Refugees demand for energy can be met!

Uganda is the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, with about 1,425,040 people who mostly sought refuge from South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi.

The continued influx of refugees into the country confronts people and host landscapes with severe challenges, such as large volumes of biomass required for energy and building material. Consequently, woodlands have come under pressure, raising questions of how to achieve a higher standard of living and energy autonomy while reducing demand and safeguarding nature.

A research team from World Agroforestry (ICRAF), ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins, and Agroscope, Switzerland set out to answer the question by examining the potential for ‘complementary’ technologies — both nature-based and high — to meet the need for energy for cooking and other purposes for both refugees and the host population.