Wood energy provides 70% of Kenya’s national energy needs and it is expected to continue as the country’s main source of energy for the foreseeable future. Wood is the standard cooking fuel for the majority of Kenyan households and also an important energy source for small-scale rural industries. Past studies on supply demand balance of woodfuel have shown a deficit. To address this deficit there is need for a comprehensive wood energy plan with implementation strategies which ensure its sustainable production. This paper outlines some of the strategies that need to be put in place for a sustainable woodfuel production. The strategies are both supply and demand oriented which are aimed at either increasing the supply or reducing the demand. The supply strategies include; enhancing on-farm tree planting, efficient management of rangelands and woodlands, development of fuelwood plantations by Kenya Forest Service. The demand oriented strategies include ; reducing demand through promotion of more efficient cooking stoves and charcoal conversion kilns, use of alternative sources of energy other than wood. Other strategies include formulation of woodfuel policies that enhances decentralized sustainable wood energy planning at all levels. The later can only be achieved if the wood energy institutional framework is strengthened and facilitated to collect wood energy data to be used in national energy planning alongside the conventional fuels that are currently given more emphasis. The decentralized wood energy planning is important as the strategies to be used for sustainable woodfuel production may vary from one region to the other

In Buyangu, the first people to settle there were Abaragoli and Abanyole of Vihiga
District and this was in the 19th Century. The main settlement of the Abaluya in and
around Kakamega forest appears to have occurred in the late 19th and the early 20th
century. The area is densely settled and the demand for forest products is very evident.
The Kakamega forest area adjacent to Buyangu village is under KWS management
and communities are not allowed to access any forest products. Despite of this, the
community indicated that they still access some forest products illegally. Further more
the growing population in Western Province is the biggest obstacle in the conservation
of Kakamega Forest and its valuable resources and services
With a growing population the choices become very limited to provide for all and
conserve the forest and its resources for generations. This requires introduction of a
dynamic management approach like PFM. Though there are social cultural differences
like young women not being allowed to sit facing old men which stifles discussions
during group exercises, there is potential to introduce this management approach.
During the survey, a large number of people turned up and showed interest to get
involved in the management of the forest. There are continuing projects in the area
by Abiota, ICIPE and ICRAF. The communities also belong to several CBOs and large
associations like the sugar cane growers association.
For the above activities to be undertaken to be undertaken, the policy, legislation and
practice of wildlife management in the country has to be changed or special piloting
status has to be granted to Kakamega forest area under KWS management.

Abstract
Kenya generates about 1.6 million tones of sugarcane bagasse which has enormous
potential for exploitation in modern commercial applications. Due to rising fossil
fuel prices, availability in large quantity and rapidly growing interest in bio-energy
as well as technological advances and environmental concerns , bagasse could be
utilized for the formulation of charcoal briquettes for household use to
supplement wood charcoal. In this study briquettes were formulated using
carbonized bagasse, clay as a binder and molasses as a filler. Bagasse was obtained
from sugar factories for carbonization. Carbonization was carried out using a
brick-built kiln while blending used a manually operated drum mixer. A piston type
briquetting press fitted onto a universal strength testing machine was used for the
production of briquettes. The most optimum parameters that produced briquettes
which complied to current charcoal specifications for household use were in the
ratio of 1:1:40 for molasses, clay and carbonized bagasse respectively at
0.50N/mm2 pressure. At this formulation, briquettes were produced whose ash
content, volatile matter and calorific energy were 36.4%, 27.2% and 4.390 Kca/g
respectively. The briquettes produced burnt without sparks and were smokeless,
producing no irritating smell. They ignited easily and took relatively long before
they extinguished. They were recommended for household use in Kenya.

Medicinal plants and plant-based medicines are widely used in traditional cultures all over Ghana and they are becoming increasingly popular in modern society as natural alternatives to synthetic chemicals. This paper studied the ethnobotany of medicinal plants through a socio-economic survey. Seed germination experiments were also carried out on selected medicinal plant species. It was found that the herbal medicine industry was a major source of income for 82% of the respondents. Almost 50% of the respondents were women with majority of them involved in marketing of the medicinal plant products. Out of 160 plant species marketed, 129 were collected in Ghana with Kumasi and Accra being the major marketing centres. Most of the species have multiple curative properties with over 46 diseases purported to be cured by herbal medicine. Over 100 species were reported to be in high demand, scarce or unavailable. Among the reported constraints to availability of medicinal plants were lack of cultivation, unsustainable harvesting, deforestation, wildfire and urbanization. Studies on seed germination showed that seven species out of the ten selected for conservation had good germination, ranging from 40-74% with an average of 63.3%. This suggests the possibility of cultivating medicinal plant species on commercial scale. Based on the results, it is suggested that linkages between all stakeholders should be strengthened in order to promote conservation and commercial production of medicinal plants. Furthermore, improving the knowledge-base of scientists, traditional herbal medical practitioners, policy makers and the public on the relevance and safety of traditional plant medicine could lead to the sustainability of the medicinal plants industry in Ghana.

The primary forest of Ghana is dwindling fast due to over-exploitation of timber, mining, bushfires and agricultural activities and replaced by less diverse plantations of exotic species. This affects the diversity of fungi of economic importance which impacts negatively the livelihood and food security of fringe forest communities. Scientific data on diversity and status of species of birds, primates, mammals, and insects within several protected areas have been collected with little or no data on fungi. Knowledge on fungal genetic resource would raise awareness to biodiversity conservation in protected forests. It would also improve community adaptation to climate change by initiating alternative livelihood strategies as to the sustainable utilization of the resources.

Sustainable supply and conservation of mahogany is threatened by overexploitation of natural mahogany forests which has exceeded natural regeneration for decades. Exacerbating the situation is the inability to establish mahogany plantations in their native range as a result of the incidence of Hypsipyla robusta (mahogany shoot borer). Mahogany shoot borer kills the main stem of the young trees, causing excessive forking and branching which results in tree mortality. As a consquence of the destructive activities of Hypsipyla, some entomologists have classified it as the most important pest in tropical forestry.

This project sponsored by ITTO focuses on the development of an integrated pest management strategy for Hypsipyla via plantation culture to restore and conserve African mahogany. The developmental objective is to improve the sustainability of indigenous mahogany in Ghana by developing superior mahoganies that are ecologically adapted and insect tolerant and expand collaboration with industry and community tree farmers. The specific objective seeks to refine silvicultural “tool kit” to improve the ability to produce economically viable indigenous mahogany in mixed plantations and to transfer this technology to Ghana’s key industrial partners and community tree growers via a practical “how to” cultivate indigenous mahogany manual.

In the second year of project implementation, some activities were undertaken to help realize the objectives of the project. These include: expansion of mahogany nurseries and provenance experimental plots to determine seed source with superior characteristics comprising of best growth rate, better tree form and tolerance to Hypsipyla robusta attack. The implementation of the mahogany project has demonstrated that mahoganies can be grown in Ghana despite problems with pests though the final project results are not yet available to the public. The main challenge is to keep the interest in planting mahogany growing to restore the lead role mahogany plays in the timber industry in Ghana.

The project is sponsored by the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP). Mushrooms are well known and contribute food nutrients to the diet of many people especially the rural folks in several countries. They are normally collected from the wild but with the current rate of bush burning and deforestation, collection of mushrooms from the wild in Ghana is generally threatened, leaving protected forest reserves as the only remaining source. The emergence of small scale mushroom farms in several tropical and subtropical countries is aimed at widening the production base of non-traditional export crops and promoting the economic welfare of rural communities. There is the need therefore, to improve upon the appropriate substrate and technology for maximum cultivation of indigenous edible mushrooms to avoid the overdependence on the forest reserves or the cultivation of exotic mushrooms.

Ghana is endowed with enormous quantities of agricultural (e.g. cassava and yam peels) and forestry wastes and there is the need to utilise these, especially root and tuber wastes, to improve on the yield of edible and medicinal local mushrooms.

In the last three decades, tree planting and tree resource conservation have been promoted in Northern Ghana in response to forest and land degradation. This study assessed local communities perception and factors influencing participation in tree planting programmes in Northern Ghana, focusing on Ghana government initiatives executed between the period of 1980 to 1995. These initiatives comprised protection of communal forests, management of natural regeneration and tree planting in agroforestry systems. Data was collected through structured questionnaire from 1000 respondents in selected communities in the ,orthern, Upper East and Upper West Regions of the country and analyzed descriptively. The results indicate that communities perceived tree planting as fairly important social programme with 74% of respondents advocating for it. Free supply of seedlings, provision of food aid and free inputs supply were the dominant motivating factors influencing participation in the planting programme. Poor extension services and lack of strong efficient organization were the major constraints
affecting people’s participation. Institutional capacity building in support of extension services at the community level is a prerequisite for effective and sustainable plantation development programme.