Harnessing Biochar for Agriculture, Energy, and Coastal Resilience
The São Tomé & Príncipe Carbon Mosaic project integrates mangrove and seagrass restoration, sustainable farming, and tree planting – but its most immediate and scalable tool is biochar.
- Biochar Production: Projected 26-35 tonnes annually, with potential to supply renewable electricity to ~3,000 people.
- Agricultural Integration: Biochar is applied across 26,400 hectares of cacao farmland, improving soil fertility, increasing yields, and reducing dependency on imported fertilisers.
- Mangrove Protection: By replacing fuelwood sourced from mangroves, biochar reduces pressure on fragile coastal forests.
- Community Benefits: Biochar supply chains create employment opportunities, while biochar-enhanced cacao improves export competitiveness.
- Eco-Tourism & Co-Benefits: Mangrove and seagrass restoration boost biodiversity, fisheries, and ecotourism potential – with biochar acting as the enabling technology that underpins sustainable farming and reduces leakage risks.
Biochar creation through pyrolysis in São Tomé & Príncipe
For São Tomé & Príncipe, biochar is not only a soil and energy solution but also the link that ties agriculture, coastal resilience, and tourism into one investable framework.
