ANALYSE DE LA DEMANDE EN CHARBON DE BOIS PAR LES MÉNAGES URBAINS DE BUJUMBURA AU BURUNDI

The objective of this study is to evaluate the demand for charcoal by urban households in Bujumbura in order to make recommendations ensuring the security of household energy and environmental protection. To achieve this objective, the analysis of the related documentation and collection of secondary data were carried out in order to formulate specific objectives, hypotheses and the methodology used in the course of this study. The specific objectives are: to analyze the structure, operation and market performance of the charcoal market in the city of Bujumbura and to compare this market to the cities of Lubumbashi and Kigali; to determine the charcoal consumption pattern by urban households in Bujumbura; to identify the factors which influence the demand for charcoal by urban households in Bujumbura; to evaluate the demand for charcoal by urban households in Bujumbura. The assumptions made in this study are: the charcoal market in the city of Bujumbura is a competitive and effective market; charcoal is the dominating cooking fuel used by urban households in Bujumbura and is consumed exclusively or in combination with others; an urban household’s demand for charcoal in Bujumbura is essentially based on household income, the size of household, eating habits (preparation of food that requires a long cooking time), the frequency of use of carbon and the possession or not of improved cooking stoves; the demand for charcoal by urban households in Bujumbura is high and this leads to significant annual deforestation.
Three surveys were conducted to collect primary data. The first survey, with the specific objective of analysing the charcoal market in Bujumbura, was conducted among the key players of the charcoal value chain produced in the communes of Mugamba and Muramvya and consumed in the city of Bujumbura. The remaining two surveys, with the specific objective of analysing the consumption of charcoal by households, were conducted among households-users of charcoal of different standards of living in three areas of the city of Bujumbura (areas Buterere, Cibitoke and Rohero).
The results indicate that the charcoal market is competitive. The production, the commercialisation and the consumption of charcoal allow the creation of positive value added all along the charcoal value chain. The use of cooking fuels by households in Bujumbura shows that they have not yet achieved an energy transition. In fact, 83% of those surveyed only use charcoal; 12% combine charcoal and electricity and 5% combine charcoal and firewood.
The results revealed that the main factors influencing households demand for charcoal are: household income, the price of charcoal, household size, number of cooking sessions per day, frequency of preparation of cassava leaves and the possession or not of improved braziers.
To solve the energy and environmental problem, a rehabilitation of woodland, an implementation of the best techniques of woodland planting with the most adaptable species on productive land, a greater penetration of substitutable energy to wood fuel such as gas or electricity, a growth in the use of improved cooking stoves in households and greater efficiency in wood carbonisation will help reduce the number of hectares of deforestation for wood energy needs.