Tackling biomass scarcity: from vicious to virtuous cycles in sub-Saharan Africa

The document examines how communities in sub-Saharan Africa adapt to biomass scarcity, noting that current strategies often lead to vicious cycles of over-exploitation and degradation. Using the Lake Tana sub-basin in Ethiopia as a case study, the authors analyze the impact of changing biomass supply and demand, emphasizing the role of soil productivity and natural resource governance. The authors conclude that effective strategies must balance the avoidance of vicious cycles with the encouragement of virtuous ones, requiring sustainable soil management, inclusive governance, and cross-sector collaboration within national development strategies.

• Current adaptation strategies to biomass scarcity in sub-Saharan Africa often create a negative feedback loop where over-exploitation of forests and croplands leads to degradation and further reduces biomass availability.
• Effective biomass strategies require a dual focus on preventing negative cycles and promoting positive ones, with sustainable soil management and integrated, inclusive natural resource governance being central to success.
• National development strategies must recognize the diverse roles biomass plays in society, which necessitates collaboration across different sectors.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). Tackling biomass scarcity: from vicious to virtuous cycles in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.sei.org/publications/tackling-biomass-scarcity-from-vicious-to-virtuous-cycles-in-sub-saharan-africa/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Tackling biomass scarcity: from vicious to virtuous cycles in sub-Saharan Africa. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/tackling-biomass-scarcity-from-vicious-to-virtuous-cycles-in-sub-saharan-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Tackling biomass scarcity: from vicious to virtuous cycles in sub-Saharan Africa |date=19 August 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/tackling-biomass-scarcity-from-vicious-to-virtuous-cycles-in-sub-saharan-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015tackling, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Tackling biomass scarcity: from vicious to virtuous cycles in sub-Saharan Africa}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/tackling-biomass-scarcity-from-vicious-to-virtuous-cycles-in-sub-saharan-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }