National Charcoal Strategy 2017–2027.

The goal of the National Charcoal Strategy (NCS) 2017-2027 is to provide a framework to address the linked problems of increased deforestation and increased demand for household cooking fuel, with defined and prioritized short-term, medium term and long-term actions.
The NCS is organized around seven inter-related pillars. Pillar 1: Promote Alternative Household Cooking Fuels. The Strategy considers that effective control of illegal charcoal and reduction of dependence on biomass fuels is impractical without affordable, reliable, and readily available alternative energy sources. The Strategy focuses on: Electricity (Strengthen the electricity supply industry and make it more efficient and capable of providing adequate, affordable and reliable electricity supply that enables industrialization, rural transformation, sustainable economic development and wealth creation); Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (Promote adoption of LPG for urban and semi-urban domestic and institutional/industrial cooking and heating); Briquettes and pellets (Foster the development of commercially viable briquette/ pellet production, with market linkages to proximate industrial and institutional buyers); Biogas (Facilitate promotion of tubular biogas digesters that utilize sewerage/human waste to meet institutional cooking/heating needs). In addition private sector involvement in energy production and distribution, and fiscal incentives to enhance affordability of promising alternative energy sources are crucial for the achievement of the Strategy's goal. Pillar 2: Promote Adoption of Fuel-Efficient Cookstove Technologies. The objective of this pillar is to promote the adoption of improved charcoal and firewood cookstoves for household cooking and heating (urban and rural areas). Increasing adoption of fuel-efficient charcoal and firewood cookstoves presents the most immediate option for slowing deforestation and forest degradation. Pillar 3: Promote Sustainable Wood Production. Firewood harvested for commercial purposes is largely sourced illegally from forest reserves and, almost without exception, wood for charcoal production is harvested illegally within or adjacent to forest reserves. Across much of Malawi, demand for firewood and charcoal is driving deforestation and forest degradation. Pillar 4: Strengthen Law Enforcement. The objective of this pillar is to enhance enforcement of existing laws and regulations in order to reduce illegal wood harvesting and charcoal production and to create a market for sustainable wood and charcoal production. Pillar 5: Regulate Sustainable Charcoal Production. Placing a “ban” on charcoal in the absence of affordable alternative cooking and heating fuels leads to illegal charcoal production and marketing. The objective of this pillar is to establish a professional and regulated charcoal value chain that promotes sustainable and efficient production of charcoal in Malawi based on a business model. Pillar 6: Enhance Livelihoods. Government recognizes the role that livelihoods and income generation play in charcoal production and marketing and, with this recognition, will strive to secure livelihoods for legal producers and find alternative livelihoods for others through pillars . Pillar 7: Promote Information, Awareness and Behavior-Change Communications. Government will work with partners to develop and disseminate information and raise awareness in order to transform the behaviors of users and other key stakeholders needed to achieve the goals and to sustain activities in pillars 1-5.
The Framework also identifies cross-cutting issues/objectives: 1) a cross-cutting objective of the NCS is to incentivize and promote private sector investment in both supply and demand solutions, including but not limited to: the promotion of alternative cooking and heating fuels; scaling-up adoption of improved charcoal and firewood cookstoves; increasing and sustaining wood production for charcoal and firewood; and, increasing legal production of sustainable charcoal; 2) to address the needs of men, women, children and vulnerable groups.