Charcoal is increasingly becoming a primary energy choice, accounting for 96% of cooking fuel for the growing urban population of South Sudan (NBS, 2012; Tiitmamer & Anai, 2018). Yet not much is known about the level of government regulation to make the woodfuel, especially the charcoal sector, sustainable. Using individual interviews and focus group discussions with charcoal producers, transporters, traders, soldiers and communities, this Brief identifies the following issues, and which demand the government’s urgent action: 1) There is no effective regulation throughout the charcoal value chain; 2) Charcoal emerges as a vital source of livelihood for poverty ridden South Sudanese households; 3) The charcoal sector is militarized; 4) There are harmful social and environment impacts of charcoal production and trade; 5) Land access for charcoal production generates conflicts. Considering the above, a swift government intervention should consider the following:
- Enforce the charcoal export ban and strengthen enforcement mechanisms;
- Ban foreigners and soldiers from engaging in large-scale charcoal production and trade, and put in place mechanisms to produce and trade charcoal for domestic consumption only;
- Introduce licensing for charcoal production and trade and ban cutting of certain tree species and clear cutting/uprooting;
- Promote alternative sources of cooking energy such as gas;
- Improve the welfare of the soldiers, including by indexing salaries to inflation and paying them well and on time; and
- Strengthen governance institutions to manage the sector and ensure sustainability.