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We used a lot of wood before, but now little. Cutting trees will reduce now. Birds and other animals will now have heaven in the forest. The rain can increase as well.
Significantly reducing deforestation and keeping trees in the ground is the nature-based solution delivered through the provision of DelAgua stoves.
Preserving forestry means saving the remarkable diversity of plants, insects, birds and mammals found there. Significantly reducing deforestation and keeping trees in the ground is the nature-based solution delivered through the provision of DelAgua stoves.
Nature-based solutions to combat climate change harness the power of nature to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They involve protecting, restoring and sustainably managing ecosystems – tackling the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss that our planet faces today.
Across DelAgua’s programme countries, the scale of firewood consumption tells a striking story.
Rwanda uses over 6 million tons of firewood per year for household cooking, with the average household consuming approximately 1.8 tons annually to meet its cooking needs using a traditional stove. Multiplied across Rwanda’s estimated 3.7 million households by 2026, total household firewood consumption reaches around 6.6 million tons per year – with cooking alone accounting for 90% of the country’s entire biomass energy use. Sierra Leone consumes approximately 5.5 million tons of firewood per year, the vast majority of which goes toward household cooking. In The Gambia, over 0.3 million tons of firewood are consumed annually for household cooking, with firewood accounting for around 84% of the country’s total primary energy use and remaining the dominant cooking fuel for households across the country.
The DelAgua stove directly addresses this challenge.
It requires 71% less wood than a traditional open fire and burns efficiently using just small twigs and tinder – meaning families can cook their meals while dramatically reducing the amount of wood they consume. By keeping more trees in the ground, ecosystems are preserved, biodiversity is protected, and greater levels of CO₂ can be captured from the atmosphere.
Every stove distributed is, in essence, a small act of forest conservation – and collectively, millions of stoves amount to a transformative impact on the landscapes, communities and climate of sub-Saharan Africa.
By providing stoves that reduce reliance on firewood by 71%, DelAgua’s programme has protected forest areas equivalent to ten times the size of London and reduced emissions equivalent to removing 2.9 million cars from the road for a year.
Maintaining forestry builds resilience to climate change and adverse weather events. Flooding and landslides are already a major hazard. Landslides occur where heavy or sustained rain falls on the steep, clay slopes, in particular those that have been destabilised through deforestation. Cutting down trees to supply firewood to a growing population is a cause of this.
Independent research funded by funded by Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the International Growth Centre (IGC) found a +0.61 percentage-point increase in forest cover in treated areas under Rwanda’s Tubeho Neza programme. Our programme keeps trees in the ground.
Reforestation programmes combined with the provision of the DelAgua stove can turn around biodiversity loss.
RWANDA CASE STUDY: The Rugezi Marsh, 20km2 of wetlands in Northern Rwanda, is one of the country’s most important reservoirs and an inspiring example of how it is possible to turn around biodiversity loss and nature degradation through a combined programme of reforestation and provision of DelAgua stoves.
This pristine ecosphere, home to many species of birds including the rare Grey Crowned Crane, was being sucked dry by extensive agricultural exploitation. The marsh lies in a valley surrounded by hills which used to be covered in trees but which had been cut for firewood and fodder. With the slopes denuded of trees, Rwanda’s heavy rains washed the soil from the slopes into the marsh. This silt damaged the marsh and the lakes it feeds, causing water levels to drop which in turn impacted the local climate and wildlife. A shortage of water also affected local agriculture and the provision of water for hydroelectric power which is essential to the region’s development and prosperity. Further damage to the ecosystem was caused because the local communities had to cut the grass and reeds on the marsh because there was no forestry left to provide animal fodder and this increased water evaporation. The communities were aware that damaging the environment was destroying their livelihood but there were no easy solutions.
In 2016 a programme of reforestation was begun, planting Eucalyptus and other varieties of trees, which stabilised the soil and provides a sustainable source of firewood.
DelAgua also started distributing stoves to the district and these stoves, which reduce by 71% the amount of firewood needed, have played an integral part in the success of the reforestation programme by breaking the cycle of destructive harvesting of trees for fuel. Today the Rugezi Marsh is well protected, trees are intact, birds are returning and the water levels rising.
The project is funded by the sale of carbon credits. Help provide more nature-based solutions, more life-changing stoves, offset your carbon footprint and buy carbon credits directly from DelAgua.
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