www.ccsenet.org/jsd Journal of Sustainable Development Vol. 5, No. 4; April 2012 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 149 Commercial Charcoal Production and Sustainable Community Development of the Upper West Region, Ghana Kwasi Osei Agyeman Department of Planning Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana E-mail: kwasi.1955@yahoo.com Owusu Amponsah Department of Planning Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana E-mail: amponsah_owusu@yahoo.co.uk Imoro Braimah Department of Planning Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana E-mail: ibraimah2002@yahoo.com Stephen Lurumuah Jaman South District Assembly, Ghana E-mail: luristephen@yahoo.com Received: November 1, 2011 Accepted: March 2, 2012 Published: April 1, 2012 doi:10.5539/jsd.v5n4p149 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v5n4p149 Abstract Policy discussions have suggested a complete ban on charcoal production and the introduction of substitutes to meet the energy needs of the growing number of consumers. These discussions are fuelled by the effects of the charcoal industry’s activitities on the environment. On the contrary, the authors of this paper highlight the need to sustain the charcoal industry in the Upper West Region of Ghana. This conclusion was arrived at through an analysis of the charcoal industry’s role in economic development of some communities in the Upper West Region. Data gathered from 500 commercial charcoal producers and 50 charcoal buyers indicated that commercial charcoal production is a major source of livelihood. While charcoal producers earned monthly incomes of about GH¢200, the buyers’ earned between GH¢82 - 2 343 per month. Despite its economic importance, the industry’s environmental problems are enormous. These were attributed to the extraction of raw materials, mainly live trees, from the natural forest without replacement. The authors concluded that the way forward towards sustainable economic development through charcoal production lies in the adoption of efficient charcoal production technologies. Keywords: Commercial, Charcoal production, Sustainable development, Upper west region 1. Background to the Paper Majority of African households depend on traditional fuels to meet their daily energy needs and this is most likely to continue for many years to come (Kituyi, 2002; Mwampamba, 2007). The use of wood fuel as household cooking fuel and for any other form of domestic heating is thus very much relevant in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (Erakhrumen, 2008 cited in Erakhrumen, Ogunsanwo & Ajewole, 2010). Available estimates indicate that over 90% of the people in Africa depend on either firewood or charcoal for cooking and other heat applications (Kituyi, 2002; Temu, 2002 cited in Erakhrumen et al., 2010). Similarly, in Ghana, the bulk of