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

This research paper examines strategies to address biomass scarcity in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on moving from cycles of over-exploitation and degradation to sustainable production. Using the Lake Tana sub-basin in Ethiopia as a case study, the authors analyze the impact of supply and demand strategies, emphasizing the importance of soil productivity and integrated natural resource governance.

• Current adaptation strategies for biomass scarcity in sub-Saharan Africa often create vicious cycles where the over-exploitation of biomass from croplands and forests leads to degradation, which further reduces biomass availability.
• To be effective, biomass strategies must balance the avoidance of vicious cycles with the encouragement of virtuous ones, centering on inclusive and integrated natural resource governance and sustainable soil management.
• National development strategies should recognize the multiple societal roles of biomass, 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} }