Implications of Charcoal Briquette Produced by Local Communities on Livelihoods and Environment in Nairobi Kenya

The residents of Nairobi, Kenya, use 700 tonnes of charcoal per day, producing about 88 tonnes of charcoal dust that is found in most of the charcoal retailing stalls that is disposed of in water drainage systems or in black garbage heaps. The high costs of cooking fuel results in poor households using unhealthy materials such as plastic waste. Further, poor households are opting to cook foods that take a short time to prepare irrespective of their nutritional value. This article presents experiences with community self-help groups producing charcoal fuel briquettes from charcoal dust in poorer nieghbourhoods of Nairobi for home use and sale. Households that produced charcoal fuel briquettes for own use and those that bought them saved 70% and 30% of money spent on cooking energy respectively. The charcoal fuel briquettes have been found to be environmentally beneficial since they produce less smoke and increase total cooking energy by more than 15%, thereby saving an equivalent volume of trees that would be cut down for charcoal. Charcoal briquette production is a viable opportunity for good quality and affordable cooking fuel. Bioenergy and waste management initiatives should promote recovery of organic by-products for charcoal briquette production

Green infrastructure in relation to informal urban settlements

Green infrastructure plays a critical role in environmentally sustainable urbanization in developing countries. Based on a review of academic outputs, this paper explores green infrastructure in the context of informal urban settlements. It identifies three ways informal settlements are connected to green spaces and natural ecosystems functioning as urban green infrastructure and then shows examples of benefits derived (ecosystem services) by the urban poor from these connections. Undesirable aspects and negative outcomes, regarded as ecosystem disservices, from the connection to natural ecosystems are also pointed out. The potentials of enhancing ecosystem services in terms of improving quality of life and the environment in informal settlements came to the fore. This work contributes to the growing body of knowledge on urban green infrastructure from the perspective of informal settlements in developing countries

Multifunctional rooftop horticulture: a promising strategy for intensifying horticulture production in cities.

In our urbanizing society, urban horticulture is gaining relevance due to its potential to increase resource efficiency, contribute to city food security and enhance associated ecosystem and social services. In cities, however, spaces available for cultivation are limited, thus leading to the need to explore innovative growing solutions, for instance, plant cultivation on building rooftops. While rooftop horticulture experiences are \u201csprouting\u201d all over the world, scientific evidence on the most suitable growing solutions, policies and potential benefits is growing. The present review will address the main features of rooftop horticulture, providing an interdisciplinary assessment of different approaches for development and the multi-faceted forms that rooftop hor- ticulture may assume in different contexts, bringing together existing experiences as well as suggestions for planning of future sustainable cities

Options for local financing in urban agriculture

Access to debt financing (credit) is crucial to the development of urban agricultural production, processing and marketing activities. This chapter is based on a 2009 study 1 carried out in Accra to assess the practices of institutions and programs that could finance urban agriculture as well as the existing bottlenecks and opportunities in financing. Information is based on surveys involving 179 respondents sampled from financial institutions; urban farmers (not limited to vegetable farmers), traders and processors; literature reviews, stakeholder mapping; focus group discussions; key informant interviews; and a validation workshop

El papel de la infraestructura verde urbana en la mitigación de la temperatura de la superficie terrestre en Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Green infrastructure in developed countries has been used as a climate change adaptation strategy to lower increased temperatures in cities. But, the use of green infrastructure to provide ecosystem services and increase resilience is largely overlooked in climate change and urban policies in the developing world. This study analyzed the role of urbanization and green infrastructure on urban surface temperatures in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, in sub-Saharan Africa. We use available geospatial data and techniques to spatially and temporally explore urbanization and land surface temperatures (LSTs) over 20 years. The effect of specific green infrastructure areas in the city on LSTs was also analyzed. Results show increased urbanization rates and increased temperature trends across time and space. But, LST in green infrastructure areas was indeed lower than adjacent impervious, urbanized areas. Seasonal phenological differences due to rainfall patterns, available planting space, and site limitations should be accounted for to maximize temperature reduction benefits. We discuss an approach on how study findings and urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry are being used for policy uptake and formulation in the field of climate change, food security, and urbanization by the municipal government in this city in Burkina Faso