Charcoal Value Chain as a Determinant of Implementation of Environmental Policies: A Case of Charcoal Management Act 2014 of Kitui County, Kenya
Loading...
Date
2023-11
Authors
Muli, Joseph Saa
Mbataru, Patrick
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
EdinBurg
Abstract
As economies grew and their energy needs increased, the global demand for charcoal as a
source of fuel experienced a steady rise in the last quarter of the 21st century. Charcoal has been
a popular and reliable source of energy to meet the recurring energy deficit in many developing
countries as a non-renewable energy source. However, it requires intensive production, and
harvesting of trees and other wood sources, a practice that when unregulated, can cause rapid
deterioration of tree cover alongside the generation of greenhouse gases. This research sought
to find out how the charcoal value chain in charcoal production imparted on implementation of
environmental policy in the case of charcoal management law in Kitui County. The research
used a descriptive survey methodology to obtain quantitative data through questionnaires. The
survey sample size of 205 charcoal producers calculated from a target population of 400
Charcoal Producers with a 5% margin error at a 95% confidence level was targeted.
Quantitative data obtained was processed and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The
findings indicated that 87% of charcoal producers were not conversant with environmental
policies thus impacting negatively on implementation of environmental policies. In addition,
78% of respondents strongly agreed that long value chains between producers and consumers
impact negatively adherence to set environmental laws and policies. Consequently, from the
study findings, it’s concluded that shortening the link between producer and consumer can help
increase charcoal sales and enhance the quality of produce. The study recommended the need
to increase government support in product value additions to the locals of Kitui County who
are heavily on a producer-consumer approach with less bearing on enhancing the products.
This would impoverish the financial gains with sound controls against environmental
degradation.
Description
Article
Keywords
Charcoal Value Chain, Implementation, Environmental Policies, Charcoal Management Act 2014
Citation
Muli , J. S. ., & Mbataru, P. . (2023). Charcoal Value Chain as a Determinant of Implementation of Environmental Policies: A Case of Charcoal Management Act 2014 of Kitui County, Kenya. Journal of Public Policy and Governance, 3(2), 33–39. Retrieved from https://edinburgjournals.org/journals/index.php/journal-of-public-policy/article/view/220