2

The sole responsibility for the content of this brochure lies with the authors. It does not necessari-ly reflect the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

European Commission, Intelligent Energy – Europe ProgrammeContract no. EIE/06/244/SI2.44953

Project duration: 29 months

Starting date: 1 January 2007

Completion date: 31 May 2009

3

CARAMCODEC is a project funded by the

European Commission which aims to establish

the conditions for a significant and lasting

improvement in the energy supply for the town

of Mahajanga and, subsequently, all the towns

in Madagascar, in the context of a national

domestic energy strategy.

The project comes within the process of

decentralization of forestry management from

the state to local community level (the VOI),

in partnership with the eleven municipalities

within the area supplying the town of

Mahajanga, in Boeny Region.

In Boeny Region the CARAMCODEC project

has resulted in various training initiatives

for the players appointed by the state to

manage resources in their areas: charcoal

makers, on the one hand, and local and state

authorities on the other (Forestry Service,

police forces, etc.). The big issue is facilitating

the integration of charcoal makers into the

formal sector by improving the carbonization

methods they use. Improving the various

players’ capabilities and putting them on a

professional footing is expected to facilitate

the sustainable management of wood energy

in the areas concerned.

In the eleven rural municipalities within Boeny

Region, the CARAMCODEC project has improved

the decentralized control of wood energy

flows. This system is self-financing through an

appropriate taxation mechanism involving the

rural municipalities and the Forestry.

Lastly, on the basis of achievements

in Boeny Region, the CARAMCODEC

project has underpinned the reform of the

regulatory framework governing charcoal

production, processing and marketing. This

framework prefigures the establishment of a

national domestic energy supply policy for

Madagascar’s towns and cities.

The CARAMCODeC PROjeCT

The PROjeCT hAS TwO MAin ThRuSTS:

1. developing the capacities of players in decentralized wood energy management2. developing a fiscal, economic and political framework for urban domestic

energy supply.

These two aims have been translated into initiatives at local level, regional level (centred in Boeny Region) and national level.

The CARAMCODEC project is coordinated by CIRAD (France) and is being carried out in cooperation with FOFIFA (Madagascar), the

PARTAGE NGO (Madagascar) and CRA-W (Belgium).

The vast majority of Madagascar’s domestic

energy requirements are covered by wood.

This is grown in natural forests and managed

plantations or harvested on fallow land. Why

wood? Local people cannot afford to buy

gas or oil. Large-scale importing of such

fossil fuels would, among other things, mean

foreign currency expenses which the country

could not meet.

Wood is either used straight for domestic

cooking or processed first into charcoal. As

the latter fuel is easy to transport, store and

use, the use of charcoal is widespread in

Madagascar, especially in towns. Between

80 and 90% of domestic energy requirements

are thus met by these wood-derived fuels

obtained from various plant formations. One

Madagascan family consumes about 100 kg

of charcoal per month.

This wood consumption puts considerable

pressure on forestry formations which are

threatened with overexploitation, especially

around the big towns which create huge

demand for domestic energy and therefore

for wood-derived fuels.

As elsewhere in the country, the natural forests

in Boeny Region (in the west of Madagascar)

are tending to shrink due to rising demand

for wood for fuel coupled with a lack of a

managed wood energy supply compatible

with regeneration of natural formations. The

plantations (some three hundred hectares) are

not sufficient for a sustainable supply of wood

and/or charcoal for the town of Mahajanga,

the region’s main town. The town’s charcoal

consumption has risen from 15,000 tonnes in

1999 to nearly 20,000 tonnes today.

Charcoal production is not the only cause of

deforestation in Madagascar, though. Clearing

of land for agriculture (slash and burn culture)

and firing bricks for building also play their

part in the extensive damage to Madagascar’s

forests. Several tens of thousands of hectares

are cleared of trees in the country every year.

What is the conclusion? Wood remains

the cheapest energy source for town and

city dwellers, compared with fossil fuels.

It is essential for the survival of the urban

population. Charcoal may therefore be

regarded as a staple, like oil or rice. It is difficult

to restrict its use and thus impossible to ban

forest exploitation for charcoal making.

So, a sustainable solution to this situation would be to increase the efficiency of the energy supply:

• by improving forestry management methods in order to create a better balance between wood cutting and the pace of natural regeneration and planting of Madagascar’s forest formations

• by improving carbonization methods in order to reduce the quantity of wood needed to produce charcoal.

BACkgROunD

4

Wood as an energy source is a staple in

Madagascar. The high price of fossil fuels

forces urban and rural dwellers to remain

mainly dependent on wood energy and they

will continue to do so for several decades.

This being so, Madagascar is obliged to

manage and exploit its forestry resources

in a sustainable way if it is to meet this

irreducible demand for fuel.

Madagascar’s forestry resources are limited

yet sufficient to meet consumer demand

on a sustainable basis; it only needs the

management of those resources to be

organized and planned.

The demand for wood and charcoal has

increased in pace with demographic growth.

Exploitation, processing and marketing

sectors have grown up in each of the major

towns, providing a regular supply at a low

cost but often in environmental conditions that

destroy the delicate natural formations. One

notable example is the town of Toliara in the

Atsimo-Andrafana Region in south-western

Madagascar. Elsewhere, the consequences

of the supply industry are less negative due

to the sizeable plantations established, for

instance in Manjakandriana to supply the

capital, Antananarivo, or where there are

natural formations with a big regenerative

capacity, such as the Boeny Region supplying

the town of Mahajanga.

A BiT Of hiSTORy…

From 1920 to 1990, Madagascar’s forestry

policy remained centralized. The colonial

state equipped itself with a whole battery of

regulations and legislation in keeping with

the vision of the day of forest ecosystem

conservation and development issues.

From 1960 on, once Madagascar had become

independent, the Forestry Service had

considerable problems complying with the legal

directions for which it had been established.

Hampered by a serious lack of material and

financial resources to carry out its duties, its

efforts were in vain and the country’s forestry

resources gradually deteriorated. The situation

was aggravated by other factors, such as rural

population growth, land clearance, removal of

wood for energy, etc.

From the 1990s, considering the

ineffectiveness of the legislation in force and

this centralized resource management policy,

Madagascar revised its environmental and

forestry policy with the aim of making local

people responsible for the management of

their ecosystems. The authorities’ inability to

control the use of resources effectively in fact

resulted in a situation of free access and rapid

decline of natural resources.

In 1990, Madagascar’s Environmental

Charter at last established a legal framework

for management of natural resources. The

change was brought about mainly by means

of two laws: the Secure Local Management

Act no. 96-025 (in French, “GEstion LOcale

SEcurisée”, or GELOSE for short), and the

Forestry Act no. 97-017. These laws specific to

the environmental sector also formed part of the

process of decentralization of Madagascar’s

administration, leading to the creation of the

municipalities and regions.

DeCenTRAlizeD fOReSTRy MAnAgeMenT in MADAgASCAR

5

The underlying aims

are decentralized

management of

forestry initiatives

at regional level and

participative local

management of forestry

resources within the

framework of transfer

of management

of forestry resources to local people

living nearby and giving responsibility to

decentralized local organisations.

This reform was to affect the entire economy of

forestry products. More than ten years later, the

state and its partners are continuing to develop

these initiatives, notably on the basis of the

Madagascar Action Plan (MAP) passed in 2006.

MAhAjAngA’S SuPPly SeCTORS AnD SuSTAinABle MAnAgeMenT Of The nATuRAl jujuBe TRee SAvAnnAh

Removal of wood and charcoal making in

Boeny Region are heavily concentrated in the

immediate periphery of the town of Mahajanga.

The municipalities of Belobaka Boanamary and

Ambalakida, less than 50 km away, produce

two-thirds of Mahajanga’s charcoal supplies.

The balance comes from the municipalities of

Andranofantsika and Ambondromamy, near

the Ankarafantsika protected area, 150 km

from Mahajanga. The growing pace of wood

removal in this fragile area has put the spotlight

on the wood energy sector management

constraints in Boeny: how can sustainable

forestry exploitation to satisfy increasing urban

demand for charcoal be reconciled with the

pressing need to protect the area in question?

Against this background, between 1999 and

2002, the authorities in charge of energy and

the forests drew up the Urban Wood Energy

Supply Plan for Mahajanga, called SDAUBE

for short. This concerted regional planning tool

enabled priority zones to be established for the

putting in place of wood energy management

transfer contracts, from the state to the

village communities, in accordance with

the Gelose Act, with the aim of providing a

sustainable supply for greater Mahajanga.

This supply strategy was based on planned

exploitation and reorientation of exploitation

towards areas with sufficient forestry potential

that could be exploited and managed in a

sustainable way, i.e. the wooded savannah

covered with Ziziphus mauritiana. The SDAUBE

plan included the development of wood energy

management transfer contracts in such areas,

while taking account of decentralization and

creation of the municipalities.

MAnAgeMenT TRAnSfeR COnTRACTS

The aim of the transfer contracts is to enable

local people to become involved in actively

conserving their renewable resources (in this

case, wood energy) with the added benefit of

the possibility of making a sizeable income

from supplying the towns. Article 54 of Law no.

96-025 permits the use of economic incentives.

6

• A regulatory instrument: the quota. The established standard is a 15 kg bag of charcoal and the quota is expressed in numbers

of bags marketed. This quota is a flow management instrument. It is designed to influence the

players’ behaviour directly. The quota concept enables a single tool, which is understandable

and applicable by all the players, to be defined from an assessment of the resource and the

production capacity. It may relate to both the area to be exploited and the maximum quantity

that may be produced. Each village community that signs up to the contract is allocated an

annual quota according to the potential forestry resources.

• An economic instrument: taxation. Tax collection is accompanied by decentralized forestry control involving both the Forestry

Service and the municipalities and local communities. This tax incentive mechanism with

deduction at source finances the operation of the control system.

7

There are two principal instruments for this:

Under each management transfer contract,

or “Gelose” contract, two associations are

created: the local community (in French,

communauté locale de base, or CLB) or VOI

(Vondron’Olona Ifotony) and the Charcoal

Burners’ Association (the members of which

may also be members of the VOI). Whereas the

VOI is responsible for managing the area as a

whole and is answerable to the Forestry Service,

the Charcoal Burners’ Association is in charge

of organizing exploitation in the carbonization

area and is answerable to the VOI.

The management transfer contracts give the

contracting local community responsibility

for access management, conservation,

exploitation and development of forestry

resources. They link together the VOI, the

municipality and the Forestry Service. They

include a set of technical rules of exploitation

which are detailed in a specification:

compliance with zoning, permitted tree

species for carbonization, the rules of

operation, the annual production quota, the

improved carbonization method, etc.

Boeny Region lies in the north-west of Madagascar.

The chief town in Boeny Region is Mahajanga, the country’s fourth-largest town with

a population of approximately 170,000.

fiRST MAnAgeMenT TRAnSfeR COnTRACTS in BOeny RegiOn

The first wood energy contracts, covering a three

year period, were put in place in Boeny Region

in 2001, in eleven municipalities including

Ambondromamy (150 km east of Mahajanga)

and Ambalakida (30 km to the north). Despite

the problems arising, the establishment of

these first contracts significantly reduced the

number of infringements (fires, especially) in

the transferred areas and ensured compliance

with certain management rules, notably zoning,

even with virtually no internal monitoring.

An initial tax collection scheme was introduced

at the same time. This lays down the conditions

of collection and transfer of the tax revenue

from the sale of charcoal between the various

players in decentralized management: the VOI

and the Charcoal Burners’ Association, the

Environment and Forestry Cantonnement (CEF)

and the municipality. This tax scheme takes

account in particular of forestry control of flows.

The putting in place of these first management

transfer contracts was not without its problems,

however. These mainly concerned failure

to comply with the terms of the contracts

and specifications. Moreover, continuing

illegal exploitation outside the framework of

the management transfer contracts creates

a situation of unfair competition insofar as

it evades the local tax which is essential if

sustainable management is to succeed. The

only way to remove this constraint appears

to be to extend the geographical area of the

zones under transferred management.

Thus, from 1999 with the support of

the Mahajanga Integrated Pilot Project

(PPIM) to 2002, with the support of the

Mahajanga Domestic Energy Project (PEDM),

Madagascar’s Forestry Service developed

an innovative system for managing the

town’s charcoal supply. The distinguishing

features of the system were the creation of

20 management transfer contracts and the

introduction of an innovative flow control

system along with a local tax incentive scheme.

From 2004 to 2006 this system was supported

by the Decentralized Management of Natural

Resources project (GDRN) run by the Priority

Solidarity Fund (FSP) within the framework

of French aid to developing countries. The

contracts were assessed before being renewed

(the Gelose Act requires this process to be

carried out after three years).

Whereas the effects of the management

transfer contracts on the reduction in bush

fires and appropriation of land for charcoal

making appear positive, it has also been found

that the forestry control system needed to be

strengthened by introducing an intermediate

level between the VOI (local controllers) and the

Forestry Service (CEF).

8

9

Although benefiting from some of the tax

revenue, the municipality level was not

structured to play its part in controlling charcoal

flows. So, from 2006 on, municipality and

inter-municipality controllers were introduced

into Ambondromamy rural municipality. They

establish links between the stakeholders in

the transfer of management, notably the VOI,

the municipality (and also the municipalities

of Tsaramandroso and Sarobaratra, with a

view to linking municipalities) and the Forestry

Service. These controllers are funded entirely

by the municipalities concerned on the basis

of a negotiated inter-municipality agreement.

They now play a vital role in bringing the

various players together and disseminating

information about exploitation.

The development and renewal of management transfer contracts in Boeny have produced some very encouraging results. These decentralized forestry management contracts, which shift the focus from the state to the municipalities and the VOI, are organised along two main lines: zoning and clear planning of forested land exploitation and the putting in place of management and control systems that are local and self-financed at all levels of responsibility.

This management transfer system is still limited in terms of the country as a whole. It needs to be appropriately extended to the whole of Boeny Region and then to other parts of the country. Widespread development of such contracts would, however, mean the introduction of economic conditions (decentralized taxation providing an incentive) and regulations (controlling exploitation and quotas) that would be specific and appropriate to each region. Such a development could be based on the forestry taxation and decentralized forestry control mechanisms that have been tried out since 2000 in the 20 VOI of Boeny Region.

If forestry management transfer is to work effectively in the different regions of Madagascar, a national planning framework must be defined, along with a strategic policy for supplying towns with domestic energy. Such a strategy should be developed and validated by the various authorities in Madagascar involved with decentralized management of wood energy (Energy, Environment and Forests and Decentralization).

The municipality and inter-municipality controllers are new players in the forestry management transfer process and have not yet fulfilled all the expectations. More effective training for Forestry Service staff and police officers, coupled with overseeing of their work, would also markedly improve the functioning of management and forestry control within the areas transferred.

Charcoal is a wood-derived fuel with many

advantages, being easier to transport, store

(lower weight and smaller volume for the same

quantity of energy) and use (very little smoke)

than the wood from which it is made.

Charcoal is produced by heating wood in

a nearly airtight environment. This process

is called carbonization. There are various

carbonization processes, from traditional

methods to industrial technologies.

Peasant techniques account for more than

95% of world production. How are they

distinguished? By the type of kiln in which the

wood to be carbonized is placed. Pits, mound

kilns and metal kilns are the three basic types.

Charcoal production using mound kilns is

widespread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa

and Madagascar. In this method, the wood to

be carbonized is simply piled up on the ground

to form a heap varying in size from a few steres

to several tens of cubic metres. This is covered

first with branches and then with earth.

Mound kiln carbonization is very popular,

being easy to do and accessible to large

numbers of charcoal makers. However, the

production yields from mound kilns can be

quite low and are most often less than 10%,

i.e. 10 kg of charcoal produced per 100

kg of wood. All the same, the poor yields in

Boeny Region (Mahajanga) are primarily due

to incorrect mound kiln operating practices

within a poorly organised industry, rather than

any shortcoming of the methods themselves.

iMPROveD TeChniqueS AnD gOOD CARBOnizATiOn PRACTiCeS

Improved carbonization techniques have

been developed to increase mound kiln yields.

Whether these involve Casamance-type kilns,

which have a metal chimney, ovens of brick or

concrete construction or metal kilns, these new

techniques allow better control of the air flows

entering the carbonization process, which

takes place in an almost airless enclosure.

They have been successfully introduced in

many parts of the world and the carbonization

efficiency has been improved as a result.

However, these improved techniques require

investment in expensive equipment such as

metal components which are beyond the reach

of most of Madagascar’s charcoal makers.

10

ChARCOAl PRODuCTiOn in MADAgASCAR

Apart from these technical considerations, shortcomings in the running of micro-businesses

also hamper the development of charcoal making. The charcoal makers have to be instructed in

simplified management of the money flows resulting from the tax system, stock management, etc.

• people will readily use them, because they are familiar with the way they work;

• the investment requirement is nil;

• they allow mobile operation within the concessions, even though multiple carbonizations on

the same site are recommended;

• they adapt very well to the properties of the different woods;

• the quality of the charcoal they produce meets Madagascan consumers’ strict requirements.

COnCluSiOnS:

It would be unrealistic to promote the use of improved carbonization techniques such as Casamance mound kilns, earth pits or metal kilns in Madagascar as these require investment at levels beyond the reach of most charcoal makers.

A more useful approach in the Madagascan context would be to promote simple but largely practicable improvements to carbonization practices using traditional methods like the mound kiln. Such improvements are affordable for an industry without financial resources.

11

Moreover, mound kilns have many advantages in the Madagascan context compared with more

complex techniques, because:

Now, experience has shown that mound kilns

can be almost as efficient as the improved

techniques (ovens) if they are designed

and operated with great care. A mound kiln

operated by a skilled charcoal maker can

in fact produce very good yields of around

20% from raw wood (or 25 to 30% from

anhydrous wood), as against 10% with

casual or inexperienced charcoal makers.

This surprising fact shows how important the

charcoal maker’s know-how is for mound kiln

carbonization, as the yield can be doubled

simply by following good practices.

Doubling the carbonization yield would

halve the amount of wood needed to provide

the same quantity of charcoal.

12

The CARAMCODEC project has arranged a number of training sessions for the different players in the charcoal supply sector for the town of Mahajanga with the aim of improving their ability to perform the new tasks associated with decentralization. These training sessions were designed to be as sustainable as possible.

TRAining fOR ChARCOAl MAkeRS in BOeny RegiOn

> Training in improved carbonization techniques

The carbonization process is the main concern. Yields are very low (less than 10%) and the improved charcoal production techniques often promoted, such as metal chimneys, are beyond the financial reach of most of the producers. However, experienced charcoal makers can obtain very good carbonization yields if they use the mound kiln method carefully. Training charcoal makers therefore appears essential in order to improve yields, as well as being a windfall for the charcoal

makers themselves, who can thus increase their income without at the same time increasing their production costs.

The putting in place of the first management transfer contracts in Boeny in 2001 was accompanied by training for charcoal makers in the different villages. Unfortunately, subsequent assessment of the training sessions showed that due to their scattered nature, it was not possible to cover all aspects of improved mound kilns carbonization in detail. To make up for this, the CARAMCODEC project arranged for the provision and equipping of two permanent training facilities. These are located at Ambalakida and Ambondromamy, the municipalities where the first management transfer contracts were introduced. They provide a central point for all the CARAMCODEC trainings and, in particular, the training of the numerous charcoal makers operating in the eleven rural municipalities of Boeny Region targeted by the project.

During these training courses, the practices that improve the efficiency of mound kilns carbonization were explained to the charcoal makers and notably the cutting and drying of the wood, how to build the kiln, how to cover it, operation and removal of the charcoal from the kiln. The lessons were followed by practical work.

Prior to this, the CARAMCODEC project team trained some local consultants in order to ensure the sustainability of charcoal maker training. These consultants will continue to provide training after the end of the project, in the context of the rolling out of management transfer contracts.

STRengThening CAPACiTieS Of PlAyeRS in DeCenTRAlizeD wOOD eneRgy MAnAgeMenT

6 trainers have been trained. A total of 418 charcoal makers in the Ambalakida and Ambondromamy regions have been trained in improved carbonization techniques.

> Production of a carbonization handbook

To reach as many charcoal makers as possible and extend the area of impact of the CARAMCODEC project, an improved carbonization handbook has been produced in French and Malagasy. This straightforward, illustrated extension manual explains good practices in terms of preparing and operating mound kilns for increased yields.

> Training charcoal makers in micro-business management concepts

The CARAMCODEC project seeks not only to show charcoal makers how to improve their carbonization yields, but also to put their work on a professional footing. Within Boeny Region, charcoal is produced both by professional charcoal makers and also by migrant workers, often illegal, who do not follow sustainable working methods.

The players in the sector also have to get to grips with quotas and production flow management and to follow certain rules of operation. A basic training module in the running and management of micro-businesses (simplified accounting, flow and stock management, etc.) was provided for a number of players selected on the basis of their responsibilities within financial flow management flux.

An illustrated handbook of good carbonization practices has been produced in French and Malagasy.

134 people representing the different categories of players in the sector have taken a basic training module in management, accounting and running micro-businesses:

• 75 VOI representatives: president, treasurer and, where applicable, secretary;• 22 municipality representatives: a representative of the Mayor, as the official

authorizing expenditure, and accounts secretary and treasurer as controller;• 12 administration representatives: heads of cantonnements, chief controller

at DREFT, municipality chief controllers and regional representative;• 25 producers’ representatives: municipality technicians, who could become

local technical assistants to the country people generally and the charcoal makers in particular, and representatives of the charcoal makers who are able to pass on the knowledge gained to other members of the association.

13

14

Transfer of forestry management from the state to the VOI and the municipalities means new management and control duties for these decentralized bodies. In particular, the posts of Polisin’Ala or “forest police” and municipality and inter-municipality controllers have been created.

50 controllers have undertaken a six-day training course at the two CARAMCODEC project facilities.

It was considered essential for the future managers of Madagascar’s forestry and environment sector to be fully informed on the issue of urban energy supplies in order to facilitate the dissemination of the methods developed in Boeny Region. To this end, a training module for students at the Antananarivo college of agriculture gave them an introduction to this energy management policy over two sessions each of four half-days in the classroom and one day in the field.

Training for 50 municipality and inter-municipality controllers in charge of flow management within the transferred areas has been provided at the two CARAMCODEC project facilities.

40 ESSA students, future managers in the forestry and environment sector, were given full information on the topic of domestic energy, in particular industry studies, improving carbonization techniques, managing the supply of wood energy, forest management for wood energy production, the legal framework and decentralized forestry control.

TRAining Of MuniCiPAliTy AnD inTeR-MuniCiPAliTy OffiCiAlS in ChARge Of flOw COnTROl in BOeny RegiOn

TRAining Of fuTuRe fOReSTRy SeRviCe exeCuTiveS

In Boeny Region the CARAMCODEC project has resulted in a reformed system for decentralized forestry control with respect to wood energy. This system follows on from the progress made by the Forestry Service in the region since 2001. It is self-financing through a tax collection scheme validated by the decentralized institutions (municipalities and region).

Controlling charcoal flows within the areas transferred to local people and also on sites that have not yet been transferred remains the keystone of sustainable wood energy management.

The exploitation and marketing of wood energy is controlled at three levels of responsibility in accordance with the management transfer contracts.

1. At grassroots level, i.e. the local communities (called VOI) who have concluded these contracts: outgoing charcoal flows are controlled by officers called Polisin’ala, or “forest police”, the equivalent of country policemen in Europe.

2. The Local Forestry Services control flows at regional level, the environment and forestry cantonnements (CEF) and flows entering towns.

3. Between these two levels a new tier of control has been introduced for the municipalities: municipality and inter-municipality controllers, recruited at the beginning of the CARAMCODEC project, are in charge of coordination between the various municipalities. As well as developing their capabilities, the project has enabled 50 municipality and inter-municipality controllers to be nominated. In particular, their role and conditions of deployment have been established as a result of the project.

DevelOPMenT Of A RefORMeD legAl AnD RegulATORy fRAMewORk fOR uRBAn DOMeSTiC eneRgy SuPPly

15

These control systems are self-financing through a forestry tax levied on charcoal flows. This tax revenue is distributed at the various levels of management according to a distribution scheme that takes account of the degree of responsibility within the monitoring system and the expenses of control.

The sequence is as follows:

1. the VOI levies and distributes the taxes (management expenses, rebates, levy);

2. the VOI pays the municipality’s share;

3. the VOI sends off the forestry tax by postal order;

4. the CEF draws up a tax statement for each remittance;

5. The municipality distributes the sum paid corresponding to the rebate;

6. The CEF recovers the control tax from the VOI. This forces the CEF to visit the transferred

sites and check that exploitation is taking place in accordance with the rules laid down in

the Development and Simplified Management Plan (in French, Plan d’Aménagement et de

Gestion Simplifié / PAGS).

The technical details of this breakdown scheme and a clearer definition of each player’s duties and responsibilities were established following consultation with the players in the charcoal supply sectors, notably the state departments with responsibility for the forests and for decentralization and regional and municipality representatives. These discussions took the form of consultation workshops held under the aegis of the CARAMCODEC project.

Under this system, an inter-municipality agreement coordinates control of charcoal flows between the different municipalities in the area supplying Mahajanga. It also lays down the conditions for collection of fines if charcoal is transported from unauthorized sites, most of which are illegal.

Apart from this regional system of regulation, the issue was to prepare for reform of the legal framework governing the production, processing and marketing of charcoal, hitherto based on a nearly 25-year-old law. Some sixty players at national or regional level met in Antananarivo in March 2008 to draft a bill at the instigation of the CARAMCODEC project. This bill was then submitted to the Department of the Environment and Forests for finalisation and approval.

The passing of this bill by the Madagascan state will enable a National Domestic Energy Strategy to be developed with the aim of implementing realistic solutions for supplying towns with domestic energy. Such a strategy must be based in particular on flow control which is self-financed by a permanent financing scheme.

Distribution scheme:

The table below shows the breakdown scheme for a levy of 440 Ariary (0.18 euros) per bag:

16

TypES OF levy

REBATES

ManageMenT Fee

Tax

• The rebates enable the municipalities and the region to monitor decentralized control

• The management fees remain at VOI level to cover not only local control but also other expenses of charcoal exploitation, in particular control of the charcoal makers

• The forestry tax goes to the Forestry Service and is paid into the forestry fund

• The control expenses are borne by the various levels of control (VOI, municipality, region and Forestry Service).

COnTROl ExpEnSES

vOI CR Rg CEEF DIReeF

20 20

150

90

50 40

50 130

20 50

170 2070

This decentralized management framework for the supply of charcoal to the town of Mahajanga was established by the CARAMCODEC project between May 2007 and May 2008. It was then made official by a regional Order dated 20 September 2008. The tax system enabling decentralized, coordinated control of wood energy flows to be put in place was introduced in early September 2008.

17

VNA District level

vna (vaomieran’ny ala

or district controllers)

VOI Local communities level

VOI (Vondron’olona Ifotony),

for the « GElOSE » zones the

controllers called « polisin’ala »

Local Forestry Service level

Regional forestry control

Cantonnement : production zones and

sub-regional flows

Region : flows entring towns,

regional flows régional

The VOI or VnA collect the total amount of levy

(rebates and tax) and pay the Municipal and local

Forestry Service shares, issue the tax les receipts

and the transport coupons

Three levels of control

(In accordance with the regional

strategy on forestry control

established by Forestry Service)

Suported by a financing scheme

based on a taxation mechanism

involving all players

(tax incentive mechanism)

Checking by municipality authorities and the CEF

CiRAD (france – Madagascar)

CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development) is an agricultural research centre specialising in tropical and Mediterranean products. It has the status of a French public industrial and commercial institution (in French, EpIC) under the joint supervision of the Department of Higher Education and Research and the Department of Foreign and European Affairs. CIRAD works in the fields of life and earth sciences, social sciences and engineering sciences applied to agriculture, forestry and stock rearing, food, natural resources and rural areas.

fOfifA (Madagascar)

The national Centre for Applied Rural Development Research (Cenraderu) FOFIFA is a public industrial and commercial institution. Through its Forestry Research Department it provides support and technical assistance in connection with improving carbonization, plantations and sociological and economic approaches to the forestry sector. It has a staff of 336 researchers and assistants, including 13 researchers in the Forestry Research Department. Management, maintenance and scientific monitoring of forest tree seed orchards (mainly eucalyptus).In 2002, CIRAD and FOFIFA became founder partners with the University of Antananarivo of the Forest and Biodiversity Research partnership Unit. This unit undertakes research connected with management of natural resources and biological diversity in Madagascar.

PARTAge (Madagascar)

PaRTage (association for Participation in environmental Management) is a Madagascan association which aims to share experiences with a view to the sustainable development of the island. To this end, the association members take part in local initiatives aimed at improving the management of renewable natural resources and in local development initiatives that contribute to and promote preservation of the country’s environmental assets.

CRA-w (Belgium)

The Walloon Agricultural Research Centre is a state-approved organisation answerable to the Regional Government of Wallonia, in Belgium. CRA W first became involved in studies and activities to develop the biomass energy sectors in the early eighties. CRA W takes part in international bioenergy sector study and implementation projects in Europe, Asia, Africa and latin america.

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European CommissionExecutive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation

Unit 1 - Renewable Energy

MADO 4/471049 Brussels

COnTACT:Maria LAGUNAProject Officer

Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI)Unit 1- Renewable Energy

Tel: +32 (0)2 2967403fAx: +32 (0)2 2981606

e-MAil: Maria.laguna@ec.europa.euMAil : European Commission, MADO 4/51, B-1049 Brussels

OffiCe: Place Madou 1, Office 4/51, Brussels

http://ec.europa.eu/eacihttp://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/index_en.html

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