# Firewood and charcoal supply: Geopolitics and regulation Weak rules, logging bans and a trade that slips underground Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/geopolitics/ What this tab covers Political and regulatory forces that help (tailwinds) or hinder (headwinds) this way of moving energy, dated. Charcoal is mostly governed by local forest rules, which are weakly enforced and widely evaded, while bans can push the trade underground. #### Tailwinds **Per-bag royalty system** 2016 Tanzania charges TZS 16,500 per 75 kg bag, with 5% for tree planting^[6](https://www.tfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/TTCS-Technical-Report-4-Ishengoma-Charcoal-Market-Conditions-in-Tanzania-2016.doc.pdf) **Better data** 2025 New estimates show far more wood fuel and charcoal than official statistics, helping planning^[1](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59733-y) **Calls to legalise trade** 2020 Kenyan study recommends easing cutting bans and licensing charcoal with conditions^[5](https://www.slu.se/globalassets/ew/org/andra-enh/uadm/global/pdf/analysis-of-the-charcoal-value-chain-in-kenya-doris-mutta.pdf) #### Headwinds **Low compliance** 2016 Only 17 to 57% of Tanzanian producers complied with rules; informal payments to village leaders reported^[6](https://www.tfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/TTCS-Technical-Report-4-Ishengoma-Charcoal-Market-Conditions-in-Tanzania-2016.doc.pdf) **Lost public revenue** 2009 and 2017 Tanzania was estimated to lose about USD 100 million a year, with about USD 500 million of a USD 650 million sector unregulated; FAO puts revenue forgone across Africa at USD 1.5 to 3.9 billion a year^[2](https://www.uncclearn.org/wp-content/uploads/library/charcoal.pdf)^[4](https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstreams/6c4e03ca-a24d-5406-8559-308b3a1c6d35/download) **Logging bans and reversals** 2018 to 2023 Kenya's 2018 logging moratorium restricted legal wood supply; its lifting by presidential directive in July 2023 was stayed by a court within weeks^[11](https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/world/kenyan-court-stays-president-william-ruto-s-directive-lifting-a-ban-on-logging-91101) **Transport restrictions** 2016 Daylight-only movement and transit passes of TZS 7,500 to 15,000 per vehicle^[6](https://www.tfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/TTCS-Technical-Report-4-Ishengoma-Charcoal-Market-Conditions-in-Tanzania-2016.doc.pdf) **Shift to clean cooking** May 2024 Tanzania's National Clean Cooking Strategy targets 80% of people using clean cooking by 2034, which would shrink urban charcoal demand^[12](https://leap.unep.org/en/countries/tz/national-legislation/national-clean-cooking-strategy-2024-2034) Because charcoal crosses district and sometimes national borders (Kenyan routes run into Tanzania), every checkpoint is a point for fees or bribes. Where rules are too costly, trade moves to night routes and unmarked loads. Many official statistics barely capture the trade: only about 25 countries reported charcoal production to FAO around 2000, and India's official figure of 15 million cubic metres of wood fuel a year compared with earlier estimates of about 290 million. A 2025 re-estimate using over 2,000 new data points raised African wood fuel figures by about 50%. #### Sources 1. [Global wood fuel production estimates and implications (Steel et al., Nature Communications 16, 6227; authors include FAO staff)](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59733-y) Nature Portfolio, 2025 2. [The charcoal transition: greening the charcoal value chain to mitigate climate change and improve local livelihoods](https://www.uncclearn.org/wp-content/uploads/library/charcoal.pdf) FAO, 2017 3. [Environmental Crisis or Sustainable Development Opportunity? Transforming the Charcoal Sector in Tanzania: A Policy Note](https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstreams/6c4e03ca-a24d-5406-8559-308b3a1c6d35/download) World Bank, 2009 4. [Sustainable Business Models for Tree-based Value Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa: Analysis of the Charcoal Value Chain in Kenya (Mutta)](https://www.slu.se/globalassets/ew/org/andra-enh/uadm/global/pdf/analysis-of-the-charcoal-value-chain-in-kenya-doris-mutta.pdf) Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Formas project, 2020 5. [Charcoal Market Conditions in Tanzania (TTCS Technical Report 4, Ishengoma)](https://www.tfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/TTCS-Technical-Report-4-Ishengoma-Charcoal-Market-Conditions-in-Tanzania-2016.doc.pdf) Tanzania Forest Conservation Group / TTCS project, 2016 6. [Kenyan court stays President William Ruto's directive lifting a ban on logging](https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/world/kenyan-court-stays-president-william-ruto-s-directive-lifting-a-ban-on-logging-91101) Down To Earth, 2023 7. [National Clean Cooking Strategy 2024-2034 (Tanzania)](https://leap.unep.org/en/countries/tz/national-legislation/national-clean-cooking-strategy-2024-2034) UNEP Law and Environment Assistance Platform, 2024 ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/overview/index.md) - [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/correlation/index.md) - [How it works](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/explain/index.md) - [Efficiency and losses](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/efficiency/index.md) - [Technology advances](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/advances/index.md) - [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/valuechain/index.md) - [Unit economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/economics/index.md) - [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/biosphere/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/links/index.md)