THE IMPACT OF IMPROVED COOKING STOVE ON SUSTAINABLE FOREST UTILIZATION IN NKHATABAY, MALAWI

Over half the world’s population still uses solid biomass or coal fuels for basic cooking and heating. Therefore, a number of cooking technologies aimed at reducing high fuel wood usage at household level has been introduced. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of improved cooking stove (Changu Changu Moto [which means “Fast Fast Fire”] Cooking Stove) on sustainable forest utilization in Nkhatabay, Malawi. Data on the amount of wood used per household per week before and after adoption of the cooking stove was collected from hundred households. The results show a statistically significant (P<0.001) difference in mean wood usage per household per week before and after adoption of the Cooking stove. Wood usage significantly declined by 59.55 kg (equivalent to 2 bundles) from 89.23 kg (equivalent to 3 bundles) per household per week following the adoption of the cooking stove. This indicates that the Changu Changu Moto Cooking stove reduces wood usage per household per week by up to 66.7% compared to the traditional three-stone fire method. Nevertheless, field observation revealed that maize and cassava residues are also used as other alternative cooking materials for the stove. Therefore, before recommending the promotion of the technology on large scale, the study recommends that the stove should also be systematically evaluated in terms of emissions of harmful pollutants and contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions compared to different cooking materials. Such analysis are essential in developing a complete rationale behind policies for residential energy provision, since different combinations between cooking materials and stoves emit different amounts of harmful pollutants and greenhouse gas.