UNIVERSITE DE LUBUMBASHI VERSION REVUE ET CORRIGEE (1) (original) (raw)

Title: Socioeconomic and environmental diagnosis of the "Charcoal" value chain in Lubumbashi (Haut-Katanga, DRC): Prospects for sustainable management of Miombo's wood resources. Our thesis, entitled Socioeconomic and Environmental Diagnosis of the Charcoal Value Chain in Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga (D.R.C.): Prospects for Sustainable Management of the Wood Resources of Miombo in the Lubumbashi Hinterland, is part of the search for solutions for a sustainable supply of charcoal in the city of Lubumbashi. Used as a fuel for almost all households, the production of charcoal is one of the main causes of deforestation, which jeopardizes this longterm supply. This and this value chain has been analyzed to determine the mechanisms for the creation and distribution of added value and the sustainable management of wood resources. Surveys were conducted among the different actors of the charcoal sector supplying the city of Lubumbashi up to a radius of about 50 km. Samples of 1,500 consumers, 236 traders, 71 vehicle transporters, 135 bicycle transporters and 110 producers were selected. With regard to the results of the surveys, the study shows that production is characterized by almost free access to wood resources and a low carbonization yield of 10-12%. In spite of the 81.000.000$ turnover generated and the 100.000 jobs created, 4% of forests are lost, resulting in an annual emission of nearly 3 gigatons of CO2. Transport is inefficient due to the inefficiency of the means used. Commercialization is informal and illegal for the majority of actors (only 5% of taxes levied). Some actors in the commercialization circuit with significant invested capital find themselves in a situation of oligopoly, thus deriving maximum profit in their favor (coal merchants have 49%, wholesalers 23% of the profit margin, semi-wholesalers and retailers 17 and 11% respectively. Consumption is irrational due to a lack of alternative energy sources (98% of households use charcoal for cooking) and a low rate of adoption of improved stoves (0.4%) despite the constant growth in fuel demand (375,000 tons of charcoal/year). A comparison of the demand (5,213,000 m 3) and the renewable supply of wood resources (2,700,000 m 3) shows that a significant deficit has emerged and is growing over the years (2,373,974 m 3). It is then imperative to restore this balance in the short term or to reverse this trend in the long term through the extension of improved stoves and grindstones accompanied by other incentives.