell
Graphic design: Laurent Nyssen
Suggested citation
Koech G, Sola P, Wanjira EO, Kirimi M, Rotich H, Njenga M. 2021.
Charcoal production from invasive Prosopis juliflora in Baringo
County, Kenya. Brief #4. Sustainable Woodfuel Brief Series.
Governing Multifunctional Landscapes Project. Bogor, Indonesia
and Nairobi, Kenya: CIFOR-ICRAF.
SUSTAINABLE WOODFUEL BRIEF #04
30
cifor.org/gml
This initiative is part of the project Governing multifunctional
landscapes in Sub-Saharan Africa: Managing trade-offs between
social and ecological impacts (GML), which is nanced by the
European Union.
This research was carried out by CIFOR-ICRAF as part of the CGIAR
Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA).
FTA is the world’s largest research for development program to
enhance the role of forests, trees and agroforestry in sustainable
development and food security and to address climate change.
CIFOR leads FTA in partnership with Bioversity International,
CATIE, CIRAD, INBAR, ICRAF and TBI. FTA’s work is supported by
the CGIAR Trust Fund: cgiar.org/funders/
... Zeray et al. (2017); Abdulahi et al. (2017), andShiferaw et al. (2022) are just a few of the well-documented examples of P. juliflora's magnitude of proliferation and detrimental effects in different parts of arid and semi-arid areas. Not much comprehensive research has been done on its benefits other than using it as a source of fuelwood, fences, animal feed, and to make charcoal (Haji and Mohammed, 2013;Sola et al., 2021;Shiferaw et al., 2022). Thus, the debate is whether Prosopis ought to be eliminated or seen as a helpful resource that may be used. ...
... Prosopis produces exceptionally high-quality fuel wood that burns slowly, has a high calorific value, produces little smoke, and generates uniform heat (Pasiecznik et al., 2001;Preeti et al., 2015). Prosopis provides a hard and heavy wood that makes excellent firewood and superior charcoal (Tewari et al., 2011;Tessema, 2012;Shitanda et al., 2013;Abdulahi et al., 2017;Sola et al., 2021;Pasiecznik, 2018;Kamiri et al., 2024). Due to the large amount of biomass produced by P. juliflora, it is used in electricity generation. ...
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Introduction Prosopis juliflora has posed a severe threat to human and animal life in arid and semi-arid areas of the world. Thus, this review intends to shed light on the potential use of Prosopis as a helpful resource and feasible management system. Methods This research employs a systematic review methodology. Results The review revealed that the species had been introduced to overcome deforestation and desertification. Prosopis juliflora has had different socioeconomic and environmental impacts on local communities. The most widely cited adverse impacts include out-competing native species and quickly reducing forage plants, being a harbour for predators, health problems and death of domestic animals, and being an ideal ground for mosquito breeding. On the other hand, the species provides multiple ecosystem services like the provision of construction materials, animal feed and charcoal; plays a role in soil conservation and rehabilitation of degraded and saline soils, good sources of nectar for honey production; contributes to reducing dust pollution; enhances carbon sequestration, and have medicinal value due to its antifungal and antibacterial features. The local community’s attitude regarding the species is mixed. Discussion The consequent negative impacts are increasing quickly, making the urgent need to develop robust and practical management strategies necessary to both mitigate the adverse effects and fully use the benefits. Commercialization (with a notion of management through utilization) is a feasible way to minimize expansion. Cross-boundary endeavours for controlling Prosopis juliflora expansion to new regions, particularly in countries predicted as edges of high potential invasion, are required to manage the species invasion efficiently.
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Kenya’s charcoal sector is worth billions of dollars in market value and is one of the most important sources of energy in urban and rural areas. This study sought to create greater understanding about the charcoal value chain to understand its structure, function and actors and their roles. The study was carried out through a questionnaire survey in Baringo, Kitui, and Kwale which are key sources of charcoal consumed in Nairobi and Mombasa. Findings indicated that less than 10% of the charcoal is sold through the Charcoal Producer Associations (CPAs), though this is a legal government requirement. About 85% and 15% of the charcoal sold in Nairobi and Mombasa respectively was imported from Uganda which could be due to the logging moratorium and charcoal ban in the country since the beginning of the year 2018. Women accounted for close to 50% of the charcoal producers but their participation was low in the transportation and vending stages of the value chain. The gross margin for landowners, charcoal producers and transporters was between 0-5%, 11-18%, 37-56 whilst that of vendors (wholesalers and retailers) was 11-26% when the charcoal is sold at wholesale price in sacks and 26-41% when sold in small quantities at retail price. From the study, we conclude that: i) the charcoal value chain in Kenya is very resilient and adaptive, as there is an insatiable demand for cooking and heating energy ii) income generation and employment is the main driver and motivation for value chain actors to engage in the charcoal business; iii) processes and technologies used are inefficient, leading to unnecessary tree cutting, and finally; iv) charcoal production and trade is a competitive business for all actors in the value chain. In the short- and medium-term there is need to invest in making woodfuel value chains green, sustainable and competitive.
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About a third of the world’s population relies on solid biomass for cooking and heating using traditional stoves. Of those users, 50% are in developing countries especially Sub-Saharan Africa where 90% of households rely on woodfuel (charcoal and firewood) for cooking and heating (IEA, 2017). By 2013, Kenya used 2.5 million tonnes of charcoal and earned 1.6 billion USD annually, despite the deficit in supply of 55% (MEWNR, 2013). This growing demand for charcoal following urbanization and population increase and the need to find sustainable solutions for supply, are good reasons to utilize the invasive mathenge tree (Prosopis juliflora) which covers 2% of the land in Kenya with a biomass of 37t/ha utilizable for charcoal production (Choge, 2011). Prosopis juliflora has spread and colonized the tropics of Latin America to Asia and Africa. In Kenya, Prosopis juliflora was introduced in the 1970’s- 1980’s to arrest desertification and address woodfuel shortages, but the species aggressively adapted itself and now covers another 500-1300ha/year in drylands such as Turkana, Baringo, Garissa, Tana River and Taita Taveta Counties locking roads, waterways, and displacing settlements, crop lands, woodlands, and pasture lands (Ng et al., 2017). This brought dissatisfaction to the local communities in the affected areas as the tree was associated with dangerous thorns that caused injuries to humans and their livestock. Efforts to manage the tree did not bear much fruit because the tree is thorny, impenetrable and requires sophisticated tools to cut. The local communities campaigned to the government to remove the species; little did they know the species could be a valuable resource. Recently the government of Kenya has allowed communities to make charcoal using Prosopis. This presented a win-win case for the community as they now have an incentive to promote the management of the species. The World Agroforestry (ICRAF) in partnership with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Baringo County are implementing a project aimed at generating knowledge, policy options and facilitating engagement for more sustainable woodfuel value chains in Kenya. Extra support was provided by the CGIAR programme on Water, Land & Ecosystems (WLE)-sustaining rural-urban linkages.
Article
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Desertification in areas surrounding Lake Baringo in the early 1970’s prompted introduction of Prosopis juliflora.The introduction and subsequent invasion of Prosopis juliflora has over the years attracted attention due to its negative impacts. Despite all the misconception surrounding its introduction Prosopis juliflora produces a variety of valuable goods and services. The study was conducted in Marigat Sub County in Baringo County to determine the economic contribution of Prosopis juliflora enterprises to household incomes and employment. The study involved administration of a structured questionnaire to 63 randomly selected members of the six Charcoal Producers Associations. The data was entered and analysed using SPSS statistical software. Descriptive statistics was used to establish how adoption of Prosopis enterprises is contributing to: reducing invasion, livelihoods and income. Findings indicated that all sampled respondents are involved in Prosopis charcoal production as the major enterprise; while 54% deal in fencing and construction poles, 54% pods, 48% honey, 44% firewood 41% and 35% timber. Incomes from charcoal were about Ksh 93.7 million in 2016. Earnings per annum from other Prosopis products namely pods, fencing/construction poles and honey totalled Ksh 12.2 million accounting for 12.9% of the total earnings. Prosopis charcoal market is dominated by brokers. Lack of reliable market (39.3%), price fluctuation (27.1%), poor state of roads during rainy season (9.3%) and exploitation by middlemen were the main challenges experienced in marketing Prosopis products. From the study adoption and utilisation of Prosopis products is contributing significantly to livelihoods and income. However utilization of the species has not reduced its invasiveness.
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Significant progress has been made in providing guidelines and recommendations for assessing the ecological niche, stage of invasion, and probability of invasive alien plant species (IAPS) potential distribution in space and time. We followed these recommendations by developing and comparing ordination and species distribution models (SDMs) of two important woody IAPS in Eastern Africa, Prosopis juliflora and Lantana camara, and interpreting the results to inform IAPS management. The two species differ in their invasion history in Eastern Africa; while L. camara was widely introduced there in the 19th century, P. juliflora was only planted at selected locations in the 1970s and 1980s. For the SDMs, machine learning algorithms were used to generate one ensemble model each for P. juliflora and L. camara. For ordination, we used bioclimatic variables, performed a principal component analysis, and compared the native and global niches of the species with the Eastern African niche. Niches varied substantially depending on the percentage of marginal climates excluded from the models. Additional analysis of the local niches surrounding the original P. juliflora plantations showed that they are complementary, which may have led to an overestimation of regional niche filling. While niche expansion was absent or small depending on the percentage of marginal climates excluded, analysis of the stages of invasion suggested that P. juliflora may have started to adapt to novel climatic conditions and that L. camara is approaching a pseudo‐stable equilibrium in Eastern Africa. The SDMs showed that large areas in Eastern Africa that have not yet been invaded by P. juliflora are suitable or will become suitable with climate change. For L. camara, the global SDM predicted a considerably larger suitable area than the Eastern African one, raising uncertainty about the areas to be included in a regional management strategy. Thus, combining ordination and SDMs and integrating a geographic component into ordination is useful in assessing IAPS invasion stages and potential niche shifts, and the results help inform IAPS policy and management. The combined approach can also serve to guide experimental studies addressing divergences between results generated with the different approaches.
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The training of trainers on sustainable woodfuel production and use was conducted on 7-11th, October 2019 at KEFRI Baringo sub-centre. This piloting of improved woodfuel production technologies is part of the Governing Multifunctional landscapes in Sub-Saharan Africa: Managing Trade-Offs between Social and Ecological Impacts referred to as GML and funded by the European Commission (EC). Objectives of the training Co-learning on sustainable woodfuel production and use systems Enhance skills and knowledge of charcoal producers and artisans on sustainable woodfuel production, use and fabrication of improved kilns. Enhance training skills of charcoal producers and artisans on sustainable woodfuel production technologies and use
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This article examines an environmental experiment in northern Kenya that went badly amiss. Focusing on the introduction of an invasive plant, prosopis juliflora , it explores wider issues of scientific hegemony, political identity, and land conflicts. Two legal cases pitting a small pastoralist community against the Kenyan state are discussed, which reveal a new but generally unsuccessful strategy by indigenous groups of utilizing courts to address injustices. The research draws on ethnographic, archival, and visual materials collected over a thirty-five-year period to demonstrate the violence and impoverishment that can be associated with technical interventions aimed at “greening” the environment.
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Woody alien plant species have been deliberately introduced globally in many arid and semi-arid regions, as they can provide services and goods to the rural poor. However, some of these alien trees and shrubs have become invasive over time, with important impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being. Prosopis was introduced in Baringo County, Kenya, in the 1980s, but since then, it has spread rapidly from the original plantations to new areas. To assess land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes and dynamics in Baringo, we used a combination of dry and wet season Landsat satellite data acquired over a seven-year time interval between 1988-2016, and performed a supervised Random Forest classification. For each time interval, we calculated the extent of Prosopis invasion, rates of spread, gains and losses of specific LULC classes, and the relative importance of Prosopis invasion on LULC changes. The overall accuracy and kappa coefficients of the LULC classifications ranged between 98.1-98.5% and 0.93-0.96, respectively. We found that Prosopis coverage increased from 882 ha in 1988 to 18,792 ha in 2016. The highest negative changes in LULC classes were found for grasslands (−6252 ha; −86%), irrigated cropland (−849 ha; −57%), Vachellia tortilis-dominated vegetation (−3602 ha; −42%), and rainfed cropland (−1432 ha; −37%). Prosopis invasion alone directly accounted for over 30% of these negative changes, suggesting that Prosopis invasion is a key driver of the observed LULC changes in Baringo County. Although the management of Prosopis by utilization has been promoted in Baringo for 10-15 years, the spread of Prosopis has not stopped or slowed down. This suggests that Prosopis management in Baringo and other invaded areas in East Africa needs to be based on a more integrated approach.
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Kenya depends on fuel-wood for cooking and heating in most households. Over 80% of both rural and urban households in the country use fuel wood for cooking. These Prosopis plant species provide excellent fuel wood. These plants were introduced in the arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya in the early 1970s as a source of woodfuel and also for the rehabilitation of degraded lands. Prosopis is a prolific seeder and has invasiveness behaviour that results in a number of social, ecological and economic concerns to the local communities, and challenges to development partners. Now with the Kenyan Forest Policy 2005 which proposes strategies and actions to enhance sustainable and efficient production of wood-fuel, Prosopis species is a suitable candidate. The Kenya Forest Service is now issuing permits allowing charcoal burning of Prosopis species in an effort to manage and curb uncontrolled spread. There is a national ban on charcoal making from unsustainable wood sources which include the woodlands and natural forest reserves. The aim of this project was to determine the energy values from Prosopis fuel-wood. The moisture content, volatile matter, ash content, carbon content and calorific values were determined from Prosopis fuel-wood plants. The calorific values for Prosopis juliflora and Prosopis pallida wood are 4.952 and 4.862 Kcal respectively. The calorific values for P. juliflora and P. pallida charcoal are 7.854 and 7.797 Kcal, respectively.
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Introduction: An evergreen shrub, Prosopis juliflora is one of the most invasive species in arid and semi-arid areas. Since its introduction to the Middle Awash area of Ethiopia, it has invaded a huge acreage of grass- and rangelands which are life-supporting unit for Afar pastoralists. Methods: Survey, using group discussion and questionnaire, was made to study the effect of P. juliflora invasion on Afar pastoral livelihoods. The obtained data were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test, chi-square analysis, and logistic regression. Results: According to the result, 84 % of the total surveyed households rated P. juliflora as undesirable species even though the bush was often used for fuelwood, fencing homesteads, and barn and house construction. Invasion of P. juliflora was also blamed to limit transhumance, occupying settlement areas and affecting multipurpose trees/bushes and grass availability. All these effects put pressure on the livestock assets causing about 80 % livestock loss, testing the pastoral livelihoods heavily. Each household, on average, lost 6.5 small stock and 7 cattle during the past 10 years due to health hazards caused by P. juliflora pod. Consequently, P. juliflora as a source of income was considered by a quarter of the surveyed pastoral households, with the age of a household head and change in livestock asset being influential variables in decision-making. Conclusions: In sum, P. juliflora invasion has made livestock rearing extremely difficult which raised pastoralists’ ecological vulnerability in the fragile ecosystem they possess.
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The allelopathic effects of the invasive Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. was studied on seed germination and seedling growth of Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Del., Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne, Cenchrus ciliaris L. and Enteropogon rupestris (J.A. Schmidt) A. Chev. Vegetation sampling in different habitat types in the area was made to identify the target plant species. Comparison of canopy characteristics among P. juliflora, A. nilotica and A. tortilis was also made to observe differences if any in canopy closure. P. juliflora was recorded in all habitat types in highest density and observed affecting the plant diversity there in. Its growth characteristics and dense thicket formation restrict light to the ground flora and hence diminishes plant diversity. Leaf, bark and root aqueous extract of P. juliflora at 0, 0.5, 0.8, 1, 2 and 6% were prepared and their effect studied on germination percentage and seedling growth of the study plant species. Germination of A. nilotica and A. tortilis was not affected by all aqueous extracts of different organ parts of P. juliflora while leaf and root extracts at higher concentrations inhibited germination of C. ciliaris and E. rupestris. Shoot and root growth of the study species were inhibited by leaf and root at higher concentrations. Seed germination of all species except A. nilotica was inhibited by soil amended with decaying plant parts and under canopy soil. The effect is species specific and annuals (grasses and herbs) were affected more than perennials. Leaf seems to contain greater number/ amount of inhibitors than does root and bark. Bark seems to contain the least. Heavy accumulation of toxic substances at under canopy soil of P. juliflora may be one of the reasons for its invasiveness and low plant diversity.