Nigeria: The Effects of Biomass Burning On Mother Nature

Biomass burning is widespread, especially in the tropics. It serves to clear land for shifting cultivation, to convert forests to agricultural and pastoral lands, and to remove dry vegetation in order to promote agricultural productivity and the growth of higher yield grasses. Furthermore, much agricultural waste and fuel wood is being combusted, particularly in developing countries. Biomass containing 2 to 5 pentagrams of carbon is burned annually, producing large amounts of trace gases and aerosol particles that play important roles in atmospheric chemistry and climate.
Emissions of carbon monoxide and methane by biomass burning affect the oxidation efficiency of the atmosphere by reacting with hydroxyl radicals and emissions of nitric oxide and hydrocarbons lead to high ozone concentrations in the tropics during the dry season. Large quantities of smoke particles are produced as well, and these can serve as cloud condensation nuclei. These particles may thus substantially influence cloud microphysical and optical properties, an effect that could have repercussions for the radiation budget and the hydrological cycle in the tropics. Widespread burning may also disturb biogeochemical cycles, especially that of nitrogen.

At Garin Bussa, a village along Kaduna Express road, the logging of fire wood for economic activity is on the increase thereby impeding on the afforestation program of the government. A firewood seller, Isaiah Tanko, said that he has been in the business for a long time now adding that it is his primary source of livelihood. He said that the people cut down the trees from the village forest noting that they make money from the sales of firewood.

Isiah said that they have no alternative source of income than to venture in the firewood trade adding that the chemicals used can release dangerous amounts of arsenic and other very toxic compounds into your house.

Apart from renewable sources such as solar, wind, etc., which currently meet a negligible portion of the communities’ needs, coal, oil and gas are the major fuels used. These are hydrocarbons formed from vegetation buried by nature millions of years ago. Without human intervention, they would never contribute to pollution of the atmosphere. By contrast, wood unless it is buried by some means or another, sooner or later will either burn or rot releasing roughly the same quantity of greenhouse gases by either process.

To consider the use of firewood without an assessment of the effects of increasing the use of alternative fuels is a very narrow and short-sighted approach. It would need to include the emissions caused by the generation and the transmission or transport of the energy used.

AllAfrica