Malawi: Turning the future into charcoal

Chopping down the forests for charcoal and fuel wood seems so shortsighted, but until there are alternative sources of energy for Malawi's rural poor, the destruction will continue. Malawi loses about 50,000ha of indigenous forest every year - the highest deforestation rate in the Southern African. The government estimates that just 4 percent of the population has access to electricity; over 93 percent depend on wood fuel.