Resumen de The urban fuel plantation in tropical Africa ?: A case for re-evaluation
The potential of fuel plantations for ameliorating urban fuel shortages is severely limited, both by inappropriate project design and by unimaginative management practices and techniques. Often, plantation projects fail to contribute to sustainable sectoral energy and regional economic development. These problems stem from a poor appreciation of the dynamics of woodfuel �crises�, especially their location- and time-specific nature. This article reviews the professed advantages of exotic monoculture and reveals the misleading assumptions upon which they are based. A strong argument is made for greater consideration of local plant resources and indigenous ecological knowledge in plantation programmes and projects. This could lead to the development of valuable local resources which are currently being merely used.
