Resource information
The Sustainable and Participatory Energy
Management project - PROGEDE was implemented by the
government between 1997 and 2004. From project preparation
to supervision the World Bank worked in close collaboration
with Dutch Co-operation (DGIS). At the time of project
preparation, forest-based traditional fuels (firewood and
charcoal), mainly used for household cooking purposes,
represented 53 percent of Senegal's final energy
consumption, and 76 percent of charcoal consumption was in
the principal urban areas. Over the years, the operation of
the charcoal industry had resulted in (i) the gradual loss
of forest cover (approximately 30,000 ha per year) and thus
of the ecosystem's carbon sequestration capacity and
biodiversity; (ii) the degradation of the rural environment
(particularly soils); (iii) the impoverishment of the rural
areas; (iv) an acceleration of rural exodus; and (v) a
massive transfer of wealth from the rural communities to a
few urban-based woodfuel traders.
