While biomass fuels are considered to be carbon neutral, and use wood residue and production waste that would otherwise rot or sit in landfills, systems to ensure sustainable and healthy resource management are complicated and costly. Because of this, stillborn births are increasing in developing countries, and are robbing them of economic futures. 

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An estimated 3.2 million stillbirths occur worldwide annually with 98% of these stillbirths found in developing countries. Researchers in the country are warning that exposure to the smoke produced from biomass fuels is killing Ghanaians at a rate higher than malaria and HIV.

Why is biomass used in developing countries?

In some developing countries, energy from biomass fuels such as wood and agricultural residues represents about 70% of total energy consumption per year. 2.3 billion people in developing countries rely on biomass fuels to meet their energy needs, and these fuels play a vital role in ensuring food security. 

However, biomass energy has its fair share of flaws:  it produces waste products that can harm the environment, such as carbon monoxide and it requires access to water resources, which can often be time-consuming to access easily in developing countries. It may also increase greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the quality of soils over time, since decaying organic matter that acts as fertiliser is cleared to use for cooking or heating.

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To create a sustainable supply of fuelwood, a variety of tree and forest systems, such as mixed forest plantations and integrated food systems that produce both food and energy are needed, considerations that many people in developing countries like Ghana are unlikely to have. 

Those living in coastal and rural Ghana use biomass fuels for cooking for both household and commercial purposes. Experts say stillbirth occurrences are higher among disadvantaged, marginalised and rural populations. In Ghana, these births are largely due to exposure to either industrial or household smoke. Many people are unaware of the effects of this smoke on their health; it is a byproduct of their work, passed down from generation to generation.  

According to a paper published in the BMJ 2019 and the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health Survey, the situation is affecting many pregnant women in Ghana due to ignorance and a lack of data to prove the impact of the harm caused. Lead author of the paper, Dr Kofi Amega, Environmental Epidemiologist at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana says, “The issue here is that most women who are vulnerable to the exposure don’t even know they are being affected simply because there is no data or physical evidence for them to see until they are sick.”

What can be done? 

Dr Amega and his team are optimistic that an investment into the provision of liquefied petroleum gas at an affordable rate will help solve the problem in the short term. In the long term, the team says that the country’s transport sector needs to properly manage the number of vehicles on the roads and get the public transport system up on its feet to address the situation.

Dr Judith Addo- Quansah, Physician Specialist at the Korlebu Teaching Hospital in Accra, echoes this view and adds that there is little information on how these biomass fuels are used in Ghana. 

There is a dire need for more concrete data on the effects of biomass fuel burning; not just on the environment, but on the people who have to live with the effects. There is insufficient mental healthcare in many developing countries, and the effects of increasing stillbirths are devastating for mothers and economies. The emotional stress these women go through following a stillbirth affects their output at work and in their family units, and a decreasing birth rate has an effect on population growth. In a country where nearly 20% of its population are over the age of 45, a smaller number of economically active citizens will have a devastating effect on Ghana’s future economic output.

In developing countries, plenty of commercial and household energy is powered with biomass fuels and so it is important to be aware of the potential side effects. There should be more information made available to the public that outlines how best to use these fuels. A potential method of doing this is by establishing certification schemes to ensure that bioenergy is created in a sustainable way and adheres to three principles, namely that biomass is produced in an environmentally responsible way, that there is sustainable management of social capital and that biomass production is economically viable.

The post Biomass Fuels Could Stymie Economic Growth in Developing Countries appeared first on Earth.Org.

Sea-level rise is threatening West Africa. Growing stronger by the year, the tides push wave after wave into cities and villages, decimating dwellings and farmlands.  

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The western coast of Africa, stretching more than 6500km from Mauritania to Cameroon, is in peril. Caused by global warming, rising sea levels are causing massive erosion — in some places eating away more than 30 metres of land in a single year.  

The more frequent occurrence of damage caused by rise in sea level affects different communities in specific ways, depending on population size, wealth, and geography. Governments and transnational organisations need to prepare contextualised response plans for affected communities.

West Africa Sea Level Rise

Sea levels are expected to rise by more than 76 cm around the world by the end of this century, but they are expected to rise faster than the global average in west Africa, where the coastal areas host about one-third of the region’s population and generate 56% of its GDP. A recent World Bank study shows that flooding and coastal erosion due to sea-level rise cost the region about $3.8 billion and cause 13,000 deaths in just one year.  

Ghana — the fastest growing economy in the world — is among the worst affected countries in the region. Coastal erosion at its 580km coastline comprising of sandy beaches and outcrops has consumed areas like Keta, Ada, and Shama. Rising temperatures have triggered the migration of fish stocks while salinisation has contaminated farmlands and freshwater reserves affecting the livelihoods of millions of fishermen and farmers. Frequent inundation has led to the destruction of commercial buildings, houses, and even human lives. 

Once a thriving trading hub, Ghana’s Keta city has suffered massive coastal erosion in recent decades that forced more than half of the population to flee. Fuveme — a coastal village in Keta that lies between the Gulf of Guinea and the Keta Lagoon — has already been reduced to an island forcing thousands of families to migrate to the inland. 

Senegal, another west African country, has been witnessing the devastating effects of sea-level rise this decade. The country’s famous colonial city Saint-Louis — a UNESCO World Heritage site with a population of 300,000 people — is seeing houses destroyed, streets flooded, and crops damaged by the encroaching saltwater.

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Encroaching waters off the coast of west African countries are destroying homes, schools, farmlands, and a way of life.

Perched at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and at the foot of the Sahara Desert, the city is vulnerable to the rising sea because nowhere in the city is higher than 4 metres above the sea level. Rising tides have led to serious coastal erosion and forced schools, mosques, and hundreds of houses to be evacuated. Seawater has decimated crops that once thrived on the freshwater flow from the Senegal River.  

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, too has low lying cities that are being destroyed by the sea. Its most populous city Lagos, a megacity located next to the Atlantic Ocean, consists of a mainland and a series of islands with an estimated population of 21 million. A large number of city residents who live on waterfront slums with no proper drainage or water systems have been suffering due to rising sea levels as their dwellings get flooded frequently.

Other west African countries such as Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo face a high rate of coastal erosion. A World Bank study reveals that 56% of the coastline in these countries has been eroding 2 metre per year. Damages from the sea-level rise cost the government of Cote d’Ivoire nearly $2 billion — 4.9% of its GDP, while it cost the Benin government $229 million — 2.5% of the country’s GDP. 

Tackling Climate Change in West Africa

It would require hundreds of billions of dollars to protect cities and villages from sea-level rise in West Africa. Costs will continue to increase in the future as sea levels rise and populations in the coastal areas grow. But, most countries cannot afford sea-level rise adaption strategies as they are already struggling with immediate poverty challenges. 

However, there are external financial sources the west African governments can depend on.  One of them is international climate funds disbursed among the countries struggling with issues caused by climate change. 

Governments should direct funds towards education and agricultural strategies that are adaptive to environmental changes. Farmers can employ strategies such as floating cultivation, crop rotation and seasonal water management. Ultimately, states should begin to invest in programmes involving a managed retreat for rural coastline residents. States must facilitate these migrations by incentivising people to move early. Governments can expand public transportation between inland and coastal settlements, so that individuals who move inland can continue to work on the coast for as long as possible, or vice versa. Delaying relocation until the conditions become untenable can be traumatic for communities and local economies. A comprehensive managed retreat programme can be the most efficient way for communities to maintain economic output over time.

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